Knowth
Cnóbha | |
3200 BC | |
Periods | Neolithic |
---|---|
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | i, iii, iv |
Designated | 1993 (17th session) |
Part of | Brú na Bóinne - Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne |
Reference no. | 659 |
Official name | Knowth Passage Tomb & Knowth Mound |
Reference no. | 409 & 549 |
Knowth (
After its initial period of use, Knowth gradually became a ruin, although the area continued to be a site of ritual activity in the
Description
The large mound has been estimated to date from c. 3200 BC. The mound is about 12 metres (40 ft) high and 67 metres (220 ft) in diameter,
Megalithic art
Knowth contains more than a third of the total number of examples of megalithic art in all of Western Europe;[citation needed] over 200 decorated stones were found during excavations. Much of the artwork is found on the kerbstones, particularly approaching the entrances to the passages.
Many of the motifs are typical:
Astronomical alignments
The east-west orientation of the passages at Knowth suggests astronomical alignment with the equinoxes. The alignment at Knowth does not occur today. This is due to a number of factors. First of all, the passages were discovered by later settlers and were, to some extent, destroyed or incorporated into souterrains. In this way the original entrances to the passages were distorted or destroyed, making it difficult to establish if an alignment ever existed. Further, the recent excavations (1962 onwards) under George Eogan resulted in the erection of a concrete slab wall inside the mound's west entrance, restricting any investigation into the possible alignments. It seems likely that the passages were intended to align. Also, the alignments of ancient monuments can change due to Milankovitch cycles. The most extensive research on alignments and astronomy at Knowth was carried out by American-Irish researcher Martin Brennan.[4]
History
There is some evidence for late Neolithic and
In the late
Knowth was called Cnogba in Old Irish, whose meaning is unclear. This later became Cnoghbha, and finally Cnóbha in modern Irish.[1] In the medieval Triads of Ireland, Úam Chnogba ('caves of Knowth'), Úam Slángæ (probably Rathcoran) and Dearc Fearna (probably Dunmore Cave) are listed as "the three darkest places in Ireland".[7][8][9][10]
After a brief military interlude following the Norman invasion of Ireland, when the Normans used Knowth as a motte in the 12th century, the site came into the possession of the Cistercian monks of Mellifont Abbey. It seems that the mound was then again used as a grange or farm. Stone walls were built over the mound, and stone buildings within the walls. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the site was used mainly for agriculture until most of the site was taken over by the state in 1939.
Archaeological investigation and restoration
A brief excavation of the site was carried out in 1941 by Macallister. However, the first thorough archaeological investigation and excavations of Knowth began in 1962 and were led by George Eogan of University College Dublin. When his excavations began, very little was known about the full extent of the site. The entrances to the western and eastern passages were discovered in 1967 and 1968 respectively, and, slowly, the layers of activity at the site of Knowth were uncovered.[11] The excavation has produced numerous books and reports on the findings. Following the excavation, conservation, restoration and reconstruction works took place.
A layer of white quartz stones was found at the entrances to the great mound. The same was found at the entrance to Newgrange, and the archaeologists there concluded that it had made up a white façade or revetment on the front of the monument that had fallen. This white quartz front was reconstructed at Newgrange.[12] However, George Eogan did not believe Neolithic people could have built such a revetment without it collapsing. He suggested that most or all of the white quartz had been spread on the ground, and so it was left on the ground at Knowth. While some archaeologists have supported this decision, other archaeologists argue that both Knowth and Newgrange had white quartz façades, such as Robert Hensey and Elizabeth Shee Twohig in their paper "Facing the cairn at Newgrange" (2017).[13] They note that the quartz layers at both sites were thickest nearest the kerbstones, suggesting it had slid down the mound rather than being laid flat. They also contend that if the builders quarried and brought the quartz a long distance, they likely would have used it to "maximum effect" as a striking façade, rather than laying it on the ground where it could not be seen as well.[13] Along with archaeologist Carleton Jones,[14] Hensey and Twohig note that passage tombs in Brittany have similar near-vertical dry stone fronts, such as Gavrinis and Barnenez.[13]
Access
Access is by guided tour only. Tours begin at the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre in Donore. Visitors can look down the eastern passage and visit the nearby modern interpretive room.
Gallery
-
Overhead view
-
Knowth tombs
-
Inside the passageway
-
Knowth tombs
References
- ^ a b "Cnóbha/Knowth". Placenames Database of Ireland.
- Gill & Macmillan.
- S2CID 120584696. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ISBN 0-89281-509-4
- ISBN 978-1-8417-1118-8
- ISBN 978-1-8591-8341-0
- ^ Meyer, Kuno; Lavelle, Hilary; Purcell, Emer; et al., eds. (2005). The Triads of Ireland. Todd Lecture Series. Vol. 13 (1st ed.). Dublin: Hodges, Figgis & Co. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ Coleman, J. C. (1965). The Caves of Ireland. Tralee, Co. Kerry: Anvil Press. pp. 14–16.
- ^ Meyer, Kuno, ed. (1906). The Triads of Ireland. Todd Lecture Series. Vol. 13 (1st ed.). Dublin: Hodges, Figgis & Co. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 4. I. Dublin: 65–94. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ May, Jeffrey (October 2003). "Knowth Excavations". Current Archaeology. 188. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ O'Kelly, Michael J., and Claire O'Kelly. Newgrange: Archaeology, Art, and Legend. Thames and Hudson, 1982. p.72.
- ^ a b c Hensey, Robert, and Elizabeth Shee Twohig. "Facing the Cairn at Newgrange, Co. Meath". The Journal of Irish Archaeology, vol. 26, 2017, pp. 57–76.
- ^ Jones, Carleton. Temples of Stone: Exploring the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Collins, 2007. p.196.
Sources
- ISBN 0-7134-5882-8.
- Mac Shamhráin, Ailbhe, "Church and dynasty in Early Christian Brega: Lusk, Inis Pátraic and the cast of Máel-Finnia, king and saint", Table 8.1, Lineages of Síl nÁedo Sláine, p. 127; in The Island of St Patrick: Church and ruling dynasties in Fingal and Meath, 400–1148, (ed.) Mac Shamhráin, Four Courts, 2004.
External links
- Excavations at Knowth Digital Repository of Ireland; online edition of 6-volume Royal Irish Academy record
- Brú na Bóinne > Built heritage > Knowth worldheritageireland.ie
- Knowth.com
- Meath Tourism Information
- MegalithicIreland.com
- Brú na Bóinne in myth and folklore