This trip north into County Meath was my first adventure with Carole and Fidelma. We’d been working together for a couple weeks and I’d realized if I didn’t plan activities for the weekend, I would be very lonely during this stay. So when Carole suggested a day trip, I happily agreed.
Hill of Tara
Tara is a great place to start because it’s a fantastic example of the way history layers itself in Ireland, one period on top of another. It’s best known as place where the High Kings of Ireland were crowned. But let’s start at the beginning.
The hilltop is covered with scattered mounds, each a passage tomb. This is the big one, called the Mound of the Hostages.
The entrance is barred off, but inside is a passage into the center of the mound lined with huge stones. Most of these mounds are from the Neolithic period, approx. 2,500BC. In most cases, the remains of cremated people have been found inside.
Some of the mounds were reused by Bronze Age people a thousand years later.
Iron Age people continued using the site for important events. There are remains of large structures including what may have been a huge banqueting hall.
Neolithic-era standing stones are scattered around the area. The Celts used one as their coronation stone called Lia Fail, the Stone of Destiny. It’s said the stone would roar its approval when the new High King was crowned there. (I don’t know why I didn’t take a picture of it.)
The Christians couldn’t resist piggy-backing their holy places on top of the existing ones, so naturally there’s a nice old church with the obligatory statue of St. Patrick overseeing it all now.
Ireland’s recent droughts have reveal the outlines of many other ancient structures in the area, just under the ground. Oh! to be an archeologist there now!
Newgrange
It’s 5,000+ years old. Older than Stonehenge, older than the pyramids of Egypt. Before people had figured out how to make metal, the people who lived here decided to create this massive monument.
It was all collapsed, covered over, plowed up, and long forgotten. There were probably stories passed along generation to generation about fairy mounds and hauntings and the unseen world beneath the hollow hills.
From a distance, it looked like a 1960s-era dental clinic. But the people who reassembled it are pretty sure this is how it was designed to look.
The mound covers over an acre of land overlooking the River Boyne (which gives its name to the whole area). The brilliant white stones are quartz, which gives it a shimmering look as you approach. It’s encircled by ornately carved curbstones, the most beautiful of which bars the entrance. You have to climb over it to get inside. That in itself feels symbolic.
You’ll notice that little box above the doorway. It’s called a roof box. It is designed to allow the light of the sunrise into the inner chamber on the dawn of the winter solstice. (Click here to go to the 1995 page where I describe this.)
The passage extends about 60 feet into the mound and is supported by orthostats, some also decorated with carvings. The passage is tight and narrow. Some of the stones lean inwards and you have to turn sideways to squeeze through.
Here’s a birds-eye view and a side view of the passage.
The passage ends with three small chambers extending out of a central space. The ceiling rises up to a beautifully corbelled roof, and you realize there is no mortar holding any of this together. Just physics.
Within seconds of following the tour group inside, I realized I could not go in. I was baffled, but it was like I’d walked into a brick wall.
Luckily there were only a couple people behind me, so I reversed and apologized and stood outside while the others went in. I just could not do it. It was my first experience of claustrophobia.
So after the group came out, the tour guide kindly agreed to take me in alone. I gave Fidelma my cameras and purse and winter parka, and felt a little better. I could manage it now.
Each of the small inner chambers contains a flat bowl where the bones and ashes of the dead were left (they think).
Confession: They don’t let you take pictures inside, so I am including some from postcards.
If you’d like to see pictures of Newgrange before it was restored, this page has a terrific collection:
http://irisharchaeology.ie/2012/12/images-of-newgrange-through-the-ages/
Knowth
Newgrange is flanked by two smaller Neolithic monuments called Knowth and Dowth. (It rhymes with mouth.) At the time, reconstruction work had been started at Knowth and we swung by to take a look. A sturdy fence kept us out but we peeked over and could see multiple mounds.
Click here to see how much progress they’d made by 1992.
We visited Mellifont Abbey and Monasterboice that day. I’m including a photo from Monasterboice to show you a Round Tower.
Time Out for a History Lesson: Back during the 800s and 900s, Ireland was besieged by marauding Vikings, just like everybody else in Europe. They’d sail their ships far up the rivers, so even people who lived inland were not safe. Somebody figured out how to design and build these round towers, where the doorway was up off the ground 10 feet or so. You’d climb up a ladder and then pull it up behind you. With no corners or edges, the tower could not be knocked down with a giant Thor hammer. The Vikings could steal all your stuff and burn down your house, but you’d survive.
You see these towers all around Ireland. Some have the tops knocked off.
London – Temple of Mithras
I mention on the Home page the books by Mary Stewart that sparked my interest in these old piles of stones. Her books describe the widespread popularity of Mithraism at that time (4th c. AD), particularly with Roman soldiers. It’s originally from Persia and takes a very testosterone-y approach to religion. The central image involves killing a bull.
When we got a three-day weekend for Easter, I took the opportunity for a quick trip to London. I saw and did lots of fun stuff, but no megaliths were involved. I did, however, stumble upon the remains of a temple to Mithras.
While digging for some new construction in 1954, the remains of this 2nd c. AD temple were uncovered. It lay 18 feet below street level and would have been just outside the city walls. It was carefully moved to the surface and reassembled nearby.
Wikipedia tells me the whole thing was moved back to its original position in 2010. I just love how you can go out for a walk and bump into stuff like this.
Click here for more 1990 pix.