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the Hill of Tara (Temair)

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Valkyrie
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« on: February 19, 2007, 07:50:40 pm »

The Hill of Tara, known as Temair in gaeilge, was once the ancient seat of power in Ireland – 142 kings are said to have reigned there in prehistoric and historic times. In ancient Irish religion and mythology Temair was the sacred place of dwelling for the gods, and was the entrance to the otherworld. Saint Patrick is said to have come to Tara to confront the ancient religion of the pagans at its most powerful site.

 
 One interpretation of the name Tara says that it means a "place of great prospect" and indeed on a clear day it is claimed that features in half the counties of Ireland can be seen from atop Tara. In the distance to the northwest can be seen the brilliant white quartz front of Newgrange and further north lies the Hill of Slane, where according to legend St. Patrick lit his Pascal fire prior to his visit to Tara in 433 AD.
 

Early in the 20th century a group of Israelites came to Tara with the conviction that the Arc of the Covenant was buried in on the famous hill. They dug the Mound of the Synods in search of the Arc but found only some Roman coins. Official excavation in the 1950s revealed circles of post holes, indicating the construction of substantial buildings here. A new theory suggests Tara was the ancient capital of the lost kingdom of Atlantis. The mythical land of Atlantis was Ireland, according to a new book.

There are a large number of monuments and earthen structures on the Hill of Tara. The earliest settlement at the site was in the Neolithic, and the Mound of the Hostages was constructed in or around 2500BC. There are over thirty monuments which are visible, and probably as many again which have no visible remains on the surface but which have been detected using special non-intrusive archaeological techniques and aerial photography. A huge temple measuring 170 metres and made of over 300 wooden posts, was discovered recently at Tara. Only two monuments at Tara have been excavated - The Mound of the Hostages in the 1950s, and the Rath of the Synods at the turn of the 19th-20th Centuries.
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Valkyrie
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« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2007, 07:52:03 pm »


 Map of the Hill of Tara (Temair)

This map of the monuments on the Hill of Tara is based on an old map drawn in the 1830s. It shows just how many monuments are situated in the area. Some areas of the map are clickable and will open up pictures of the various monuments.

A number of ancient stories relate how five great roadways radiated from Tara. One story names them - Slige Midlúachra, Slige Asail, Slige Chualann, Slige Dala and Slige Mór. One of these, Slige Chualann, is shown on the map above. There are a number of disused roads which converge at Tara, but it is not known if these are the same routes mentioned in antiquity.

NOTE: This map was used as the label illustration on the 2003 CD album "Two Horizons", by Moya Brennan. The map was used with permission of www.mythicalireland.com, and credited in the inlay card.
 http://www.mythicalireland.com/ancientsites/tara/index.html
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« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2007, 07:53:58 pm »

The Stone of Destiny
 
 Sitting on top of the King's Seat (Forradh) of Temair is the most famous of Tara's monuments - Ireland's ancient coronation stone - the Lia Fail or "Stone of Destiny", which was brought here according to mythology by the godlike people, the Tuatha Dé Danann, as one of their sacred objects. It was said to roar when touched by the rightful king of Tara.


WHICH STONE?

Formerly located just north of the Mound of the Hostages (see map), it was moved to its current site after the Battle of Tara during the Irish revolution of 1798 to mark the graves of 400 rebels who died here. Some say the true Stone of Destiny was formerly the Pillow of Jacob from the Old Testament. They also claim it was flat and that it was moved from Tara by King Fergus of Scotland and was named the Stone of Scone which then became the coronation stone of British kings at Westminster Cathedral. Many historians accept that the present granite pillar at Tara is the true Stone of Destiny, but a number of people have argued that the Stone of Scone is in fact the real thing. One legend states that it was only one of four stones positioned at the cardinal directions on Tara - and it is interesting to note that the Hall of Tara, the ancient political centre of Ireland, is aligned North-South.
 
The following verse is from the Dindshenchas story about how Tara got its name:

Cathair Crofhind ('twas not amiss), was its name under the Tuatha De Danand, till there came Tea, never unjust, the wife of Erimon lofty of mien.
Round her house was built a rampart, by Tea daughter of Lugaid;
she was buried beyond the wall without, so that from her is Temair named.
The Seat of the Kings was its name: the kingly line of the Milesians reigned in it: five names accordingly were given it from the time when it was Fordruim till it was Temair.

