1996:310 - KNOWTH, Meath

Last season's work consisted of limited excavations, in association with conservation work, around a portion of the western passage. The other main work, which is ongoing, is the cataloguing and preparation of illustrations of the megalithic art in the western chamber.

Western Tomb
On the southern side of the passage, for a distance of 14.5m, the orthostats have been fully exposed, but on the northern side a portion of the mound was left along the back of the orthostats to maintain stability. Elsewhere the mound was excavated down to the old ground surface. Some evidence for pre-mound activity came to light, including a spread of small stones, but in view of the limited nature of the excavation, the extent and function of these features have not been determined.

Construction of the Western Tomb and overlying mound
Where information is available, two parallel trenches averaging 0.65m in width by 0.3m in depth were dug to contain the passage orthostats. In some places the base was lower than in others, in other words a scoop or mini-socket was dug in the base of the trench either to accommodate a taller orthostat or to provide greater stability. In some examples the voids that existed between the orthostats, especially in the upper portions, were neatly filled with unifaced drystone walling. In certain places above the orthostats, so as to create a horizontal plane, further unifaced drystone walling, but using larger stones, was constructed. Occasionally the capstones rested directly on this, but in other places it acted as a foundation for larger stones, which served as a base for the capstones. When gaps existed between them, these were neatly filled with stones. Above these and overlying the capstones there was a layer of rounded stones which, in turn, was covered by a layer of earth/shale.

At ground level on the southern side of the passage, over and beyond the orthostat packing-stones, there was a layer of rounded boulders, some of which were up to 0.3m long. This extended outwards for a distance of 0.75m and tapered upwards almost to the top of the orthostats. Beyond this, at old ground level and extending over the stones at the back of the orthostats, was the basal layer of mound material. This extended up to and over the already-mentioned layer overlying the capstones. It was part of the standard basal layer of the mound and, as was the case elsewhere, the material consisted of sods, boulder clay and shale, all deposited in layers, but, in contrast to other areas, a greater quantity of shale was used. On the outer perimeter of the mound this form of construction continued to the top, but further in the mound consisted entirely of stones.

Megalithic art
An outstanding feature of the Western Tomb is its art. The initial drawing of each stone bearing art has now been completed. An interesting aspect of the art in the outer part of the passage is the fact that there are eight orthostats and six cap-stones with either partially or totally hidden art. Megalithic art was found on the back and the sides of orthostats and elaborate art was also hidden in the sockets. Art was also present on the top surface of capstones. This hidden art is elaborately executed and, taking this into account, as well as the shape and proportions of the stones, it could be suggested that all could have had a previous use, serving as orthostats in a different tomb. This matter requires evaluation; perhaps the chambers of Site 1 were modified at some stage, but there is no evidence for this. There is also the possibility that these highly decorated orthostats and capstones were originally part of another tomb which was demolished and at least some of its stones used in the Western Tomb.

Click on the link below for  the Royal Irish Academy's online resource for Knowth Excavations:

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