The Burren Landscape
(col 17 in  Mitchell, Frank and Ryan, Michael. 2001 Reading the Irish Landscape. Town House and Country House, Dublin.)

The Burren's landscape is made up of mostly limestone and is characterized by extreme erosion, underground drainages and small steepsided erosional depressions.  The northern half of  the Burren contains very steep valleys and very high peaks.  The topography in the south is gentler than in the north.  Prehistoric and historic sites are represented across the Burren starting in the Neolithic period. 

Summary of  sites:
Poulnabrone Portal Tomb: The Poulnabrone portal tomb is a major megalith that represents the beginning of the Neolithic period.  Radiocarbon dates this site from between 3800-3200 BC.  The site was excavated in an attempt to fix a crack in one of the portal stones. 

Roughan Hill : The settlements, field systems and ritual monuments give us a comprehensive view of the prehistoric landscape on the Burren.  Most of the activity on Roughan Hill in prehistoric times can be dated to the Beaker Period in the Neolithic.

Temple Cronan: Temple Cronan is an early monastic site.  It is thought to be a pre-12^th century temple and may have then been rebuilt in the 12^th century and then changed again in the 15^th century.  It is a small, single roomed oratory and has two tomb shrines east of the temple. 

Leamaneh Castle: The Leamaneh Castle was constructed in two parts; the first was a tower house built in the 15^th century and the second part was a 17^th century manor house. The castle was believed to be occupied by Conor O’Brien during the 17^th century.