Irish Neolithic Passage Grave
Cemeteries
Background
Chambered tombs constructed of stone of
various types were very common in
northern Europe during the Neolithic. They
indicate the importance of mortuary rituals
as a way of fostering group solidarity, and
it is said, promulgate a group’s claim to a
territory.
In Ireland it is argued by some that passage
graves were constructed beginning in the
Early Neolithic (4,000-3,600 BC).
A passage grave is an above-ground
mortuary monument consisting of a stone
chamber surmounted by an earthen
mound. The chamber is linked to the
exterior of the mound by a stone
passageway. The human remains found
inside had been cremated.
Passage grave construction seems to have
reached its apogee in the Middle Neolithic
(3,600-3,100 BC) with the construction of
three large tombs in the valley of the
Boyne River in Co. Meath: Knowth, Dowth,
and Newgrange. Smaller satellite passage
graves continued to be constructed around
these tombs into the Late Neolithic (3,1002,500 BC). This concentration is known as
Brú na Bóinne (Bend of the Boyne).
Early
Neolithic
Passage
grave at
Carrowmore,
Co. Sligo
Knowth
Excavated 1962-96? by George Eogan of UCD.
The site saw use past the Neolithic into the Bronze
Age, Iron Age (when a ditch was dug around the
site), and Early Middle Ages (when it became
the seat of the Uí Neill Aed Slane chiefdoms.
Anglo Normans finally build a motte on its
summit.
The site has been reconstructed to approximate its
Neolithic appearance.
Knowth
Smaller tomb and Medieval house.
Entrance way
Setting 1 and standing stone. Quartz rocks were brought from the Wicklow Mnts.
Reconstructed henge
Kerbstone 15
Boyne River from the top of Knowth
Newgrange
• Excavated by M.J. O’Kelly 1962-1975.
• Radiocarbon dates place its construction
c. 2500 bc (3,000 BC).
Entrance stone – originally those entering
Newgrange would have had to climb over
it.
On the winter solstice the sun’s light enters
the box over the entrance and illuminates
the chamber.
Orientation of smaller
tombs at Knowth
Orientations of
tombs at Lough
Crew
Clustering of
passage
grave
passage
orientations
with respect
to solstice
sunrise and
sunset
positions
The motif on
the back can
be found on
countless
Irish
government
documents
The Great Circle – perhaps contemporary with the mound.
Satellite tomb
Kerbstone 67
Kerbstone 52