Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Eastern Outlier
Chalcolithic (2500-2000 BCE)·Irish Chalcolithic·🇮🇪 The Burren, County Clare, Ireland
About
About Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Eastern Outlier
Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Eastern Outlier in The Burren, County Clare, Ireland is a Chalcolithic (2500-2000 BCE) megalithic attributed to Irish Chalcolithic. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal citadel 4 × 5 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 53.0243N -9.1171E controls access to The Burren, County Clare resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey megalithic for The Burren, County Clare, illustrating Irish Chalcolithic construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology and phasing of construction episodes
- 02Function in regional settlement hierarchy
Theories
- 01Tribal capital and ritual aggregation
- 02Seasonal gathering locus
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 2400 BCE
- Period
- Chalcolithic (2500-2000 BCE)
- Culture
- Irish Chalcolithic
- Purpose
- Collective burial and territorial marker for agro-pastoral community
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 2400 BCE
Initial construction of Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Eastern Outlier main structure
c. 802 CE
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically at Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Eastern Outlier
19th–20th century
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Eastern Outlier) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
53.0243° N · 9.1171° W · 126 m · 3 mapped features
Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Eastern Outlier — Main Megalithic Feature
enclosurePrimary enclosure at Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Eastern Outlier — burial gallery with stratified deposits
53.0224° N · 9.1175° WPoulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Eastern Outlier — Secondary Enclosure
rock artAncillary rock art at Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Eastern Outlier — rock-cut facade with stratified deposits
53.0233° N · 9.1180° WPoulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Eastern Outlier — Outlier Rock Art Panel
hydraulicOutlier hydraulic panel linked to Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Eastern Outlier ceremonial landscape
53.0235° N · 9.1191° W