Location | Rathborney, The Burren |
---|---|
Region | Ireland |
Coordinates | 53°03′50″N9°08′58″W / 53.064°N 9.1494°W |
Type | Wedge tomb |
History | |
Periods | late Neolithic/early Bronze Age |
Site notes | |
Ownership | on private property |
Public access | Yes |
The Gleninsheen wedge tombs are two prehistoric wedge tombs located in the north central area of the Burren area of County Clare, Ireland. Both are aligned east-west, and there is evidence of contemporary etchings on some of the stone. [1]
The tombs are located on private property in the townland of Gleninsheen, parish of Rathborney, not far from the N480 road. One is located right next to the road. The other, partially collapsed, is around 100 m to the northeast in a field. [2] : 138–9
They are among eighty wedge tombs still extant in Clare. The largest concentration of them is found on Roughan Hill near Kilnaboy. [2] : 43–6
In 1932, not far from the wedge tombs, a local man discovered the Gleninsheen gorget, a neck ornament dating from c. 800 to 700 BC, concealed in one of the limestone grykes. [3] It is now on display at the National Museum of Ireland (Kildare Street site) in Dublin. [2] : 139 It was number 12 in the semi-official list of A History of Ireland in 100 Objects . [4]
The tombs are wedge-shaped in ground plan, with the widest part facing south west towards the setting sun like all tombs of this type. The setting sun is thus thought to have been of special significance to the builders. [2] : 43–6, 138–9
No wedge tomb in the Burren has so far been excavated, but they are tentatively dated to 2300 to 2000 BC, the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. [2] : 43, 138–9 [5] : 8
The Burren is a karst/glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland. It measures around 530 square kilometres (200 sq mi), within the circle made by the villages of Lisdoonvarna, Corofin, Gort and Kinvara. The area includes such natural features as Aillwee Cave and Ailladie cliffs, and historic monuments such as Poulnabrone dolmen and Caherconnell Stone Fort. The Burren National Park covers a small part of the Burren and is the smallest of the six National Parks in Ireland, while the adjacent territory, including the Cliffs of Moher, is included in the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark.
Carran, also Carron, is a small village in County Clare, Ireland. It is in the Burren region, within a civil parish of the same name. It is notable mainly for being the birthplace of Michael Cusack, the inspirer and co-founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association. At the time of the 2011 Census, Carran had 106 inhabitants.
Poulnabrone dolmen is an unusually large dolmen or portal tomb located in the Burren, County Clare, Ireland. Situated on one of the most desolate and highest points of the region, it comprises three standing portal stones supporting a heavy horizontal capstone, and dates to the Neolithic period, probably between 4200 BC and 2900 BC. It is the best known and most widely photographed of the approximately 172 dolmens in Ireland.
The prehistory of Ireland has been pieced together from archaeological evidence, which has grown at an increasing rate over the last decades. It begins with the first evidence of permanent human residence in Ireland around 10,500 BC and finishes with the start of the historical record around 400 AD. Both the beginning and end dates of the period are later than for much of Europe and all of the Near East. The prehistoric period covers the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age societies of Ireland. For much of Europe, the historical record begins when the Romans invaded; as Ireland was not invaded by the Romans its historical record starts later, with the coming of Christianity.
Megalithic monuments in Ireland typically represent one of several types of megalithic tombs: court cairns, passage tombs, portal tombs and wedge tombs. The remains of over 1,000 such megalithic tombs have been recorded around Ireland.
Kilnaboy or Killinaboy is a village, townland and civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It is located in the Burren, and as of the 2011 census the area had 347 inhabitants.
The National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology is a branch of the National Museum of Ireland located on Kildare Street in Dublin, Ireland, that specialises in Irish and other antiquities dating from the Stone Age to the Late Middle Ages.
Gold working in the Bronze Age British Isles refers to the use of gold to produce ornaments and other prestige items in the British Isles during the Bronze Age, between circa 2500 and c.800 BCE in Britain, and up to about 550 BCE in Ireland. In this period, communities in Britain and Ireland first learned how to work metal, leading to the widespread creation of not only gold but also copper and bronze items as well. Gold artefacts in particular were prestige items used to designate the high status of those individuals who wore, or were buried with them.
Rathborney, sometimes Rathbourney, is a civil parish in the Barony of Burren in County Clare, Ireland.
The Mooghaun North Hoard or Great Clare Find is the name of an important Bronze Age hoard found at Mooghaun North, near Newmarket-on-Fergus in County Clare, Ireland. Considered one of the greatest Bronze Age hoards of gold ever found north of the Alps, unfortunately most of the treasure was melted down soon after its discovery. What remains of the hoard is currently split between the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin and the British Museum in London. It is no. 11 in A History of Ireland in 100 Objects.
Cabragh Wedge Tomb, also called Cabragh I or the Giant's Grave, is a wedge-shaped gallery grave and National Monument located in County Sligo, Ireland.
Parknabinnia wedge tomb is a prehistoric wedge tomb located in the Burren area of County Clare, Ireland.
Creevagh wedge tomb is a prehistoric wedge tomb located in the Burren area of County Clare, Ireland.
Poulawack Cairn is a prehistoric burial cairn located in the Burren area of County Clare, Ireland.
Cashlaungar, also Cashlaungarr, Cashlaun Gar or Cashlán Gar, is a stone ringfort (cashel) and National Monument located in The Burren, a region in County Clare, Ireland.
Slievenaglasha wedge tomb is a wedge-shaped gallery grave and National Monument located in County Clare, Ireland.
Tullycommon Wedge Tomb is a wedge-shaped gallery grave and National Monument located in The Burren region of County Clare, Ireland.
The Coggalbeg hoard is an Early Bronze Age hoard of three pieces of Irish gold jewellery dating to 2300–2000 BC. It is now in the National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology in Dublin, where it is normally on display.
The Gleninsheen gorget is a late Bronze Age collar, found in 1930 in the Gleninsheen region of the Burren, County Clare, Ireland. Given that the gorget is made from gold and weighs 276 g (8.9 ozt) it must have been intended as an ornament for a high-ranking warrior. Dated to c. 800–700 BC, it is one of the earliest examples of substantial Irish goldwork.