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<< Our Photo Pages >> Hill of Tara - Passage Grave in Ireland (Republic of) in Co. Meath

Submitted by Anthony_Weir on Thursday, 29 July 2010  Page Views: 34927

Site WatchSite Name: Hill of Tara Alternative Name: Teamhair na Rí, Dumha na nGiall, The Mound of the Hostages
Country: Ireland (Republic of) County: Co. Meath Type: Passage Grave
Nearest Town: Navan  Nearest Village: Kilmessan
Map Ref: N9201659707
Discovery Map Number: D42
Latitude: 53.579364N  Longitude: 6.611514W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 5

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sheahan KieKa would like to visit

wcdarling visited on 19th Nov 2018 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4 Had a marvelous day on a guided bus tour out to both the Hill of Tara and Newgrange, two massively significant Neolithic sites which happen to be within an hour’s drive. The tour co. is run by Mary Gibbons (our guide is her brother), web site newgrangetours.com, and I highly recommend it. Tara is considered the “spiritual” capital of Ireland, where for centuries kings were crowned, battles were fought, speeches made. It’s a high hill with a view our guide said was half the counties in the Republic of Ireland. Great view that day even with clouds. Up and around the hills are earthworks, fortifications like a giant ring, two ring forts (concentric circle earthworks), a passage tomb, and a standing stone known as the Stone of Destiny. (Fun fact, per our guide: To keep the English from getting their hands on it, the Irish bid the stone for decades, before finally, I assume in the 20th century, putting it back in its rightful spot.) Anyway, our tour guide was brilliant on the way up there and also for about the first twenty minutes at Tara, leading us around the major sites before leaving us to explore on our own. So I wandered around for close to an hour. It was extremely windy and most of our small group ducked into a nearby shop for hot drinks after 30 minutes, but I had to see it all. This included a little church and graveyard adjacent. I always have to visit cemeteries!

bishop_pam visited on 23rd Oct 2018 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4

sirius_b visited on 24th Aug 2018 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4

lichen visited on 11th Oct 2014 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4

Jansold visited on 13th Sep 2014 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 4

bat400 visited on 1st Mar 2007 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 4 Access: 4

jeffrep visited on 14th Sep 2005 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4

Klingon visited on 2nd Apr 2005 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5

Runemage visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3

coin visited - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 4

kith visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4

DrewParsons have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.64 Ambience: 4.36 Access: 4

Hill Of Tara
Hill Of Tara submitted by jeffrep : Mound of the Hostages from a distance. At Hill of Tara in County Meath north of of Dublin. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Earthworks and Passage Grave in Co. Meath.
Anthony Weir writes: Before the commercialisation of Newgrange to a kind of Neolithic Mall, this was the most celebrated of Irish sites, yet rather disappointing now.
The earthworks are of Iron Age date but are not the remains of banqueting halls etc. that Romantic songs might lead us to expect.

The two most interesting things are the remarkable Stone of Destiny (Lía Fáil: Ireland’s romantic answer to Scotland’s “Stone of Scone”) – a very phallic granite pillar some 1.5 metres high, erected here to commemorate the dead killed in a skirmish during the ill-fated 1798 Rebellion. Unfortunately it is close to a cheap, modern statue of St Patrick even more hideous than the usual: “an offence alike to Tara and the National Apostle”. The simple conjunction of these two monuments says as much about the Irish character as the works of James Joyce.

The Lía Fáil was moved from its position as significant standing-stone near “The Mound of the Hostages”, which is in fact a small passage-less passage-tomb, whose entrance is covered with a grille. Its walls are composed of just 7 massive orthostats, one of which is decorated, and only half of the chamber is roofed: with 2 massive capstones.

Note: Irish Heritage Rights Survey launched to coincide with Tara UNESCO Nomination, see latest comment.
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Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by durhamnature : Plan of Tara from "Wakeman's Handbook" via archive.org (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by DrewParsons : Detail of the concentric rings carved into the orthostat on the left side of the chamber. October 2010. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by wcdarling : Wide view, Mound of the Hostages. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by wcdarling : The Mound of the Hostages. This passage tomb is the oldest site at Tara, dating to approx. 3400 BC. You can’t go inside but you can look through the barred gate and see a stone carved with neolithic artwork. The artifacts recovered from this tomb and the mound around it are on display at the National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology in Dublin. The museum’s exhibit on passage tombs is well ... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by DrewParsons : View inside the chamber. October 2010. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by eforrest25 : Site in Co. Meath: Interior of the Mound of the Hostages taken from the entrance through the iron bars. Admittance to the tomb is not generally allowed, but the necklace visible on the stone at the rear shows that entry is apparently possible. Decoration is visible on the walls.

Hill Of Tara
Hill Of Tara submitted by jeffrep : Entrance to the Mound of the Hostages, a small Neolithic passage tomb dating to ca.2500 BCE, at the Hill of Tara. (1 comment)

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by wcdarling : Panorama - Tara earthworks

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by wcdarling : Panorama - The Rath of the Synods (Ráith na Seanadh), a ringfort outside the main circle. Supposedly St. Patrick convened a synod here.

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by wcdarling : The Rath of the Synods (Ráith na Seanadh), a ringfort outside the main circle. Supposedly St. Patrick convened a synod here.

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by Runemage : From an old book bought on a visit to Tara many years ago for 3 Punts. In the Megalithic Portal's new book, "The Old Stones" Vicky Cummings' section on Imagining Prehistoric Landscapes is very fitting when looking at an ancient site not just as a site in itself, but to see the site in relationship to its setting within the landscape.

