County: Meath Site name: KNOWTH
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: George Eogan, Dept. of Archaeology, University College, Dublin
Site type: Megalithic tombs -passage tombs and Settlement cluster
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 699429m, N 773517m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.701880, -6.494157
This season's work concentrated on three main issues, viz.
(1) the eastern tomb in Site 1,
(2) megalithic art, and
(3) the Early Christian settlement.
(1) The 1987 investigations dealt with five main aspects of the eastern tomb.
(a) Pre-tomb activity: this work revealed spreads of rough paving or cobbling, two hearths and ten stake-holes occurring at a number of places in seemingly scattered patches behind the orthostats and within the passage. The presence of a sherd of Carrowkeel ware and two pieces of daub in the hearth behind orthostat 89, plus the fact that there is no indication, such as a natural sod layer, of a long time-gap between these features and the building of the mound of the tomb, would indicate that the hearth was probably used by the tomb-builders.
(b) The completion of the excavation of the passage floor, the chamber floor and the right-hand recess. This confirmed that a floor was laid down in the passage after the construction of the orthostats. Excavation on a limited scale was carried out in the chamber to complete the investigation of the sockets of the orthostats. A final check was made in the right-hand recess, and the last unexcavated area was investigated down to boulder clay.
(c) Checking the details of the construction of the tomb from the erection of the orthostats to the placement of corbels and capstones.
(d) Finalising the survey of the passage.
(e) Completing the photogrammetric survey of the chamber roof begun in 1986.
(2) The second aspect of this season's work concerned the megalithic art. Three new decorated stones were discovered and rechecking of decorated stones in the eastern tomb and the kerbstones of Site 1 continued.
(3) For the Early Christian phase on-site checking of various aspects was carried out as part of the work to finalise the forthcoming publication. This involved checking the stratigraphy in certain areas, specifically on the northern side of Site 1. Here a complex including a house, souterrain and a cobbled yard was reassessed in advance of conservation work currently being carried out by the Office of Public Works. This work continued hand in hand with an examination of the contexts of the artefacts from this area.
Click on the link below for the Royal Irish Academy's online resource for Knowth Excavations:
