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Location:
County Meath. Near Kilmessan,
Ireland. |
Grid
Reference: 53.582° N,
6.612° W |
 Description
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The Hill of Tara, known
as Temair in Gaelic, was once the ancient seat of power in
Ireland – 142 kings are said to have reigned there in prehistoric and
historic times. In ancient Irish religion and mythology Temair was the
sacred place of dwelling for the gods, and was the entrance to the
otherworld. Saint Patrick is said to have come to Tara to confront the
ancient religion of the pagans at its most powerful site.
Tara Hill is currently in the news because of the controversial
development of the M3 bypass which is literally cutting the ancient
landscape in half..
(Map of Site:
How to get there)
(Scroll down for more)
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Tara Hill:
('Teamhair na Rí', "Hill of the Kings")
Description:
Tara Hill was one of the most venerated
religious spots in early Ireland and the seat of the High Kings of
Ireland from the 3rd century until 1022 AD. Despite its importance, and
compared to other prehistoric Irish sites, at Tara there are no signs
of regal past, nor impressive remains, only the remains of earthworks.
In fact, this
small cluster of megaliths represents a but a tiny part of an extended prehistoric
landscape providing the ability to
recognising specific moments of the lunar and solar cycles throughout the year. In the case of
Tara, the chamber of the 'Mound of hostages' is aligned to mark the
November 8th and February 4th, the quarter days (along with
Dowth and Cairns L and U at
Loughcrew). Tara is only 10 miles distant from The
Boyne Valley complex, which is
clearly visible from there.
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Important.
The landscape around Tara Hill is
currently (2008) being desecrated through the shameful and
unimaginative development of the M3 Motorway extension which is
being driven through the Tara valley, destroying numerous
prehistoric sites in the process, and denying future generations
to the chance to make a more informed decision.
The development of the M3 Motorway through the Tara-valley has led
to its entry into the World Monuments Fund's 2008
Watch List of the
100 Most
Endangered Sites in the world.
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Tara Hill Constructions.
Description:
Tara Hill was one of the most
venerated religious spots in early Ireland and the seat of the High Kings of
Ireland from the 3rd century until 1022. Despite its importance, the
expectant
visitor may be disappointed in what he sees as, at Tara there are no signs
of regal past, nor impressive remains, only the remains of earthworks.
But this cluster of megaliths represents a part a larger system capable of
recognising specific parts of the lunar and solar cycles. In the case of
Tara, it the chamber of the Mound of hostages' is aligned to mark the
November, February quarter days, along with Dowth and Cairns L and U at
Loughcrew. Tara is only 10 miles distant from The Boyne Valley, which is
clearly visible from there.
The
'Mound of the Hostages' - The most prominent and oldest monument on the hill is the
Mound of
the Hostages, upon which stands the 'Stone of destiny' (below). The Mound of
Hostages dates back to the Neolithic period and is contemporary with the
Boyne Valley structures (1).
The passage, 4m in length and 1m wide, was subdivided by
sill-stones into three compartments each containing cremated remains. The
engraved stone inside the mound of Hostages has been likened to a map of
Tara hill itself.
There is a similarity between the
layout of the bank and ditch constructions and rock-art from the same
period.
The Stone of destiny -
Originally stood on top of the Mound of
Hostages.
The
Hill of Tara in the Royal County of Meath was for centuries in ancient times
the seat of the High King of Ireland, the Ard Ri. This monolith is called
the Lia Fial, The Stone of Fal or the Stone of Destiny. The tradition is
that the High Kings of Ireland would be crowned here, and that the Stone
would roar or cry out loudly if touched by the true High King. Some believe
that the original Stone of Fal was taken to England and placed under the
Coronation Throne in Westminster Abbey, then in the current Century stolen,
taken into safe keeping in Scotland. Who now knows which is the true Lia
Fial or where it lies!
On the Hill of Tara there are the remains of many other earthworks. To
the South of the Mound of the Hostages, inside the bank and the ditch of the
so-called Royal Enclosure, stand two linked ring-forts known as the
Royal Seat and the Forradh. The Forradh has two banks and two
ditches around it. In its centre lies the Lia Fáil, the Stone of
Destiny, the most obvious phallic symbol of ancient Ireland. It once stood
near the Mound of the Hostages, and it is said to be the stone of the
coronation of the kings of Ireland. It roared three times when the future
king stood on it. Other legends say it was the pillow of Jacob or the
coronation Stone of Scone of Westminster Abbey.
To the south of the Royal Enclosure are the remains of another circular
earthwork known as the Fort of King Laoghaire, where the king is said
to be buried fully armed and in an upright position in order to see his
enemies coming. To the north of the Royal Enclosure there are other round
earthworks, two of them known as Sloping Trenches and one
Gráinne's Fort, named for King Cormac's daughter who was the heroine of
the tragic love tale of Diarmuid and Gráinne.
