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Arriving at the
Bru na BÓinne Visitor
Center, we learn, in order to get to the Passage
Tombs we have to take a shuttle bus. I was a
little disappointed to discover the bus for
Knowth was the next one leaving. In the
guidebooks, the Newgrange site gets most of the
press but to my surprise, the Knowh site became
the highlight of this visit.
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| More pages on Passage Tombs: |
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| Outside Links on Knowth:
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The Knowth mound is larger than the passage grave mound at Newgrange. |
Why did I find the Knowth passage grave so impressive? For one thing the tomb sets in among a number of smaller tombs which really amplifies its size, making it a very impressive sight. Then there are all those kerbstones with their megalithic art (carved art on stones). The Knowth site contains more than a third of all the known megalithic art from the Neolithic period. Knowth is even more impressive when you realize it was build by stone age man. Lastly, I was very impressed by our well informed guide, he seemed very knowledgeable and genuinely interested in these marvelous structures.
The Knowth passage tomb is unique in having two passage graves, one on each side of the mound. It is suspected, but it cannot be proven (for reasons explained below) that the tunnels once lined up with the solar solstices
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Entrance
to one of two tunnels found at Knowth -
unlike at the Newgrange Passage
tomb, the white quartzite rock has been
left in the position is was discovered. |
One other unique aspects of the Knowth tomb, is for much of its existence there has been human activity near and directly on top of the mound. First to live near the site were the Mound builders themselves (3000 – 2000 BC), followed by the Beaker culture, the Celtics, the early Christians, and the Normans in succession. It was the tunneling and trenching of these later settlers that under cut the mound resulting in a wash out of the mound's edges. Due to this erosion, it is now impossible to determine positively if the two passage tunnels lined up (5000 years ago) with their perspective (winter, summer) solstice. After the 1200’s AD, human presence at the site disappeared leaving the mound to Nature.
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Scattered
about the Knowth site are a number of
smaller mounds, some are located very
close to the larger tomb.
Photo
Above - close up of one of the large
kerbstones circling the mound's base. |
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Brú na BÓinne area (is
a UNESCO World Heritage
site) incorporating the passage
tombs of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. From
the Brú na BÓinne
Visitor center one can take a
guided tour of Newgrange and Knowth. |
| More pages on
Passage Tombs: |
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| Outside Links:
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Around the base of the mound
are a number of large often decorated stones. The
decoration of the stone was done by the time
consuming task of knocking a smaller rock against
the larger rock, thus flaking away at the larger
rock's surface. What is truly surprising is that along with the visable fronts,
a number of these stones are decorated on their
hidden back sides.
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Note public access to the mound's
tunnels is limit to a quick peek. You do not get to enter the interior chamber of the tomb but you do get to go in to a modern addtion to the mound that works like a mini-museum.
Go to the Newgrange passage grave top page
Go to the PREHISTORIC IRELAND page
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Relationship
Disclosure
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