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by Bladup : Some Rock Art inside The Mound of the Hostages.

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by durhamnature : 1906 drawing from "A smaller social history of ancient Ireland" via archive.org

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by durhamnature : 1906 plan of the Tara area from "A smaller social history of ancient Ireland" via archive.org

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by DrewParsons : The mound. October 2010.

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by DrewParsons : Looking back down the earthworks approach from near the mound. October 2010.

Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara submitted by Sunny100 : A drawing by Peter F. Anson from 'The Pilgrim's Sketch Book No 4' An Irish Pilgrimage. A modern-day statue of St Patrick stands on The Hill of Tara, Co Meath, the site of at least two Dark-Age hillforts. Standing close to the statue is Lia Fail or 'The Stone of Destiny' where the high kings of Ireland were crowned. In the 5th century CE St Patrick came here and founded an oratory. A ruined ch...

Hill Of Tara
Hill Of Tara submitted by jeffrep : Some of the many large Iron Age earthworks scattered throughout the Hill of Tara site.

Hill Of Tara
Hill Of Tara submitted by jeffrep : One of two standing stones near entrance to Hill of Tara.

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"Hill of Tara" | Login/Create an Account | 31 News and Comments
  
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Re: Tara by Anonymous on Tuesday, 19 September 2023
I visited Hill of Tara in 2017, my first trip to Ireland. As a "geomagnetic empath" and a dowser, I feel spiritually guided to certain mountains, ley lines, megalithic sites. At Tara I felt drawn to the lower Teach Cormaic ring. As I approached I circled clockwise and I swear a spirit grabbed my shoulders and turned me to enter the ring at the East side facing west, and stepped almost to the center. A great column of spiritual light entered directly into the earth for a few moments like a download from another dimension into the crystalline earth. The spirit spun me around to exit the ring at the same eastern point I had entered it, like an energetic gate is there. Also of note was the large crystals marking a path up from the church, the sphere would be at your left and the pointed one at the right, a Meridian polarization/body balancing, energy enhancing put in place by someone with higher esoteric knowledge or intuitive awareness. Love and Light to All.
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Re: Tara by Anonymous on Sunday, 21 May 2017
http://rmchapple.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/burial-40-mound-of-hostages-tara.html?m=1
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Artefact versus architecture: the use of space in Irish passage tombs - Robert Hensey by Andy B on Wednesday, 08 February 2017
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Artefact versus architecture: the use of space in Irish passage tombs by Robert Hensey

This paper examines the relationship between interpretation and material culture in the Irish passage tomb tradition. Specifically, it asks whether the finds of human bone and associated artefacts from passage tombs or the built structures themselves should take precedence when interpreting the role of these monuments. It is proposed that just as finds have the potential to illuminate the past, they have an equal capacity to deflect us from past realities – a point that is sometimes insufficiently considered by archaeologists.

Though the deposition of human remains may have been central to the construction of passage tombs, it is equally possible they had only a partial role in the activities associated with these spaces. If we consider space as the primary arbiter when interpreting the role of these sites, then it becomes possible to consider other ways that passage tombs may have been used.

Publication Date: Jan 2015
Publication Name: Préhistoires Méditerranéennes
https://www.academia.edu/1314864/ (free registration required)
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Re: Hill of Tara by jeffrep on Tuesday, 03 August 2010
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For the record, the description of the Hill of Tara site belongs to Anthony Weir.
Mr. Weir's words are his, although the format of the Hill of Tara's webpage make it appear that they have been "Submitted by jeffrep." Not so.
ONLY the photos have been submitted by jeffrep.
The words are Anthony Weir's.
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Re: ‘Irish Heritage Rights Survey Launch to Coincide with Tara UNESCO Nomination’ by Condros on Sunday, 01 August 2010
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WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE ??? With all those who have made money off of Ireland's ancient heritage, in books, movies, music and yes in it's politics as well. It has been said Ireland has lost it's "SOUL" when it adopted the euro, now it's big roads, more cash, and easy access to large cities. Maybe everyone should keep this in mind in contemplating a trip to Ireland, and BOYCOTT IT !!! Without the tourism cash, just maybe those in government might pay more attention to the reason so many want to come to see Ireland's ancient heritage, and not more big motorways and Mc Donald's, Burger King's, and the rest of the tacky garbage that so many other areas of Europe have "adopted".
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    Re: ‘Irish Heritage Rights Survey Launch to Coincide with Tara UNESCO Nomination’ by Runemage on Friday, 13 August 2010
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    Hi Condros,
    I think we all got outraged, protested and signed as many petitions as we could several years ago and it made absolutely no difference, the Irish Government took no notice. Contractors bulldozed protestors and archaeological treasures alike, nothing could stop the new road. Not even investigations into the financing of it. It opened on 4th June 2010.
    The next site to have "road improvements" near it is Newgrange, same scenario, threat to undisturbed archaeology that just may unlock the secrets of the mound-builders vs the official view that the mound itself will not be disturbed so there's no problem.

