This article is from page 6 of the 2009-09-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
A CAMPAIGN to remove hundreds of mini-dolmens from the Burren will be instigated by the Burren Con- nect Project and Clare County Coun- cil later this year.
For years, tourists visiting the Bur- ren have constructed mini-dolmen to commemorate their visit to the na- tional park.
The structures, which are modelled on life-sized dolmens such as the one at Poulnabrone in Carron, are usu- ally less than two foot in height but a number of much larger ones have been built over the years.
A new environmental maintenance programme aimed at removing the mini-dolmens will be launched at Ballyallaban near Ballyvaughan this Wednesday.
Fifth- and sixth-class students of Ballyvaughan and _ Lisdoonvarna primary schools will safely remove a number of mini-dolmens at the launch, along with a number of lo- cal landowners and officials from the Burren Connect Project and Clare County Council.
In the past, both Clare County Council and the National Parks and Wildlife Service have turned a blind eye to the practice but, as a result of increased visitor numbers to the area, experts now believe that the practice may cause irreparable damage to the landscape in the locality.
The Poulnabrone dolmen, which is the most famous Bronze Age burial
site in the country, has become an iconic symbol of Ireland in recent years.
However, Poulnabrone itself was “built” back in 1985 following a cracking of the eastern portal stone which caused the entire tomb to col- lapse.
Excavations which took place at this time found that between 16 and 22 adults and six children were bur- ied under the monument. Personal items buried with the dead included a polished stone axe, a bone pendant,
quartz crystals, weapons and pottery.
In the Bronze Age, around 1,/00 BC, a newborn baby was buried in the portico, just outside the entrance.
With its dominating presence on the surrounding landscape, experts believe that the dolmen must have remained a centre for ceremony and ritual in the Burren until well into the Celtic period.