Slieve na Calliagh

Coordinates: 53°44′40″N 7°06′42″W / 53.74452°N 7.11167°W / 53.74452; -7.11167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Slieve na Calliagh
Sliabh na Caillí or Sliabh na Cailleach
Marilyn
Coordinates53°44′40″N 7°06′42″W / 53.74452°N 7.11167°W / 53.74452; -7.11167
Naming
English translationthe hag's mountain
Language of nameIrish
Geography
LocationCounty Meath, Republic of Ireland
Parent rangeMeath Hills
OSI/OSNI gridN586775

Slieve na Calliagh (

National Monument and is one of the main passage tomb cemeteries in Ireland, along with Brú na Bóinne, Carrowkeel and Carrowmore
.

Naming

The hills are named after the Cailleach, the divine hag of Irish mythology. Legend has it that the monuments were created when a giant hag, striding across the land, dropped her cargo of large stones from her apron.[3]

Hills

Slieve na Calliagh includes the hills of Carnbane East, Carnbane West, Carrickbrack, and Patrickstown Hill.[4]

  • Carnbane West
    Carnbane West
  • Carrickbrack
    Carrickbrack
  • Patrickstown Hill
    Patrickstown Hill

Tombs

On the hilltops are the remains of more than twenty ancient tombs and

passage tomb cemeteries in Ireland along with Brú na Bóinne, Carrowkeel and Carrowmore. The cemetery itself is also known as Slieve na Calliagh,[5] or the Loughcrew
tombs.

The monuments were described by the archaeologist E.A. Conwell in 1864 when he presented a paper to the

Ollamh Fodhla' or the 'Hag's Cairn'. More than 30 monuments have been identified and there may once have been between fifty and one hundred mounds in the area. Several of the monuments are covered in rare megalithic art
.

In 1980, Irish-American researcher Martin Brennan discovered that Cairn T is directed to receive the beams of the rising sun on the spring and autumnal equinox, when the sunbeam shines down the passage and lights up the megalithic art on the backstone.[6][7] Above this stone is a decorated ceiling stone which is also lit by the sun during the spring equinox sunrise.[4] The passage tombs likely predate those at Brú na Bóinne and much of their art anticipates similar forms used at those sites.[4]

The site is a protected

National Monument. In recent years, some of the Loughcrew tombs have been vandalised with graffiti, and security patrols have been put in place.[8] Irish folklore holds that it is bad luck to damage or disrespect such tombs and that doing so could bring a curse.[9][10]

  • Cairn S and Cairn T (The Hag's Carn)
    Cairn S and Cairn T (The Hag's Carn)
  • Overhead view of Cairn S, Cairn T and Cairn U
    Overhead view of Cairn S, Cairn T and Cairn U
  • View from the top of Cairn T
    View from the top of Cairn T
  • Passage of Cairn T, with cup marks
    Passage of Cairn T, with
    cup marks
  • Megalithic art inside Cairn T
    Megalithic art inside Cairn T

See also

References

  1. ^
    MountainViews. Ordnance Survey Ireland
    . Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Slieve na Calliagh". Kieron Gribbon. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b "The monuments at Loughcrew". The Sacred Island. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Ancient Sites Sliabh na Calliagh". Mythical Ireland. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Slieve na Calliagh/Sliabh na Caillí". Placenames Database of Ireland. Dublin City University. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  6. ^ Documented in photos and videos taken on site for six years in a row
  7. ^ Brennan, Martin, The Stars and the Stones: Ancient Art and Astronomy in Ireland - Thames and Hudson (1983); later re-published as The Stones of Time (1996).
  8. ^ "Security patrols put in place after vandalism at Neolithic site". The Irish Times, 30 April 2021.
  9. ^ Sarah Champion & Gabriel Cooney. "Chapter 13: Naming the Places, Naming the Stones". Archaeology and Folklore. Routledge, 2005. p.193
  10. ^ Doherty, Gillian. The Irish Ordnance Survey: History, Culture and Memory. Four Courts Press, 2004. p.89

External links

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