Summary: Descriptions and examples of passage tombs
Key dates:
Passage tombs existed across Europe and, in Ireland, are found mainly on hilltops or ridges. They were usually grouped in cemeteries such as Knowth in the Boyne Valley. There are over 200 examples in Ireland, concentrated in the north of the country.
One of the best examples of such a tomb is Newgrange Co Meath which also has superb art symbols on the walls of the passage. A reconstruction of Newgrange has proved that the rays of the rising sun shine directly onto the back of the chamber at the time of the mid-winter solstice, 21 December.
Art in these tombs is abstract in form and is mainly circles, spirals, arcs, lozenges and triangles. The meaning of this art is unknown but it probably had a funereal significance.
These tombs consist of a round mound approached by a narrow passage. The chambers may be round, oval or rectangular in shape. A cruciform shape is also common in Ireland. The covered passages were roofed with horizontal stones while the chambers were roofed by overlapping stones.
There are many examples of grave goods, the most common of which is a type of pottery known as Carrowkeel Ware after a cemetery in Co Sligo. This is a coarse, roughly decorated, flat-bottomed pottery. Animal bone pins, beads of stone or bone and pendants have all been found in these graves. Some items may signify fertility symbols. In Knowth a magnificent macehead of polished flint and highly decorated suggests that it accompanied a person of high standing.
Cremation was common and some tombs housed the remains of many.
|