    From tarawatch :-
    "Irish writer Colm Tóibín said the desecration of the landscape around Tara was shameful, short-sighted and beyond belief. “In a time when Ireland needs places which have a sacred aura and a special beauty more than ever, it is sad to see those who have misruled our country ganging up on our heritage,” he said.
    Vincent Salafia, of TaraWatch, said activists have been completely vindicated in their campaign against the route of this road. “The majority of Irish people, including most of our leading artists, as well as the EU and the major international archaeological bodies, have condemned it.The same reckless disregard for ethics, rights and regulation that brought down the economy, was employed to bulldoze this road through,” he said. The motorway opened to traffic at 4pm today. There are tolls at Dunshaughlin and Clonee and one at Grange between Navan and Kells. The cost will be 1.30 for each toll."
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‘Irish Heritage Rights Survey Launch to Coincide with Tara UNESCO Nomination’ by Andy B on Thursday, 29 July 2010
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TaraWatch and Save Newgrange, in conjunction with a University of California, Berkeley, human rights lawyer, Matt Schwoebel, are have launched a heritage rights survey online at http://www.kwiksurveys.com/online-survey.php?surveyID=KMDLFL_c0819902&UID=3198604026

The launch coincides with the opening of the 34th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which opens in Brazil today.

The Hill of Tara is being nominated at the UNESCO meeting, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, by Ireland, along with a number of other sites, despite the fact that the M3 motorway has just opened in the middle of the proposed site. Bru na Boinne is under threat from the N2 Slane bypass, which will pass within 500 metres of the existing World Heritage Site, and impact over 44 related sites.

The survey asks Irish people if they believe their heritage is being adequately protected, and if they feel their human rights to heritage are being violated, particularly with regards to the treatment of the Hill of Tara and Bru na Boinne. The results will form part of a complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch and Save Newgrange said:

“Many Irish people feel their human rights to heritage and culture are being continuously violated by the Irish Government, and we are offering them a chance to do something about it.

“We are launching this survey today to protest against the cynical way in which the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, has waited over three years, until the M3 motorway was opened two months ago, to nominate Tara as a UNESCO Site and ask for UN protection.

“We are also asking the UN to intervene immediately and address the threat to Bru na Boinne World Heritage Site, since the Minister Gormley supports the bypass route, and has also delayed delivery the new National Monuments Act by two years, meaning planning permission for the N2 can be granted before stronger protections are put in place,” he said.

Matt Schwoebel of UC Berkeley said:

We are asking the UN Human Rights Committee to issue recommendations to the Republic of Ireland concerning its human rights obligations to protect Irish peoples’ rights to family, privacy, judicial remedy, religion, peaceful assembly and freedom of expression in conjunction with ancestral heritage sites.

More at http://www.tarawatch.org/
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Controversial motorway in Ireland is 90% complete by coldrum on Thursday, 01 October 2009
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Controversial motorway in Ireland is 90% complete

The controversial M3 motorway in Co Meath (Ireland), which has been
the subject of several years of protests, is now almost 90 per cent
complete, the National Roads Authority (NRA) has said. At almost 60km
of main motorway and a further 40km of link roads and interchanges,
the it is one of the longest motorways under construction in Europe.
The M3 is not scheduled to open until July 2010. Work could still
finish ahead of this scheduled date, but not before mid-spring next
year, the NRA said.
Controversially, the route runs just over 2km from the Hill of
Tara, and adjacent to the Lismullin national monument and the hill
fort of Rath Lugh. Protesters have occupied these latter two sites,
blocking the road's construction at various times in recent years,
most memorably in March last year when conservationist Lisa Feeney
shut herself inside a chamber at the bottom of a 33-foot tunnel at
Rath Lugh for 60 hours. No protesters are currently blocking or
picketing any part of the motorway, and Vincent Salafia of Tarawatch
said that such action is unlikely to recur. "The frontline part of the
campaign is pretty much over. There are people still protesting in the
area, but not on the front line of the road. At this stage any protest
on the road would be a largely symbolic gesture, but that doesn't mean
the campaign is over."
Recent changes to the criminal trespass laws had made such
protests more difficult, Mr Salafia said, but he said Tarawatch was
continuing to campaign against the road and hoped it might still be
moved, even after its construction. Moving the road would be a
possibility particularly if the Hill of Tara received Unesco World
Heritage designation, Mr Salafia said. Tarawatch was also continuing
to bring complaints against the NRA to EU bodies in relation to the
destruction of ancient archaeology and heritage. Mr Salafia has
criticised the cost to the taxpayer of the motorway. However, NRA
spokesman Seán O'Neill said Mr Salafia's claims were a distortion of
the facts.
From ground level on top of the Hill of Tara, the new road
cannot be discerned. The current N3 is visible, but the new motorway
will be slightly further away and the NRA says it will not be visible
from Tara. However, no cars currently travel the motorway and there is
no lighting, which might in time make the road more apparent from the
hill. The proximity of the motorway to the Rath Lugh hill fort is far
more stark. The road does not go through the fort, but skirts it
incredibly closely, to the extent that a 'crib wall' has been
constructed against the fort wall to secure the earthen structure. The
road also skirts the national monument at Lismullin. As this site has
already been preserved and covered by a farm access road, nothing
remains to be seen.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0916/1224254649436.html
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New codes to protect archaeological sites by coldrum on Sunday, 28 June 2009
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New codes to protect archaeological sites

NEW MOVES to improve archaeological protection on major building projects were announced yesterday. The new codes of practice will apply to all new infrastructural projects such as motorways, power lines and wind farms.

Their introduction follows a surge in business in recent years among firms involved in archaeological surveys and excavations due to the State’s motorway programme.

More recently the archaeology industry has received a renewed surge in business due to the number of applications for wind farms.

Developed jointly by the ESB, Eirgrid, the Irish Concrete Federation and the Department of Environment, the new codes will allow work to improve infrastructure while “addressing archaeological implications in a structured manner, sensitive to the need to protect archaeological sites and monuments”.