 
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« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2007, 07:55:31 pm »

The Mound of the Hostages
 
The "Mound of the Hostages" is a megalithic 'passage tomb' and is the oldest monument on the hill of Tara, dating to about 2,500BC. The name "Mound of the Hostages" derives from the custom of overkings like those at Tara retaining important personages from subject kingdoms to ensure their submission.

One of the legendary kings of Tara was named Niall of the Nine Hostages in recognition of the fact that he held hostages from all the provinces of Ireland and from Britain.

 
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« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2007, 07:57:04 pm »

The passage at the Mound of the Hostages is short, and is aligned on the cross-quarter days of November 8 and February 4, the ancient Celtic festivals of Samhain and Imbolc. Just inside the entrance on the left is a large decorated orthostat.
 
This picture shows the short passage at the Mound of the Hostages at Tara. As a solar construct it is not as accurate as other passages, which are notably longer, but according to Brennan (The Stones of Time, 1994) the daily changes in the position of a 13-foot long sunbeam are more than adequate to determine specific dates. The passage would, without any doubt, also capture the light of the Full Moon at certain times in the 19-year cycle, specifically the minor standstill rising position
 
 
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« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2007, 07:58:13 pm »

Ancient Standing Stones
 
 In the churchyard at Tara there are two standing stones, which are believed to be ancient – remnants of a time when there were many stone monuments on Tara. The taller of the two stones is thought to feature a figure of the Celtic fertility god Cernunnos, and is similar to many of the 'Sheela na Gig' representations found across Ireland. These stones may date to the Neolithic period, although are more likely to have their origin in the Bronze Age.

 
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« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2007, 08:00:16 pm »

In the early histories it was noted that on this section of the hill there once stood a monument called "The Cross of Adamnan" commemorating a seventh century saint who called a church synod at Tara to enact laws that gave greater rights to women.

 

 
The ancient documents about Tara named many standing stones on this section of the hill – Dall, Dorcha, Maol, Bloc and Bluicna.
 
 The Standing Stones of Tara also recall the legend that candidates for the High Kingship of Tara had to drive their chariots toward two sacred stones standing closely together. They remained closed for the non-accepted candidate and opened a path only for the rightful king.
 
 
The above photo shows the great 'Banqueting Hall' at the Hill of Tara. Click here to see great aerial pictures of the Hill of Tara. Mythical Ireland has also reproduced the ancient tale about how Tara got its name, from the old collection of placename stories in the Dindshenchas - click here to read this tale.
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« Reply #7 on: February 19, 2007, 08:01:49 pm »



 
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« Reply #8 on: February 19, 2007, 08:03:19 pm »

Threat to the Hill of Tara
 
The Hill of Tara is under threat from the construction of a new motorway, which will disect the tranquil Tara-Skryne valley and pose a threat to many monuments which will doubtlessly be uncovered during its construction. A new group, formed of Irish academics and notables, is opposing the plans and calling on the Irish Government to come up with alternatives, such as the redevelopment of the old Dublin-Navan railway line, to the motorway plan. The group claims Tara deserves the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site. Read more here. Support for the group has come from a number of sources, not least the South African born Oscar-winning actress, Charlize Theron.

 
 
SOURCES:

'Tara', The Discovery Programme, Government Publications 1995.
Ordnance Survey Letters Meath, John O'Donovan, 2001.
The Tara Walk, Michael Slavin, 2000.
The Book of Tara, Michael Slavin, 1996, Wolfhound Press.
Martin Brennan, The Stones of Time, 1994, Inner Traditions.
The Legend of Tara, Elizabeth Hickey, 1988.

 
 http://www.mythicalireland.com/ancientsites/tara/index.html
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« Reply #9 on: February 19, 2007, 08:04:05 pm »

Huge temple found under Hill of Tara
 
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.

While the monument is located just below the ground's surface, there are no plans yet to dig it out.

