Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Above, the massive stones support a 6m-high corbel-vaulted roof . A complex drainage sys-
tem means that not a drop of water has penetrated the interior in 40 centuries.
Knowth
Northwest of Newgrange, the burial mound of Knowth was built around the same time and
seems set to surpass its better-known neighbour in both its size and the importance of the
discoveries made here. It has the greatest collection of passage-grave art ever uncovered
in Western Europe, and has been under excavation since 1962; you may see archaeologists
at work when you visit.
Soon after excavations began a passage leading to the central chamber was cleared; at
34m it is much longer than the one at Newgrange. In 1968 a 40m passage was unearthed
on the opposite side of the mound. Also in the mound are the remains of six early-Christi-
an souterrains (underground chambers) built into the side. Some 300 carved slabs and 17 satel-
lite graves surround the main mound.
Human activity at Knowth continued for thousands of years after its construction,
which accounts for the site's complexity. The Beaker folk, so called because they buried
their dead with drinking vessels, occupied the site in the Bronze Age (c 1800 BC), as did
the Celts in the Iron Age (c 500 BC). In 965 it was the seat of Cormac MacMaelmithic,
later Ireland's high king for nine years, and in the 12th century the Normans built a motte
and bailey (a raised mound with a walled keep) here. The site was finally abandoned
around 1400.
Dowth
The circular mound at Dowth is similar in size to Newgrange - about 63m in diameter - but
is slightly taller at 14m high. It has suffered badly at the hands of everyone from road
builders and treasure hunters to amateur archaeologists, who scooped out the centre of the
tumulus in the 19th century. Relatively untouched by modern archaeologists, Dowth
shows what Newgrange and Knowth looked like for most of their history. Because it's un-
safe, Dowth is closed to visitors, though the mound can be viewed from the road between
Newgrange and Drogheda. Excavations will continue for years to come.
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