Launching the codes yesterday, Minister for the Environment John Gormley said the organisations involved had shown a strong commitment to the conservation of archaeology in their plans and to an overall approach that is sustainable and sensitive to Ireland’s unique heritage.

He added: “The codes show that development and conservation can go hand in hand . . . “Being pro-heritage does not equate to being anti-development.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0625/1224249509976.html
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Group calls for Gormley resignation by coldrum on Sunday, 28 June 2009
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Group calls for Gormley resignation

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Governement John Gormley must resign due to his failure to protect Irish heritage sites, representatives of the Save Tara campaign have said.

Members of TaraWatch, the organisation which runs the campaign, held a protest outside Custom House in Dublin today to voice their dissatisfaction with the minister, who they say has reneged on promises to nominate Irish cultural areas such at the Hill of Tara, the Burren and Clonmacnoise to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which meets in Seville today.

"He has totally reneged on his statutory duties to protect Irish heritage and the Irish environment," said spokesman for the campaign Vincent Salafia.

The group was also critical of the minister's decision to demolish the Lismullin national monument in order to make way for further developments to the M3 motorway. The move has led to the European Commission bringing a case against Ireland to the European Court of Justice, alleging that the Government here has failed to implement the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive.

Mr Salafia is confident that the European Commission will be successful in the case and said that "by failing to let the EU or UNESCO protect Irish heritage sites, John Gormley has done the exact opposite of what a Minister for the Environment is supposed to do."

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0623/breaking46.htm
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Deterioration of Monuments in Northern Ireland by coldrum on Friday, 26 June 2009
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Deterioration of Monuments in Northern Ireland

The results and recommendations of the ’Condition and Management Survey of the Archaeological Resource’ (CAMSAR), in Northern Ireland, have just been summarised in the Summer 2009 issue of ‘Archaeology Ireland‘. Damage to historic and prehistoric monuments is sometimes noticed, but more often takes place ‘under the radar‘, so this type of information is vital to an understanding of how our Heritage is faring and where the danger points exist. Some care should, of course, be exercised in applying data, specific to a sample of one area, to the rest of the U.K. and Ireland, however it would be surprising if the results were not broadly representative – see below, an image from a site in the Republic.

Commencing in 2004, a random sample of 1500 Northern Irish sites were visited. Their condition and any present or possible threat to that condition was recorded, and this information was compared to the site files in the Sites and Monuments Record (NISMR). Among the findings were the following, here numbered 1 to 3:

(1) “In general, sites located on arable, improved grassland and those within urban areas had the worst rates of survival and were in the poorest condition. Those located on unimproved grasslands, within woodlands and within wetlands survived best. For example, 74% of sites in woodland have survived well, while only 13% of sites on arable land can be so described.”

The other relevant percentages were; 21% for monuments on improved grassland, 53% on wetlands and 65% on unimproved grassland.

(2) “Over 90% of sites that had special protection through State Care, Scheduling or Agri-Environmental agreements were in good condition – a clear indication of the success of these protective measures”

(3) 26.5% of all sites sampled had suffered damage within the previous 5 years, but:

“When one focuses on sites that were largely complete, substantial or had some definable features, it was found that a much higher figure – 48% – had been damaged in the previous five years. Agricultural activity was identified as being the main cause of such damage, along with the growth of vegetation.”

The identification of the most threatening area types, as landscapes where the levels of human and animal activity were highest, is not surprising, but the 48% (recent damage) figure is disappointing in the extreme. Granted the aforementioned reservation about over-applying the results of the sample, it is nonetheless implicit in these figures that about a quarter of all U.K. and Irish sites may have deteriorated structurally in this five year period, this figure rising to a half when the more complete sites are considered.

Even the special protection statistic , though heartening at 90%, shows that a tenth of all protected sites were not in good condition, an analysis that could well be applied to the national monument at Bremore, Co. Dublin (see below).

Every effort has to be made to engage with landowners, particularly in heavily managed landscapes, but also where scrub overgrowth is an issue. More sites may need the security of special protection in these areas. Any serious damage, anywhere, must be exposed, lest it lead to destruction.

Gormley, S., Donnelly, C., Hartwell, B. & Bell, J. 2009 Monumental Change? in Archaeology Ireland Vol. 23 No.2 Issue No.88, 11-13 ISSN 0790-892x

http://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2009/06/12/deterioration-of-monuments-in-northern-ireland/
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Wood you believe it? Stonehenge find at Tara by coldrum on Wednesday, 17 June 2009
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Wood you believe it? Stonehenge find at Tara


SCIENTISTS have unearthed what appears to be a mammoth wooden version of the famous Stonehenge monument at the Hill of Tara.

In a revealing new RTE documentary, many theories and insights into the country's prehistoric past and 150,000 ancient monuments are unveiled and explained.

For the first time, people will be able to view a computer-generated recreation of what archaeologists believe was a major wooden structure -- a version of Britain's Stonehenge -- at the ancient seat of the Irish high kings in the Hill of Tara in Co Meath.

Archaeologist Joe Fenwick revealed a LiDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging) laser beam had been used to scan the ground surface to create a three-dimensional map, which revealed more than 30 monuments around Tara.

Using another technique -- described as taking an X-ray through the hillside -- archaeologists discovered the huge monument, a ditch stretching six metres wide and three metres deep in the bedrock.

The ditch, circling the Mound of the Hostages passage tomb, separated the outside world from the ceremonial centre of Tara.

It was believed the ancient architects had also surrounded the ditch with a massive wooden structure on each side -- a version of Stonehenge -- on a large scale. Its sheer size meant a whole forest would have had to be cleared to build it.