"There was a time when excavation was the first step in archaeological research. That's not the case now because it really is the systematic destruction of a monument. When you are dealing with something as important as the Hill of Tara, you don't do something like that lightly."

Mr Newman reckons they will be able to learn more about the site from the data before the ground itself is finally excavated. "What we have is the clearest underground image I have ever seen. This one jumps off the page."

Mr Newman is concerned about a planned extension of the N3 motorway from Clonee to just north of Kells. One of the sections from Dunshaughlin to Navan runs along the east side of the Hill of Tara.

"I have absolutely no doubt that they will be destroying dozens of monuments connected to Tara." See more about the motorway threat to Tara.


From the Irish Examiner.

  http://www.mythicalireland.com/ancientsites/tara/taratemple.html

 
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« Reply #10 on: February 19, 2007, 08:05:05 pm »

100 new monuments discovered at Hill of Tara

At least 100 new monuments have been discovered on the Hill of Tara, thanks to the deployment of non-invasive exploratory techniques. Geophyscial survey allows archaeologists to record the magnetic properties or electrical resistance of the soil, which is permanently altered by human activity, therefore proving that people once inhabited the area. For example, a bonfire or a burial will permanently enhance the magnetism of the soil around it. Similarly, a buried wall will act as a barrier to the movement of electric current passed through the soil and therefore significantly increases its electrical resistance.

Mr Conor Newman and Mr Joe Fenwick of the Department of Archaeology at NUI, Galway and the Discovery Programme, which is funded by the Heritage Council, have been researching Tara since 1992. The earliest monuments at Tara date from around 4000 BC. Close to 30 monuments had been recorded prior to the deployment of geophysical survey, which has greatly aided the research process and facilitated the discovery of approximately 100 additional monuments.

In three field seasons since 1999, the team at Galway has increased the geophysical survey area on the Hill of Tara by more than 13 hectares, making this by far the most extensive geophysical survey ever undertaken in Ireland. Plans are in place to survey the rest of the state-owned part of Tara in the next few years.

 
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« Reply #11 on: February 19, 2007, 08:05:49 pm »

A host of new and interesting features have been revealed in the work so far. One of the most spectacular finds is a huge oval enclosure, equivalent to the size of Croke Park (170m North to South), which is believed to date from around 2500 BC. Referred to as a henge (see illustration), it comprises a 4m wide ditch, possibly up to 3m deep, on either side of which are great 2m wide pits. These pits probably held around 300 wooden poles between them. This oval enclosure encircles Ráith na Senad or Rath of the Synods and takes in the whole of the present day churchyard. It also includes a passage tomb known as the mound of the hostages. Like most of the monuments on Tara this is a temple or sacred compound of some sort.

A full report on this monument and others found in the course of the survey has just been published in the 6th volume of the Discovery Programme Reports and is available from the Discovery Programme and the Royal Irish Academy. The Discovery Programme has produced a detailed map of all of the monuments on the Hill of Tara using a combination of the geophysical survey finds and topography.


The topography map is in digital format, which means it is fully interactive. It can be interrogated and manipulated in order to reveal features that are otherwise barely visible. These techniques have confirmed that many of the monuments built on the Hill of Tara incorporated older monuments into their fabric. This allowed some of the ritual and historical importance associated with the older monument to be included in the new structure.

"Every new monument discovered at Tara adds to our understanding of the development of the complex," said Mr Newman. "For the most part, the monument builders of each generation observed, preserved and accommodated all of the older ones in a way that contributed positively and sensitively to the developing authority of Tara as a place apart," he added.

Close to half of the State-owned land on the Hill of Tara has been examined using geophysical survey so far and plans are in place to continue with this research and to survey the rest of the hill. However, much concern has arisen lately about the proposed route of the M3 motorway, which if approved, will pass right along the eastern foot of the Hill of Tara, crossing an area intimately connected with the great royal complex. This area also boasts an impressive concentration of archaeological monuments. "It is a reckless dereliction of our role as guardians of our common cultural heritage to drive a motorway through it," said Mr Newman. "If you disassociate a society from its past, it becomes rootless. Tara is a national treasure and a massive tourist attraction for Co. Meath. It should be managed not simply as a hilltop site but rather as a cultural landscape, just has been the case with places like the Boyne Valley," he added.

 
 http://www.mythicalireland.com/ancientsites/tara/taratemple.html
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« Reply #12 on: February 19, 2007, 08:07:02 pm »

Save the Tara-Skyrne Valley

A group has been formed to try to prevent the construction of a four lane highway through the Tara Skryne Valley. The road will pass between the ancient Hill of Tara and the nearby hill of Skryne, with a floodlit "clover- leaf junction" to be located within a couple of kilometres of the north of the Hill of Tara. The group says two alternative routes were proposed and were more than viable but the Irish government chose the present route.

