UNIT 7 PRE-CHRISTIAN IRELAND (c. 4000 BC–AD 500)
Figure 20.8 Court cairn reconstruction.
Chamber roofed over with large stones
Sill Lintel Court Court Cairns
Court cairns structures are understood to be places of burial, where ceremonies or rituals might have taken place. A covered chamber inside the cairn was sometimes divided by upright stones and sills or lintels, creating ‘doorways’ between spaces. Outside, a semi-circular area created a formal entrance or ceremonial area (Fig. 20.8). There is an outstanding example at Creevykeel, Co. Sligo.
Court cairn: A combination of a burial chamber inside a mound or cairn of stones with an open court in front of it.
long and 3 km wide, that is enclosed by a bend in the River Boyne (Fig. 20.9). The site is 8 km east of Drogheda, 40 km north of Dublin. There are close to 40 mounds in this area, including three large mounds at Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange, with smaller satellite mounds surrounding them.
Kerbstones Entrance Jambs
Upright stones form the passage
Cairn covered the whole construction
Note:
Dolmens and court cairns have no added decoration, but they
were built as the result of ideas, which puts them in the realm of art.
Passage Mounds (Graves)
There is a growing preference for the term ‘passage mound’ rather than ‘passage grave’ or ‘tomb’, as our understanding of their function is still growing. There are over 200 known passage mounds in Ireland, in a variety of layouts and sizes. Many have decorated stones as part of their construction.
There is a concentration of these structures in Co. Meath, particularly at Brú na Bóinne, an area 4 km
CHAPTER 20 THE STONE AGE (c. 4000–2000 BC) Quartz stones
Figure 20.9 Brú na Bóinne, Co. Meath. 291
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