Poulawack
Cairn and Souterrain
Standing at around 2.43 metres high and some 21.3 metres in diameter the Poulawack cairn was excavated by Harvard Archaeologists in the 1930s inside the cairn was a dry wall surrounding 6 cists, fourteen people had been buried here. The cairn is a lot smaller than when Thomas J. Westropp surveyed it in the early 1900s, he described it as 61 metres in girth and 3.6 meres high.
Souterrain
About 200 metres east of the cairn is the remains of a ring fort or rath with a souterrain (artificial cave) the image shown below is the entrance to the souterrain inside the fort and the bottom pic shows the exterior entrance. On the top of the souterrain are some wonderful exposed roofstones, clearly showing the construction of the souterrain.
Situated: In the Burren region of County Clare, from Ballyvaughan take the N67 south, then a left turn onto the R480 travel south for around 8 Kilometres, at Caherconnel Crossroads take a right turn, about 1/2 kilometre along this road the tomb is sign-posted.
Discovery Map 51: 2319 9854. Last visit Aug 2002.
Longitude: 9° 8' 42" W
Latitude: 53° 1' 56" N
Photos: Jim Dempsey.