 
The group, which contains several Irish notables, has as its goal the prevention the motorway from being constructed through the valley, with a view to obtain World Heritage status for the hill and environs.

The Save the Tara Skreen Valley group believes its major problem is getting the word out to international contacts in an effort to bring pressure and scrutiny upon the Irish Government. Coming with the road is a waste management plant - effectively a municipal incinerator - within view of Brú na Bóinne and a major urban development in the valley itself.

The group believes the Irish Government is ignoring and breaking numerous signed conventions and agreements with the EU, UN and its own national policies and legislation.

Large numbers of commuters who are frustrated by huge delays on the current N3 from Navan to Dublin seem to want to have the new M3 motorway built as soon as possible – even if that means routing it through the Tara-Skryne Valley. Protestors say they are not against the construction of the M3 motorway, but just the 3km section which passes through this valley. They also maintain the new motorway would open up tracts of land for commercial, retail and residential developments, and fear some of this development could be within sight of the Hill of Tara.

A sample protest letter with relevant addresses can be downloaded. A comprehensive list of news articles is also featured on the Save Tara Skreen website.

Visit our "SITES UNDER THREAT" forum for more information.


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« Reply #13 on: February 19, 2007, 08:07:58 pm »

Letter to the Irish Times, February 23rd, 2004:

Madam, - The Hill of Tara constitutes the heart and soul of Ireland. Our ceremonial and mythical capital, its very name invokes the spirit and mystique of our people, and is instantly recognisable worldwide.

An Bord Pleanála's recent approval of the Government's scheme to divide the Tara/Skryne valley with the M3 motorway spells out a massive national and international tragedy that must be averted.

This narrow valley is one of the most culturally and archaeologically significant places in the world. Many monuments predate the Egyptian pyramids. The chamber within Tara's Mound of the Hostages is perfectly aligned with the full moon of Lughnasa and the rising sun of Samhain and Imbolg.

The Hill of Tara has been a sanctuary for every generation since. It is precisely because it has remained intact, unlike many comparable Continental sites, that it holds a special key to understanding the continuous progression of European civilisation.

We are only just beginning to understand and appreciate how the Mound relates to the hundreds of other monuments in this archaeological complex, many of which will be destroyed if the valley is sliced in two.

The Hill of Skryne, containing the 12th-century Skryne Castle, is also a national monument and an early religious and ritual centre. Both Tara and Skryne are part of the same cultural and natural landscape of The Boyne Valley and cannot be separated from the River Boyne, or from each other.

Let us be clear: excavation is destruction, not "preservation" in the true sense. Moreover, serious questions have now been raised in the Dáil as to the standard of "preservation by record", with over 1,500 excavation reports currently missing.

Every effort should be made to preserve national monuments in situ, according to stated Government policy, as well as the Council of Europe's Valetta Convention (The European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage), to which Ireland is a signatory.

The Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, signed by Ireland in Paris, in 1972, resolved to protect parts of the cultural or natural heritage that are of outstanding universal value and therefore need to be preserved as part of the world heritage of mankind as a whole.

Tara warrants UNESCO protection, if ever an Irish site did.

We call on the Government, particularly the Taoiseach, the Minister for Transport and the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to review this decision and choose one of the many intelligent options that are still available. These include: improving the existing N3, as per the original advertised scheme; re-opening the Navan-Dublin railway line, which is widely supported in the locality; or simply moving the M3 away from this delicate archaeological landscape.
 

