Hill of Tara
Teamhair | |
Location | County Meath, Ireland |
---|---|
Coordinates | 53°34′39″N 6°36′43″W / 53.57750°N 6.61194°W |
Altitude | 155 m (509 ft)[1] |
Type | Ceremonial and burial site |
History | |
Periods | Neolithic–Iron Age |
Cultures | Gaelic |
Site notes | |
Ownership | Currently the Irish Government through the Office of Public Works |
Management | The Office of Public Works |
Official name | Hill of Tara |
Reference no. | 676 |
The Hill of Tara (
Name
The name Tara is an anglicization of the Irish name Teamhair or Cnoc na Teamhrach ('hill of Tara'). It is also known as Teamhair na Rí ('Tara of the kings'), and formerly also Liathdruim ('the grey ridge').
Features and early history
Ancient monuments
The remains of twenty ancient monuments are visible, and at least three times that many have been found through geophysical surveys and aerial photography.[6]
The oldest visible monument is Dumha na nGiall (the '
During the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age, a huge double timber circle or "wood henge" was built on the hilltop.[9] It was 250m in diameter and surrounded the Mound of the Hostages.[6] At least six smaller burial mounds were built in an arc around this timber circle, including those known as Dall, Dorcha, Dumha na mBan-Amhus ('Mound of the Mercenary Women') and Dumha na mBó ('Mound of the Cow'). The timber circle was eventually either removed or decayed, and the burial mounds are barely visible today.[10]
There are several large round enclosures on the hill, which were built in the
Just to the north of Ráth na Ríogh, is Ráth na Seanadh (the 'Rath of the Synods'), which was built in the middle of the former "wood henge".
The other round enclosures are Ráth Laoghaire ('Laoghaire's Fort', where the eponymous king is said to have been buried) at the southern edge of the hill, and the Claonfhearta ('Sloping Trenches' or 'Sloping Graves') at the northwestern edge, which includes Ráth Gráinne and Ráth Chaelchon. The Claonfhearta are burial mounds with ring ditches around them which sit on a slope.[6]
At the northern end of the hill is Teach Miodhchuarta or 'Banqueting Hall'. This was likely the ceremonial avenue leading to the hilltop and seems to have been one of the last monuments built.[6][10]
Half a mile south of the Hill of Tara is another large round enclosure known as Rath Meave, which refers to the legendary figure Medb or Medb Lethderg.
Annals
In the Annals of Inisfallen (AI980.4) is a description of the Battle of Tara between Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill and the son of Amlaíb Cuarán.
Church
A church, called Saint Patrick's, is on the eastern side of the hilltop. The "Rath of the Synods" has been partly destroyed by its churchyard.[12] The modern church was built in 1822–23 on the site of an earlier one.[13]
The earliest evidence of a church at Tara is a charter dating from the 1190s. In 1212, this church was "among the possessions confirmed to the Knights Hospitallers of Saint John of Kilmainham by Pope Innocent III".[13] A 1791 illustration shows the church building internally divided into a nave and chancel, with a bell-tower over the western end. A stump of wall marks the site of the old church today, but some of its stonework was re-used in the current church.
The building is now used as a visitor centre, operated by the Office of Public Works (OPW), an agency of the Irish Government.[13]
The Five Roads of Tara
According to legend,
The five roads are said to be:
- Slighe Assail, which went west towards Lough Owel, then to Rathcroghan.
- Slighe Midluachra, which went to Slane, then to Navan Fort, ending at Dunseverick.
- .
- Slighe Dala, which went towards and through Ossory.
- Slighe Mhór ('Great Highway'), which roughly followed the Esker Riada to County Galway.
Significance
The passage of the Mound of the Hostages is aligned with the sunrise around the times of Samhain (the Gaelic festival marking the start of winter) and Imbolc (the festival marking the start of spring).[16] The passage is shorter than monuments like Newgrange, making it less precise in providing alignments with the Sun, but Martin Brennan writes in The Stones of Time that "daily changes in the position of a 13-foot long sunbeam are more than adequate to determine specific dates".[17] Early Irish literature records that a royal gathering called the 'feast of Tara' (feis Temro) was held there at Samhain.[18]
By the beginning of Ireland's historical period, Tara had become the seat of a
Irish legend says that the Lia Fáil (Stone of Destiny) at Tara was brought to Ireland by the divine Tuatha Dé Danann, and that it would cry out under the foot of the true king.[18] Medb Lethderg was the sovereignty goddess of Tara.[18] The cult of the sacral kingship of Tara is reflected in the legends of High King Conaire Mór, while another legendary High King, Cormac mac Airt, is presented as the ideal king.[18] The reign of Diarmait mac Cerbaill, a historical king of Tara in the sixth century, was seen as particularly important by medieval writers. Although he was probably pagan, he was also influenced by Christian leaders and "stood chronologically between two worlds, the ancient pagan one and the new Christian one".[21]
Tara was probably controlled by the
According to Irish mythology, during the third century a great battle known as the
Later history
During the
In 1843, the Irish nationalist leader
British Prime Minister
The Irish government bought the southern part of the hill in 1952, and the northern part in 1972.[28]
The religious order Missionary Society of St. Columban had its international headquarters at Dalgan Park, just north of the Hill of Tara. The order was named after the Saint who was born in the Ancient Kingdom of Meath. The land Dalgan Park lies on was once owned by the kings of Tara. The seminary is also situated on the path of the Slighe Midluachra, one of the five ancient roads that meet at Tara.[29]
Motorway development
The M3 motorway passes through the
The Hill of Tara was included in the World Monuments Fund's 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world.[35] The following year it was included in a list of the 15 must-see endangered cultural treasures by the Smithsonian Institution.[36]
The motorway project proceeded, and the road was opened in June 2010.[30]
Gallery
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Hill of Tara, Lia Fáil and surrounding landscape
-
High Cross
-
Church
-
Summit
-
Aerial photograph
See also
- Gamla Uppsala – Village outside Uppsala in Sweden, historic residence of Swedish kings of the legendary Yngling dynasty
- Kingship of Tara – List of Kings of Tara (sometimes also High Kings of Ireland)
- Stonehenge – Ancient monument in England
- pennanular broochnamed after, but not from Tara
- Faddan More Psalter – Early medieval psalter from Ireland , Book of Psalms, discovered 2006
- Hill of Ward – Hill in County Meath, Ireland, Close to Tara is the Hill of Ward, it's associated with the mythological druidess Tlachtga
- Hill of Uisneach – Hill in County Westmeath, Ireland, a druidic site associated with the festival of Bealtaine
References
- ^ Tara Hill - Cnoc an Temair , mountainviews.ie Archived 6 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "'Hill of Tara / Teamhair / Cnoc na Teamhrach'". Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ Connellan 1846, pp. 246, notes.