"In scale, it is comparable, for example, to Croke Park's pitch. The Hill of Tara had enormous ritual significance over the course of 5,000-6,000 years, so it's not surprising that you get monuments of the scale of the ditch pit circle," said Mr Fenwick, from the Department of Archaeology, NUI Galway.

Cutting-edge technology is helping to provide a new insight into the lives of our ancestors, according to the documentary makers behind 'Secrets of the Stones'.

Civilisation

It shows Ireland's first civilisation began 7,000 years ago, they withstood major climatic changes and voyaged throughout Europe, returning with new religions and mementos.

An RTE spokesman said the broadcaster, along with the Department of Education, would be sending two free copies of the book accompanying the series to all second-level schools in the country.

The first part of the 'Secrets of the Stones' will be shown on RTE One at 6.30pm on Easter Monday.

- Louise Hogan
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/wood-you-believe-it-stonehenge-find-at-tara-1706040.html
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Re: Tara’s Last Stand? They are still building motorways...!? by Anonymous on Tuesday, 17 March 2009
I have lived near this hill as part of the protest at the M3 in the past and I just wanted to vent my anger at the Irish governments total disregard for their heritage. They have raped the valley and destroyed countless monuments under the cover of darkness. i have personally witnessed the complete destruction of a fogou by road workers that couldn't be bothered to report it as the important sacred monument that it was. Disgusting mindless desecration of our sacred sites.

I hope the workers have a guilty conscience forever.

Get off my henge !!
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Tara’s Last Stand? They are still building motorways...!? by Anonymous on Thursday, 19 March 2009
    Quite right - they are money grabbing destructors of our heritage. Let's string them up from lamp posts . . .
    [ Reply to This ]

Smithsonian lists Tara in Top 15 Endangered Sites by bat400 on Monday, 16 March 2009
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Submitted by coldrum ---
ONE OF the most respected educational and research institutes in the United States has listed the Hill of Tara among the 15 must-see endangered cultural treasures in the world. The Tara complex in Co Meath, the ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland, has been the subject of controversy because of the nearby construction of the M3 motorway.

The March edition of the magazine published by Washington’s Smithsonian Institution says “the clang of construction equipment can be heard at the Co Meath site nowadays. The Smithsonian features 14 other “precious historic and artistic sites” around the world which, it says, “... might be gone tomorrow”.

“Each testifies to our urge to build and create; each reminds us of how much we stand to lose,” says the Smithsonian.

Other sites listed include the reputed birthplace of Jesus Christ, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem; Chan Chan in Peru, the largest city in the Americas about 600 years ago; and the crumbling Route 66 across the US.

Campaigners say the M3 will cut through one of Ireland’s most important historical sites, but the National Roads Authority says the new motorway will be farther away from the hill than the existing route. The motorway is scheduled to be finished in the middle of next year.

Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch, who is quoted in the Smithsonian article, said it “should send a clear message to both the Irish Government, and Unesco, that they cannot proceed with inscribing the Hill of Tara as a world heritage site, unless the M3 is rerouted.”

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum complex and research organisation.



For more, see the Irish Times.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Smithsonian lists Tara in Top 15 Endangered Sites by Anonymous on Tuesday, 17 March 2009
    I almost cried reading this - the Irish governement deserve everything they get - they are land raping b******s and i hope they rot in whatever form of hell they go to.

    I hate them for the permanent damage they have allowed.

    My anger will only grow and grow . . .
    [ Reply to This ]

Tara proposed as Unesco world heritage site by bat400 on Saturday, 14 March 2009
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Submitted by coldrum:

The Hill of Tara is among a number of sites which have been nominated for inclusion on the country's list of possible United Nation world heritage sites.

Campaigners against the route of the M3 motorway in Co Meath have joined with heritage groups in submitting proposals to an advisory group set up by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government John Gormley, to review the list of Irish sites.

The existing tentative nomination list for world heritage sites dates back to 1992 and includes Killarney National Park, the Burren and Clonmacnoise.

Deadlines for submissions for inclusion on the revised list close today.

Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch said: "We have nominated Tara to be a World Heritage Site, but only on condition that the M3 motorway is re-routed first."

"It would be a breach of the World Heritage Convention for Unesco to approve Tara, with the M3 going through the site," he said.

Tarawatch and the Campaign to Save Tara have said the Hill of Tara complex qualifies for World Heritage status.

Campaigners believe that if they can have the site designated as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) site, then changes would have to be made to the route of the controversial motorway, which runs close to the Hill.

“We’d love it if the whole area was chosen to be a world heritage site but because of the destruction that has been caused by the work on the M3, there is a worry that it might be refused," said Dr Muireann Ni Bhrolchain of the Campaign to Save Tara group.

Minister Gormley has previously said he supported the plan to have the Hill of Tara considered as a world heritage site as a means of preventing future development in the vicinity of the site.

There are currently three Unesco world heritage sites on the island of Ireland. These include The Giant’s Causeway in Co Antrim, Brú na Bóinne in Co Meath which include the neolithic monuments of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, and Skellig Michael in CO Kerry.



For more, see the Irish Times.
[ Reply to This ]

Hill of Tara by bat400 on Saturday, 14 March 2009
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The following comment has been consolidated from a duplicate site listing:
by jeffrep on Friday, 22 August 2008, http://www.saintsandstones.net.

Condition: 4
Ambience: 5
Access: 4
Accuracy:
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    Re: Hill of Tara by bat400 on Saturday, 14 March 2009
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    The following comment has been consolidated from a duplicate site listing:
    by Anonymous on Monday, 01 September 2008

    I have been conducting research into the fate of the diaspora Israelites and the journey of christ.

