Research has shown that most died before reaching 30 with only one living beyond 40.Īrthritis was in evidence and at least one may have died from being wounded as the tip of an arrowhead was found embedded in his hip bone. None showed evidence of cremation although there was scorch marks on some bones. This would imply the bodies had been ‘kept’ elsewhere and then moved to the dolmen for final burial. The remains were found 9.8 in (25 cms) below the surface placed in the grykes (crevices) in a disarticulated state. Poulnabrone Dolmenįurther excavations were carried out during 1988.ĭuring the excavations, the remains of up to 22 people were discovered, 16 adults and 6 children were found within the chamber area. The initial work mainly concentrated in the chamber of the tomb. Radiocarbon dating places its construction and use to between 3,800 and 3,200 BC during the Neolithic period. Situated as it is on the high open plateau the monument may have been used to broadcast a message of territorial ownership to outsiders travelling through the area. This is likely as it was one of only three viable north-south routes through the area. Instead it is adjacent to a road that in the past may have been an ancient north-south route through the Burren. Interestingly, Poulnabrone Dolmen is not located, like many portal tombs, adjacent to a waterway. The entrance is known as the Portal and is often closed by a blocking stone, the “sill-stone”. This one measures approximately 12ft by 7ft (3.7m by 2.1m) with the chamber being approximately 8ft by 4ft (2.4m by 1.2m) in size. This usually weighs many tons and is inclined at an angle with the highest part over the entrance. The main characteristic feature of a Dolmen is the massive roof stone, known as the Capstone. Characteristics of the Poulnabrone Dolmen Waterford and the northern part of the country.įrom Irish folklore they are often known as “Diarmuid and Gráinne’s Bed”, in Gaelic “Leaba Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne”, from the legend of the elopement of Diarmuid and Gráinne, the wife of Fionn Mac Cumhaill. There are close on 200 Dolmen’s scattered around Ireland mainly in Co.
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