In the alternative, we ask our public servants to place these viable options before the Irish nation, openly and democratically, and let Irish taxpayers decide for themselves if their money should be spent destroying this singular element of Irish identity. - Yours, etc.,

Dr EDEL BHREATHNACH, Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Institute, University College, Dublin;
FRANCIS JOHN BYRNE, Early Irish Historian;
NICHOLAS CANNY, Department of History, University College, Galway;
MÁIREAD CAREW, Archaeologist and writer;
PROF THOMAS CHARLES-EDWARDS, Faculty of Modern History, Oxford University;
JULITTA CLANCY MBE, Meath Archaeological and Historical Society;
Prof THOMAS OWEN CLANCY, Department of Celtic, University of Glasgow;
Dr HOWARD CLARKE, School of History, University College, Dublin;
Dr MARK CLINTON, Archaeologist and writer;
Prof CHARLIE DOHERTY, Department of History, University College, Dublin;
Dr SEÁN DUFFY, FTCD, Department of History, Trinity College, Dublin;
MÁIRE HERBERT, Department of Old Irish, University College, Cork;
Prof BART JASKI, Celtic Department, University of Utrecht;
Dr RAIMUND KARL, Department of History and Welsh History, University of Wales, Bangor;
Prof MÍCHEÁL MAC CRAITH, Department of Modern Irish, NUI, Galway;
Prof KIM McCONE, Department of Medieval Irish Studies, NUI Maynooth;
Prof NEIL MCLEOD, Murdoch University, Australia;
Prof JOSEPH NAGY, Department of English, University of California, Los Angeles;
Dr MUIREANN NÍ BHROLCHÁIN, Department of Medieval Irish Studies, NUI Maynooth;
Dr MÁIRE NÍ NEACHTAIN, Department of Irish, University of Limerick;
KENNETH NICHOLS, Retired statutory lecturer, University College, Cork;
Prof TOMÁS Ó CATHASAIGH, Irish Studies, Harvard University;
DONNCHADH Ó CORRÁIN, Department of History, University College, Cork;
DÁIBHÍ Ó CRÓINÍN, Department of History, NUI Galway;
VINCENT SALAFIA, Save Tara/Skryne Valley Campaign;
Prof RUAIRI Ó hUIGINN, Department of Modern Irish, NUI Maynooth;
Prof ALFRED SMYTH, Chair of Medieval History, Canterbury University;
PÁDRAIGÍN RIGGS, Department of Modern Irish, University College, Cork;
Dr NANCY STENSON, Department of Linguistics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis;
Rev Dr R. STIEFEL, University of New Hampshire.


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« Reply #14 on: May 13, 2007, 06:03:05 am »

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Archaeological site may be doomed
[/size]

THE SITE of a massive ancient pagan temple unearthed at one of Europe's most archaeologically significant sites will be buried under a controversial motorway, campaigners warned last week.

Fears were growing that the government is to plough ahead with the contentious M3 route despite the discovery that has excited heritage campaigners.

The government insists it has not decided the future of the major find near the historic Hill of Tara in Co. Meath - uncovered just 24 hours after Transport Minister Martin Cullen turned the first sod on the project.

While work has been suspended to allow further examination, the government is fending off claims by campaigners that this is merely a stay of execution for the site.

Environment Minister Dick Roche is consulting National Museum director Pat Wallace on the best way to proceed. But Vincent Salafia - an environmentalist and longstanding Save Tara campaigner - claimed the government was committed to developing the motorway regardless of the impact.

He alleged Mr Roche had already taken the decision to demolish the ancient find - though the Minister denied the allegation.

Mr Salafia claimed documentation has already been drafted on the government's plans for the site.

He said: "In these directions, Minister Roche directs that the national monument be preserved by record. In other words, excavations will resume in a matter of days and the massive enclosure will then be demolished."

The Irish National Monuments Act allows for the partial or complete destruction of national monuments, or finds of significant importance, by the government if it is deemed to be in the public interest.

The National Museum director is consulted but has no veto over any decision.

Conor Newman, professor of archaeology at NUI Galway, said he was pessimistic the government would save the site.

He said: "The campaign to preserve this site has become a legal battle when in fact it should be an ethical one - whether we value our heritage or not."

http://www.irishpost.co.uk/news/story.asp?j=5645&cat=news

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