    Not all but some research gives the Hill of Tara as the place where the Ark of the Covenant with God is hidden.

    I have no idea whether this true, but given the increase in actions by men of evil at this time, it seems a sinister coincidence that this site is under threat by the very type of capitalist/evil temple so reviled by christ.

    Worth a thought do you think?...
    [ Reply to This ]

Tara’s Last Stand? They are still building motorways...!? by bat400 on Saturday, 14 March 2009
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This comment is being consolidated from a duplicate site listing:
by coldrum on Thursday, 26 July 2007

An open letter to all who are interested in the defence of the earth and the standing-up to power. Please forward, copy, or circulate.

Place: Tara Valley, Hill of Tara, County Meath, Republic of Ireland
Time: NOW
History: Tara Hill and Valley are part of an ancient temple complex of earthworks, henges, raths (forts), and souterrains (underground tomb chambers). Many of the works pre-date the pyramids. Tara was used as the crowning place of the old high kings of Ireland. It is still in use for ceremonies today, and is particularly associated with Samhain (Hallowe’en).

Threat: The Irish government have sanctioned a route through the Tara valley of the M3 motorway. This road will be tolled, is the least-favourable of the five options available according to principles of road-building and economic sense, will ’save’ fifteen minutes of time to the M50 bottleneck (British M25 equivalent) during the morning rush hour to Dublin, and is being sited on a stretch of road that is not even that busy. A gigantic complex of shopping malls is planned at an interchange, due to be sited 1000 yards from the Hill of Tara. Many ancient monuments have already been destroyed. Many more new and unusual findings DUG UP DURING THE EXCAVATION OF THE LAND FOR THE ROAD have been either recorded by record’ (ie made a note of in a book and destroyed) or are being stored in warehouses. Such ancient artefacts dug up include human bones from old graves.

Actions to date: Around ten to twelve regular people have taken it in shifts for the past year in keeping an unbroken vigil fire and camp burning on Tara Hill. These people have held up the progress of the road by direct action, including digger-diving thus far.

Current Situation: The European Parliament (EU) has told the Irish Government that the work they are doing is illegal and to cease immediately. Just after this was announced in the press, many more diggers and machines were sent, on Wednesday July 18th, to a monument on the site known as ‘Soldier’s Hill’ for the road company to establish a compound. Having recruited many more drivers, and turned them into nominal security guards for the day, the company deployed its staff to aggressively remove all protestors from site. Seven protestors were arrested for not following a policeman‘s orders and public order offences. Three were bailed at 500 Euros, with the condition they cease to go to the sites to protest. A further four refused those bail conditions and were remanded on a week’s custody at Clover Hill prison, Dublin, until a court case pending Wednesday July 25th. Internet footage of the high levels of violence utilised by the road company’s men surprised even the long-term campaigners at Rossport, used to dealing with such intimidation.
The Last Stand: A court case is pending in the EU court, but the road company, aiming to save on much lost time and money has started a big push, and has now reached the part of the route where a gigantic WOODHENGE was unearthed during the excavation. This site is currently being ‘recorded by record’ by state-appointed archaeologists. Their work is SAID to need another two to three weeks to complete. The EU court case is due mid-to-late August The Henge is looking like the site of the last stand. The company has drafted in round-the-clock security. The Irish Police has said it will arrest anyone found on site, even if they are merely mounting a peaceful protest. The road company and the Irish Government have continued destroying monuments, even before the ‘recording by record’ process has finished. There are currently around ten to twenty protestors on site.

A Plea: If anyone out there has it in their heart, time, space, trip, whatever to come and lend a hand, the following three general areas would love to be catered for:

1. DIRECT ACTION: anyone with

Read the rest of this post...
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Tara’s Last Stand? They are still building motorways...!? by coldrum on Thursday, 26 July 2007
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An open letter to all who are interested in the defence of the earth and the standing-up to power. Please forward, copy, or circulate.

Place: Tara Valley, Hill of Tara, County Meath, Republic of Ireland
Time: NOW
History: Tara Hill and Valley are part of an ancient temple complex of earthworks, henges, raths (forts), and souterrains (underground tomb chambers). Many of the works pre-date the pyramids. Tara was used as the crowning place of the old high kings of Ireland. It is still in use for ceremonies today, and is particularly associated with Samhain (Hallowe’en).

Threat: The Irish government have sanctioned a route through the Tara valley of the M3 motorway. This road will be tolled, is the least-favourable of the five options available according to principles of road-building and economic sense, will ’save’ fifteen minutes of time to the M50 bottleneck (British M25 equivalent) during the morning rush hour to Dublin, and is being sited on a stretch of road that is not even that busy. A gigantic complex of shopping malls is planned at an interchange, due to be sited 1000 yards from the Hill of Tara. Many ancient monuments have already been destroyed. Many more new and unusual findings DUG UP DURING THE EXCAVATION OF THE LAND FOR THE ROAD have been either recorded by record’ (ie made a note of in a book and destroyed) or are being stored in warehouses. Such ancient artefacts dug up include human bones from old graves.

Actions to date: Around ten to twelve regular people have taken it in shifts for the past year in keeping an unbroken vigil fire and camp burning on Tara Hill. These people have held up the progress of the road by direct action, including digger-diving thus far.

