One of our tours included a trip to what is called
Tara on the Hill. I really appreciated this tour, not only to learn about the ancient history of Ireland but to get out of the city for a day and give me a chance to experience the Irish countryside.
Archeologists state that early structures on this site existed thousands of years before Christ lived on earth, during the Neolithic era (4500-2000 BC). There is some debate, however, as to whether Tara was continuously used as a sacred and/or a political center from the Neolithic period to when it was used last in the 1100s AD.
Tara was strategically located high and near the River Boyne for obvious reasons, providing a perfect view for miles around making it difficult for invaders to attack. According to tradition, Tara was the seat of the High King of Ireland in the County of Meath.
Today it is an impressive archaeological site that contains a number of ancient monuments that give us information as to life during the Neolithic period. Visitors encounter a rounded stone that stands in the middle of the site which is believed to be the
Stone of Destiny where the High Kings were crowned.
Saint Patrick's Church is the only building at Tara, located on the eastern side of the hilltop. While the building that stands today was built in the early 1800's, the earliest evidence of a church at that location is from a charter dating back to the 1190s.
The most prominent formation on this site is what is called the
Mound of the Hostages that contains a short passage below ground that aligns with sunrise at various points in the calendar year. Specifically, sun rays shine in during the autumnal equinox about the 4th of February and summer/winter solstice about the 8th of November.
I wish I could take credit for this next image but I found it on the Internet depicting the sun rays shining through the passageway during moments of the winter solstice.
After our stop at
Tara we traveled to
Newgrange which is another prehistoric monument in the County of Meath, located about 1 KM north of the River Boyne. This mound structure is believed to have been built between 3200 and 3100 BC, making it older than
Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids! It is one of
UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.
Visitors can observe a large circular mound with a stone passageway and interior chambers. The mound covers 1.1 acres, is built of alternating layers of earth and stone and has a retaining wall that is ringed by large stones engraved with Neolithic art. Archaeologists believe that most of the carvings were produced prior to the stones being erected in place and there is an on-going debate as to whether the art is decorative or symbolic.
There is no agreement about its former use but it has been speculated that
Newgrange had religious significance. We can figure that early man was in awe of the sun because he did not understand the science behind planetary movement. Hence, those who felt the need to appease the sun god attempted to do just that through the workings of capturing sun rays.
Newgrange is another example of a monument with chambered passage that aligns itself with the sun once a year and is probably part of an astronomy-based faith. As a tour group, we were allowed to crawl our way into the center chamber and witness a demonstration of what it is like when the winter solstice sun shines in to illuminate interior carvings on the chamber walls. Again, they would not allow us to take our cameras inside but I was able to find this image of the interior chamber off the Internet.
The natural surrounding countryside only adds to the beauty of this world heritage site.
