The Burren

Poulnabrone is classic example of a portal tomb dating from sometime around 3800 BC. Stone tombs like this one dating back from the New Stone Age, are known as megalithic tombs and can be found all over the Burren due to the abundance of stone.

The Burren is a region in Ireland that comprises about 250 square kilometers covered in limestone rock. Despite the rock, the area is very lush and their is quite a bit of agricultural activity in the area, most notably beef and sheep farms. Due to the limestone that is available in virtually limitless quantities, the Burren is full of stone buildings and archeological significant discoveries such as the Poulnaborne portal tomb pictures above.

We were amazed by the dry stone masonery that we viewed while travelling through this region as we saw stone fences and out-buildings made in this fashion that were still in use today.

The Burren landscape is basically a limestone pavement filled with crevices in which grass and other plants seem to spring from.

A stone church at the base of the hills leading into the Burren

The modern graves are underground with huge tombstones and often a small area sectioned off in front of the grave.

A ruined manor house at the base of the Burren. We could only speculate about its history as we found no information posted.

I decided to take a closer look at the inside. This picture also shows the dry stone masonery.

Looking up the crumbling frontside of the manor house.

Okay, where to now???