International Experts come together to try to save Tara

Submitted by PaulM on Saturday, 10 April 2004 Page Views: 1441

The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), comprising of 8,000 members, and other international voices are uniting to save the Hill of Tara, Ireland's premier national monument from being bissected by the M3 motorway.

A statement on the AIA web site reads, in part: "The Hill of Tara is one of the most important archaeological sites in Ireland. In use since ca. 4000 B.C., at first as a burial ground and religious center, it was also a center of Irish kingship and a key medieval site. It stands in the midst of a larger landscape containing a wealth of related sites and monuments. Now, Tara and the surrounding landscape are threatened by a proposed major highway (the M3) that will cut through the landscape and divorce Tara from the related sites that surround it.

"At the request of Irish archaeologists who are working to save Tara, AIA President Jane C. Waldbaum, with the approval of the AIA's Executive Committee, wrote a letter which was published in the Irish Times on March 31, 2004, urging the protection of the site and the integrity of its landscape. A similar letter signed by a number of prominent British archaeologists was published by the Irish Times on April 5th.
http://www.archaeological.org/webinfo.php?page245

"International efforts to save the Tara landscape are effective! On April 5th, Jane Waldbaum received this news from Dr. Niamh Whitfield, one of the organizers of these efforts: "To bring things up to date: on Monday 5 April 2004 the National Roads Authority invited campaigners to a meeting. The fact that the AIA letter had been published in the Irish Times the previous Wednesday, together with the very fortunate publication that morning of a letter from leading British archaeologists, was an immense help. The publication of two such authoritative letters supporting the objections of the local group does seem to have had some impact on those with the power to change this decision, though, of course, there was no immediate change of heart. At present the NRA plan to issue contracts for road building on 14 April, so there is now a very small window of opportunity for protests Archaeology Magazine this month features an article on Tara, written by and reads, in part:
"Put at its simplest, in Irish tradition and early historical documents, Tara is recognized as the seat of the high king," says archaeologist Ronald Hicks of Ball State University. "It is also the site where, according to early traditions, St. Patrick is supposed to have engaged in a contest with the high druid to see whose religion was more powerful. Patrick, of course, won. In fact, from an examination of the prehistoric remains in the vicinity and from Irish myth, it is clear that Tara has been a sacred site since the Neolithic. Within the myths, Tara is described as one of the dwelling places of Eochaid, the most important of the Irish gods, who is often referred to as the Dagda, "the good god." The hilltop itself is covered with earthworks, and the whole complex of related monuments extends for a considerable distance in all directions. The large, henge-like Iron Age embankment at the center of the site, Rath na Riogh (the "enclosure of the king") incorporates a Neolithic passage tomb within it and surely must have started life as a sacred rather than a secular enclosure. There are similar enclosures located about 1.2 miles to the southwest at Riverstown and to the south at Rath Medb. Approximately 1.9 miles to the North lies Rath Lugh and about that distance to the east is the Hill of Skreen (whose name derives from the Latin term for a shrine, though it is known in the myths as Acall). Medb and Lugh are both deities, and all of these earthworks undoubtedly constituted integral parts of the complex as a whole." Opponents of the project point to earlier studies of the area, which led Ireland's Heritage Service to expand a protected zone around Tara to six kilometers (3.73 miles) in 1999. The proposed roadway, they say, would cut through the protected zone, and in a nine-mile stretch would run through 26 sites identified as archaeologically significant in a geophysical survey. Not only would these sites have to be fully excavated, but construction would likely reveal yet more sites. Letters addressed to the editor of the Irish Times have been a forum for those who object to the project. One group of scholars, primarily Irish historians, wrote, "Let us be clear: excavation is destruction, not 'preservation' in the true sense...let Irish taxpayers decide for themselves if their money should be spent destroying this singular element of Irish identity." Most recently, a letter by AIA President Jane Waldbaum appeared in the Irish Times. "We are shocked that planning permission has been granted," said Waldbaum, "and are particularly alarmed at the news that trial trenching is already beginning on an unusual scale, and is likely to do irreparable damage to the site."

"In recent years it has become increasingly obvious to archaeologists that to understand the past we often must think beyond individual sites," notes Hicks. "Like ourselves, the people of the past lived not just within sites but within landscapes. Often the relationships among sites and between the sites and the surrounding landscape contained meaning that can only be understood by looking at the overall pattern. This is especially true at major sacred sites like the Tara complex. The planned construction thus will threaten our ability to gain an adequate understanding of the Tara landscape."

Waldbaum also addressed this point in her letter to the Irish Times, stating that Tara is not merely the hilltop site but "a particularly important and well-preserved example" of a large ritual and settlement site for which "one would expect the highest measure of protection...." The article in Archaeology magazine, found at http://www.archaeology.org/online/news/tara.html ends:

"The protests may be having an effect. On April 5, Ireland's National Roads Authority offered to meet with project opponents."

Mr Vincent Salafia, a spokesperson for Save Tara / Skryne Valley Group said:
"A solicitors' letter, sent to Meath County Council and the National Roads Authority on 19 March put them on notice that the motorway works appear to be illegal. This promted a meeting with them on 5th April, so the timing of this kind of international support has been magnificent. "I don't think the message could be any clearer. They cannot ignore this kind of pressure. Dr. Muireann Ni Bhrolchain, a Celtic scholar at NUI Maynooth said: "Basically these worldwide experts are supporting the Irish experts, who are telling the authorities that that they are about to make one of the biggest mistakes this country has ever made.

Source: Politics.ie

Contributor Bio for PaulM: Based in Macclesfield, contributing since 2002. Favourite site: Hordron Edge. Occupation: Something in waste and recycling.

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