- ABC-CLIO, 2006. p.1663
- ^ Halpin, Andrew. Ireland: An Oxford Archaeological Guide to Sites from Earliest Times to AD 1600. Oxford University Press, 2006. p.341
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Andrew Halpin and Conor Newman. Ireland: An Oxford Archaeological Guide to Sites from Earliest Times to AD 1600. Oxford University Press, 2006. pp.341-347
- ^ "Hill of Tara". World History Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ a b c Quinn, Colin. "Returning and Reuse: Diachronic Perspectives on Multi-Component Cemeteries and Mortuary Politics at Middle Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Tara, Ireland" Archived 23 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, issue 37 (2015). pp.1-18
- ^ "Woodhenge - Tara" Archived 23 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Knowth.com.
- ^ a b Newman, Conor (2007). "Procession and Symbolism at Tara" Archived 25 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 26(4), pp.415-438
- ^ Bradley, Richard. The Past in Prehistoric Societies. Psychology Press, 2002. p.145
- ^ The Hill of Tara Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Rough Guides. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ^ a b c Draft Tara Skryne Landscape Conservation Area Archived 23 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Meath County Council. 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ^ "Social History Ancient Ireland, Library Ireland Online". Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ Murphy, Anthony; Moore, Richard (2006). Island of the Setting Sun: In Search of Ireland's Ancient Astronomers. Liffey Press. p. 81.
- ^ Brennan, Martin (1994). The Stones of Time: Calendars, Sundials, and Stone Chambers of Ancient Ireland. Inner Traditions. p. 121.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí (1991). Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition. Prentice Hall. pp. 400–402.
- ^ Ó Cróinín, Dáibhí (1976). A New History of Ireland: Prehistoric and early Ireland. Oxford University Press. p. 187.
- ^ a b Koch, John (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 1663–1664.
- ^ Ó hÓgáin, p.159
- ^ "Crossing a Rubicon at Tara, Tommy Hamill, Ballinter, Meath". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Hill of Tara - County Meath, Ireland". www.sacred-destinations.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- New York Times. Archivedfrom the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2008.
- ISBN 978-0-9543855-2-1.
- ^ "Tara Ark of the Covenant, Newgrange". Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ "The Ark of the Covenant and Tara Hill, Stair na heireann". 19 June 2017. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ "History & Info | hilloftara.org". Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ "Dalgan, Columban Missionaries". Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ a b Conor Newman (2015) ‘In the way of development: Tara, the M3 and the Celtic Tiger’, in Meade, R. and Dukelow, F. (eds.) Defining Events: Power, resistance and identity in twenty-first-century Ireland, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 32-50.
- ^ Eileen Battersby (26 May 2007). "Is nothing sacred?". The Irish Times.
- ^ Glenn Frankel (22 January 2005). "In Ireland, Commuters vs. Kings". The Washington Post. p. A01. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
- ^ Paula Geraghty (24 September 2007). "In Ireland, Human Aerial Art at Tara: People power combines art protest and politics". Indymedia Ireland. Archived from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- ^ "The Hill of Tara". Sacred Sites International Foundation. Archived 25 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "2008 world monuments watch list of 100 most endangered sites" (PDF). Archived from the original on 7 June 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) World Monuments Fund. - ^ Logue, Patrick (28 February 2009). "Tara endangered, says Smithsonian". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
Sources
- Connellan, Owen (1846). Philip MacDermott (ed.). The Annals of Ireland, translated from the original Irish of the four masters. O'Clery, Michael, 1575-1643 (electronic resource, Free eBook from the Internet Archive ed.). Dublin: B Geraghty, s. Anglesea street.
Further reading
- Raftery, Barry (1994), Pagan Celtic Ireland: The enigma of the Irish Iron Age, Thames and Hudson
- Bhreathnach, Edel, ed. (2005), The Kingship and Landscape of Tara, Four Courts Press, Dublin
- Newman, Conor (2007), "Misinformation, disinformation and downright distortion: the Battle to Save Tara 1999–2005", Uninhabited Ireland. Tara, the M3 and Public Spaces in Galway. Two Essays by Conor Newman and Ulf Strohmayer., Arlen House, Galway: 59–102, hdl:10379/1443
External links
- Hill of Tara at Megalithic Ireland
- Aerial photos of the monuments
- Heritage of Ireland, Tara
- Boyne Valley Tourist Portal – Information on Tara
- The Hill of Tara page on Mythical Ireland
- Bensen, Amanda (March 2010), "Ireland's Endangered Cultural Site", Smithsonian Magazine, 39 (12): 37, archived from the original on 19 May 2014