Current Situation: The European Parliament (EU) has told the Irish Government that the work they are doing is illegal and to cease immediately. Just after this was announced in the press, many more diggers and machines were sent, on Wednesday July 18th, to a monument on the site known as ‘Soldier’s Hill’ for the road company to establish a compound. Having recruited many more drivers, and turned them into nominal security guards for the day, the company deployed its staff to aggressively remove all protestors from site. Seven protestors were arrested for not following a policeman‘s orders and public order offences. Three were bailed at 500 Euros, with the condition they cease to go to the sites to protest. A further four refused those bail conditions and were remanded on a week’s custody at Clover Hill prison, Dublin, until a court case pending Wednesday July 25th. Internet footage of the high levels of violence utilised by the road company’s men surprised even the long-term campaigners at Rossport, used to dealing with such intimidation.

The Last Stand: A court case is pending in the EU court, but the road company, aiming to save on much lost time and money has started a big push, and has now reached the part of the route where a gigantic WOODHENGE was unearthed during the excavation. This site is currently being ‘recorded by record’ by state-appointed archaeologists. Their work is SAID to need another two to three weeks to complete. The EU court case is due mid-to-late August The Henge is looking like the site of the last stand. The company has drafted in round-the-clock security. The Irish Police has said it will arrest anyone found on site, even if they are merely mounting a peaceful protest. The road company and the Irish Government have continued destroying monuments, even before the ‘recording by record’ process has finished. There are currently around ten to twenty protestors on site.

A Plea: If anyone out there has it in their heart, time, space, trip, whatever to come and lend a hand, the following three general areas would love to be catered for:

1. DIRECT ACTION: anyone with any experience of, enjoyment in doing and a continued desire to do locking-on, tree-house building, ropeway-slinging

Read the rest of this post...
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Settlement of the Hill of Tara / M3 case by Anonymous on Thursday, 07 June 2007
Just looking at davidmorgan's pictures. Good to seethat the Incas were active at Tara in prehistoric times!
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    Re: Settlement of the Hill of Tara / M3 case by davidmorgan on Friday, 15 June 2007
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    Yes, it does appear that the string(whole word) search has gone a bit haywire.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Settlement of the Hill of Tara / M3 case by Anonymous on Thursday, 07 June 2007
There's a piece in today's Times about this.
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Re: Settlement of the Hill of Tara / M3 case by Andy B on Thursday, 07 June 2007
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Over the years it has been proposed that the carvings on the orthostat
within The Mound of the Hostages are art work, celestial representations or
even a calendar. However, a regular visitor to this site has theorized that
they actually correspond to the monuments on the Hill of Tara.

While this theory has yet to be confirmed, it offers a rather interesting
view of how Tara may have really evolved and suggests that it played a far
more important role than previously thought. If correct, it would further
support the argument that Tara, like Newgrange and Knowth, should be named a
World Heritage Site.

Read the full article at http://www.knowth.com/tara-orthostat.htm

Best Wishes,
Michael
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Settlement of the Hill of Tara / M3 case by coldrum on Wednesday, 17 January 2007
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Today I am pleased to announce that a settlement has been formalised
before the Supreme Court in my case against the Minister for the
Environment, Heritage and Local Government; The Attorney General; Meath
County Council; and the National Roads Authority, regarding the
excavation and planned construction of the M3 motorway through the Hill
of Tara archaeological complex.

I have accepted an offer from the Defendants to settle these particular
proceedings after receiving legal advice from my Senior Counsel, Mr Ger
Hogan SC, and Mr Frank Callanan SC, that it was in the best interests
the campaign to preserve the integrity of the Tara complex. Thus, I
have withdrawn my Supreme Court appeal in return for their agreement
not to pursue me personally for costs, estimated in the region of
600,000 euros. The path is now clear for fresh legal challenges to the
M3 at Tara by independent third parties, one of which is understood to
be under way.

I took judicial review of the May 2005 decision of the Minister for the
Environment, Dick Roche, within the 8 week time limit, and was granted
leave by Justice Peart in July 2005. But the hearing was postponed by
the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan, in
anticipation of the then pending Supreme Court ruling in the
Carrickmines Castle / M50 case. Finally, the hearing went ahead
regardless in January 2006, after the Carrickmines ruling was postponed
for a third time.

>From the very first day of trial my case sank into a procedural
quagmire, when Mr Justice Tom Smyth refused to accept affidavits and
threw them back over the bench at us. The case then unravelled when he
refused our motion for oral cross-examination of witnesses, and
critical evidence, was excluded. The excluded evidence went to the
heart of the case, and we were unable to legally prove that new
national monuments had been discovered.

Expert evidence from Discovery Programme Experts, Conor Newman, Joe
Fenwick and Edel Bhreatnach, alleged that many of the newly discovered
38 sites between Navan and Dunshaughin are national monuments because
they lie within the Tara complex. In addition, they alleged that 2
particular monuments, at Baronstown and Collierstown in the Tara/Skryne
valley, are national monuments in their own right. However, at the
commencement of proceedings they decided not to support an application
for an injunction, but rather let the matter go directly to full
hearing on the merits, in order not to hold up the M3 unnecessarily.

With these national monuments now under imminent threat of demolition,
and excavations due to end in early 2007, time is of the essence. The
best result we could have hoped for in the Supreme Court in my case was
a rehearing in the High Court, followed by another Supreme Court
appeal. However, any new Plaintiff would be able to make an
application for an injunction immediately.

The substance of my case will now be brought directly to the
Environment Directorate of the European Union and I am petitioning the
EU to take legal action directly against Ireland for breaches of EU
law. The evidence will show how the NRA has systematically underplayed
the extent and significance of the Tara archaeological complex, in
light of the fact that the Environmental Impact Assessment only
identified 5 out of 38 sites.