 Rath Maeve Henge
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Half a mile to the South of Tara Hill there is a
henge called Rath Maeve (after the legendary goddess-queen Maeve or Medbh). It is
about 230m (750ft) in diameter, part of its bank and ditch is well preserved
near the road.
Chronology -
Archaeology has established that human activity on the hilltop goes back to
the Neolithic period, about five and a half thousand years age, although the
earliest historical references to Tara only date from the seventh century
AD. (1)
Archaeo-astronomy
-
Aligned to the Mound of
hostages is the so-called Banqueting Hall. This rectangular earthwork of 230x27m
(755x89ft), Neolithic in date is in fact probably a cursus, of which there
are now known to be others in Ireland (One on the
Boyne Valley, and another at
Loughcrew). It is
orientated N-S
(Other
Prehistoric Irish Sites)
(Return to Top)
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The 'Desecration' of the
Prehistoric landscape in the Tara Valley.
The Gabhra (Tara-Skreen) Valley is currently in the process of
being desecrated by the construction of the M3 motorway, which
passes straight through the heart of one of Irelands most sacred
prehistoric landscapes; Destroying over 100 prehistoric sites on
the process.
It is only recently that archaeologists are
beginning to view individual sites in terms of their place in the
overall prehistoric landscape.
“The monuments around Tara cannot be
viewed in isolation, or as individual sites, but must be seen in the
context of an intact archaeological landscape, which should not
under any circumstances be disturbed, in terms of visual or direct
impact on the monuments themselves”
Ref: (N3 Navan to Dunshaughlin
Route Selection, August 2000, paragraph 7.3)
(More about Tara-Hill)
Scheduled to open in 2010, the M3's
loudest critics concede much of the damage is already done – 38
archaeological sites unearthed during construction thus far have
been carved from the landscape. Among the now vanished finds, a
newly discovered national monument at Lismullin that one leading
archaeologist described as "the wooden equivalent of
Stonehenge."
"All these sites, including the monument
at Lismullin, were part and parcel of the greater whole that is
the Hill of Tara complex and now they are gone, demolished. The
damage is complete and irreversible," said Vincent Salafia of
Tara Watch. "Some would say, `Give up the fight. The deed is
done.' But we're not giving up because what we are most against
is the building of the motorway through the valley that is at
the heart of the Tara complex. It's a long ways from completion
and there is still time to come to our senses.
Ref (http://www.thestar.com/World/Columnist/article/512894)
Opponents of the M3 have called on the European
Parliament and the European Commission to intervene by asking the
Irish government to review its plans and conduct an independent
investigation into the highway’s impact on the Tara landscape.
Campaigners first approached the commission for help in June 2005.
The commission subsequently determined that the road construction
violated EU law governing environmental impact assessments;
however, it has yet to actually submit a case before the European
Court of Justice, and that delay has allowed the Irish government
and the Roads Authority to continue construction. On April 2,
2008, campaigners came before the EU Parliament’s petitions
committee to resolve the problem. An EU Commission spokesman said
the commission would be submitting an application to the court in
the coming months; however, he said the commission did not have
the authority to halt construction in the interim, as road
opponents had hoped.
Ref: (http://www.sacredland.org/world_sites_pages/Tara.html)
The Lismullen henge (Partially shaded in
blue area in the photo above).
Those who are expert in this area and in the area of Tara are of
no doubt that this ritual site, really a temple, is part of the
extended Tara complex. It is about 500metres from the area of Rath
Lugh also flagged as being under threat of the motorway. This is
the place about which there was such a furore in January. The NRA
is trying to fit the road between these monuments – this was shown
in photographs in the past.
This point in the Gabhra Valley is the entrance to Tara. It was
more or less expected that a henge would be found in this
location. They are usually associated with Passage Tombs. Conor
Newman and Joe Fenwick recorded the existence of a straight line
of Passage Tombs running from the river Boyne southwards right
through the Gabhra Valley and up to the top of the hill. The Mound
of the Hostages is surrounded by a henge also, this is 200metres
in diameter and is much larger than the Lismullin Henge that is
80metres, still a very large area. These two henges are about the
same distance apart as Knowth and Dowth are from each other. No
one would doubt that the latter two are related to each other.
It is no accident that this
henge is exactly where it is.
(Ref:
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/82427)
What You Can Do
Learn more about the issue and keep abreast
of new developments by visiting the websites for the
Save Tara
campaign and
TaraWatch.
You can sign an
online petition addressed to Irish Prime Minister Bertie
Ahern, and join the network of Tara activists through
MySpace and
Facebook. You can also get involved with the New York-based
World Monument Fund, which is working to protect Tara and
other endangered sites.
(Other
Prehistoric Irish Sites)
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