Ireland has an archaeological heritage that is rich and well- preserved compared to most Western European nations. The passing on of taboos against disturbing ancient structures and artifacts has left hundreds of historic tombs untouched, making the Emerald Isle a goldmine of discovery. Comparatively, this goldmine is most prominent in the Burren in Western Ireland, just east of the Cliffs of Moher, where megalithic tombs (above ground burial chambers) from the Neolithic ear dot the evergreen landscape. These colossal devotions to the dead are categorized into four different categories.
Portal Tombs
With the vast majority dating back 4,000- 3,000 BCE, portal tombs are single chambers constructed from three or more upright slabs supporting a horizontal capstone. This creates a roofed or shed like construction, as if functioning as a living quarter for the deceased. The most famous of portal tombs (also known as dolmans) in the Burren is Poulnabrone, which stands 12 ft. high and sits a top of a hill within easy view of those passing by. When excavated, a pile of human bones was found with fragments dating from 3,800 BCE to 3,200 BCE. The stratigraphy showed no chronological placement of these remains, suggesting that the bones ranging over a six hundred year period were all placed at this location at once.
Wedge Tombs
While the other three categories of Megalithic tombs found in the Burren are also found elsewhere throughout Europe, wedge tombs are uniquely Irish. Dotted throughout the island, there exists no higher concentration of these structures on Earth than there is in the Burren. The wedge tomb gets its name from its distinctive shape in which it narrows in both width and height as one goes deeper into the chamber. The doorways most often face west, suggesting a link between nature and structural planning, and the interiors usually contain an antechamber that is separated by a sill or slab. The majority of the wedge tombs have yet to be excavated as the local taboo for meddling with ancestral structures still lives on. They are most frequently placed on mountainsides where they are within easy view and were erected later than most other Megalithic tombs, dating 2500- 2000 BCE.
Court Tombs
The most distinctive feature of the court tombs is the intricacy of the network of chambers, also classifying them as gallery graves. These structures have evidence of being built between 4000 and 3500 BCE, but remaining in up until 2000 BCE. The geographic span of the tombs stretches from Southwestern Scotland down to Western Ireland, suggesting that they were introduced by Scottish migrants. Court tombs contain numerous interior chambers and a roofless oval entrance. The individual chambers are divided by upright slabs which were moved and put back into place numerous times. Excavations have shown repeated use of these tombs as the placement of human bones was based on type rather than individual persons. Some chambers have a single pile of a specific bone type or chambers would have them separated at different corners, with finger bones at one end while limbs are at another.
Passage Tombs
The largest of the Megalithic tombs found in the Burren are the portal tombs or otherwise known as passage graves. These roofed structures, often made of stacked stones, contain narrow passageways and several sub- chambers. Many follow the cruciform passage pattern in which the interior hallways form the shape of a cross. Passage tombs are also the most widely spread Megalithic tombs found in the Burren as they are found in Britain, Germany, and Scandinavia. There are also few reports of them being found as far as the Iberian Peninsula and the coast of Northern Africa. Most passage tombs are placed on hilltops or mountain sides, where they are within easy view from far distances. These dedications to the deceased date back farther than most other tombs and those found in the Burren are dated as far back as 7,000 years.
Sources
Jones,Carleton. The Burren and the Aran Islands - Exploring the Archaeology. Cork: The Collins Press, 2004.
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