The campaign will cotinue in earnest and I will remain Legal Affairs
spokesperson for TaraWatch and continue to seek a political solution,
as well as a legal solution, in light of the upcoming General Election
and the fact that 70% of voters surveyed last year wanted the M3
rerouted.

TaraWatch has recently been contact

Read the rest of this post...
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NRA looks to June 2007 start to biggest ever road project by coldrum on Wednesday, 17 January 2007
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THE ‘Battle of Tara’ is over.


The last legal obstacle to the long-delayed M3 motorway has been
removed and work on the project will start in June of next year
following an agreement by an environmental campaigner to end a legal
action blocking the road’s construction.

The news got a warm welcome across the political spectrum yesterday
(Tuesday) and was described as a major boost to the creation of
infrastructure in the county which would draw inward investment.

Mr Salafia’s retreat from legal action - signalled in the Meath
Chronicle last week - had been rumoured in the past 10 days. He said on
Tuesday that he was pleased to announce that a settlement had been
reached before the Supreme Court in his case against the Minister for
the Environment, the Attorney General, Meath County Council and the NRA
regarding the excavation and planned construction of the M3 “through
the Hill of Tara archaeological complex.”

He said he had accepted an offer from the other parties to settle the
proceedings after advice from his lawyers that it was in the best
interests of the campaign to preserve the integrity of the Tara
complex.

In the agreement, he has agreed to withdraw his Supreme Court appeal in
return for their pledge not to pursue him personally for costs,
estimated to be s600,000.

Ominously, Mr Salafia said that the path was now clear for fresh legal
challenges to the M3 at Tara by independent third parties, “one of
which is understood to be under way.” However, the NRA said this week
that it knew nothing of any further legal actions against the project.

Mr Salafia had taken a judicial review of the 2005 decision of the
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche and was granted leave by
Justice Peart in July last year.

The hearing had been postponed by the president of the High Court, Mr
Justice Joe Finnegan, in anticipation of the then pending Supreme Court
ruling in the Carrickmines Castle/M50 case. The hearing went ahead in
January 2005 after the Carrickmines had been postponed for a third
time.

He said that the best result campaigners could have hoped for in the
Supreme Court was a rehearing in the High Court, followed by another
Supreme Court appeal. The substance of his case would now be brought
directly to the Environment Directorate of the European Union and he
was petitioning the EU to take legal action directly against Ireland
for breaches of EU law.

The total length of the N3 from Clonee to north of Kells swill be
around 60km and cover 700 hectares of land. It will be by far the
biggest ever road project ever undertaken in the county. The scheme
includes 60km of mainline and 50km of ancillary and access roads. The
NRA said that some archaeological work had been undertaken but other
major excavation would now take place in preparation for the start-up
of the project “post-May 2007.”

The removal of legal blockages to the construction of the M3 got a warm
reception across the political spectrum.

The Mayor of Navan, Colr Tommy Reilly, said that the news that the way
was now open for the building of the M3 was “brilliant.”

He added: “It is long overdue and just what we need to bring business
in County Meath. It should be a major boost in bringing industry in. It
will also help us to service properly the needs of people who have come
to live in the county.”

He said that it was imperative that all interests in the county would
now push for the railway line. This was a vital link in creating the
infrastructure which would ensure that Meath was able to avail of
inward investment.


Read the rest of this post...
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Re: Tara by Andy B on Friday, 22 November 2002
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Scores of new monuments have been uncovered at the Hill of Tara in County Meath, one of Ireland's most ancient religious and archaeological locations, but the area is now threatened by major motorway plans.

The site, near Navan, County Meath, was the original cultural capital of Ireland, and still attracts thousands of history-seeking visitors each year.

But now experts attempting to unearth the secrets of the region have been outraged by plans to steer a 21st century motorway through the area.

Tara was once the most powerful of Ireland`s five kingdoms and tribal disputes as well as peace and defence issues were once settled there at national assemblies held every three years.

But its importance diminished as Christianity became established in Ireland and little now remains to indicate the area`s one-time eminence.




More: http://u.tv
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Hill of Tara Update - Huge Temple Found! by Anonymous on Friday, 22 November 2002
A HUGE temple, once surrounded by about 300 huge posts made from an entire oak forest, has been discovered directly beneath the Hill of Tara in Co Meath. Conor Newman, an archaeology lecturer at NUI Galway, said the discovery at the ancient site made sense of the positioning of other graves and monuments in the area.

Mr Newman, who has been working on the Hill of Tara under the State-funded Discovery Programme since 1992, was delighted by the find. "It fills a very important place in the jigsaw because it allows us to make sense of the distribution of other monuments all around it."

The Discovery Programme, set up under the auspices of the Heritage Council, carried out a survey of the Hill of Tara between 1992 and 1996 when Mr Newman was director.When Mr Newman moved to Galway he continued to be involved in the project Using sophisticated technology, he and his team of experts mapped what was underground.

The work was slow and tedious because it yielded such a huge amount of information.What they uncovered eventually at the crown of the hill was a huge, oval-shaped monument measuring about 170 metres at its widest point. Around it are 300 post holes measuring two metres wide, indicating a massive human effort involved in the construction."We think it probably dates from 2500 to 2300BC and still had a big physical presence even after the posts were taken out or rotted," Mr Newman said.

Posted by wicca_ws
Source: The Irish Examiner
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Tara by Anonymous on Saturday, 07 April 2001
A new statue of St Patrick has bee erected outside the church wall and the old one has been removed. The site for its importance is unspoiled with very little commercialisation.
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