Knowth (c. 4000 BC)


The oldest and largest of these mounds is at Knowth (Fig. 20.10). It has two passages, one facing east and one facing west. It is surrounded by a kerb of 127 large stones, most of which are decorated. The mound covers an area of 1.5 acres and is the largest manmade roofed structure from the Stone Age in Western Europe (Fig. 20.11).


The western passage is 34 m long and is of the undifferentiated type; that is, there is no clearly separate chamber at the end of the passage. A basin stone, with the remains of cremation burials and some grave goods, was found in the passage. The grave goods included stone balls and pendants, coloured beads, shell necklaces and stone tools such as arrowheads, knives, chisels and scrapers.


Kerbstones: The large stones laid end to end surrounding the base of many of the passage mounds. Some of these stones are 3 m to 4 m long and over 1 m high. The kerb may have been laid out to define the shape of the mound and to retain the filling material that formed the mound.


A number of the orthostats (upright stones) in the passage are decorated.


The eastern passage is more elaborate. There is a chamber which is cruciform (cross-shaped) in plan and has a corbelled roof at the end of the 40 m passage. The corbelled vault is 7 m tall at its centre. A beautifully decorated basin stone was found in the recess at the northern side of the chamber (Fig. 20.12). The outside of the basin is decorated with horizontal grooves, with concentric circles and curves at the centre. Inside, it is decorated with arcs and radiating lines. A mace head carved from a piece of flint from the Orkney Islands off the west coast of Scotland was also found (Fig. 20.13 and 20.14). It is a remarkably well-made and finely finished piece for such an early date. A mace is a type of hammer, so the heavy end is at the bottom. This mace has often been illustrated upside down because it looks a bit like a face from that angle.


Figure 20.10 Aerial view of Knowth.


Mound 1.5 acres in area


Line of kerbstones Chamber


Chip-carved design, about 1 cm deep


Western passage


Eastern passage


Figure 20.12 Knowth basin stone. Area of quartz stones Figure 20.11 Plan of Knowth. 292 NEW APPRECIATING ART IRELAND AND ITS PLACE IN THE WIDER WORLD


Basin stone: A large, almost circular, low profile stone, hollowed out to create a kind of basin. They seem to have been used in passages to hold the cremated remains of the dead and small offerings.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30