Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Southern Extension
Chalcolithic (2500-2000 BCE)·Irish Chalcolithic·🇮🇪 The Burren, County Clare, Ireland
About
About Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Southern Extension
Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Southern Extension 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 enclosure 8 × 5 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 53.0357N -9.1055E 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
- 01Construction labor organization
- 02Chronology and phasing
Theories
- 01Ancestral burial reuse over centuries
- 02Astronomical alignment hypothesis
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
- Excavation ongoing
c. 2400 BCE
Initial construction of Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Southern Extension main structure
c. 968 CE
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically at Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Southern Extension
1989–2016
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Southern Extension) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
53.0357° N · 9.1055° W · 107 m · 4 mapped features
Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Southern Extension — Main Megalithic Feature
structurePrimary structure at Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Southern Extension — enclosure wall with stratified deposits
53.0373° N · 9.1063° WPoulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Southern Extension — Secondary Enclosure
enclosureAncillary enclosure at Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Southern Extension — burial gallery with stratified deposits
53.0360° N · 9.1050° WPoulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Southern Extension — Outlier Rock Art Panel
rock artOutlier rock_art panel linked to Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Southern Extension ceremonial landscape
53.0349° N · 9.1039° WPoulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Southern Extension — Hydraulic/Cistern Annex
hydraulicHydraulic feature — cistern/reservoir at Poulnabrone Exclave Wedge Terrace — Southern Extension with plastered basin
53.0368° N · 9.1063° W