Poulnabrone Dolmen Walk

On the crossing from Connemara down towards Killarney, we enjoyed several highly interesting stops. Crossing the barren landscape of the Burren was exciting, where agriculture is very limited in the extensive karst landscapes, but where impressive natural beauty can be found. Among the partially collapsed, clearly weathered limestone formations, all kinds of plants and insects thrive, thriving in the barren conditions. Humans left their mark here thousands of years ago, in the Neolithic period. The Poulnabrone Dolmen dates back to between 3800 and 3200 BC. It is a so-called portal tomb, in which four upright, flat stones (orthostats) support a massive capstone. The complex served both as a burial site (33 verifiable graves have been found) and as a cult site, presumably also for sacrificial ceremonies. The capstone, which is tilted upwards, also indicates a sun cult, according to which the structure absorbs the incoming sun at a certain time of year. Poulnabrone is just one example of many – over 90 megalithic tombs have been preserved in the Burren region alone! Our stay was accompanied by the legend of Diarmuid and Gráinne (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diarmuid_und_Gr%C3%A1inne), freely recounted by our tour guide, which almost had the character of a recitative play. While we listened to the adventures on the stones 50 meters from the megalith, several tour groups populated the complex – in the pictures, these people have been "retouched" by the photographers' "artistic" angles.