Loughcrew
Encyclopedia
Loughcrew is near Oldcastle
, County Meath
, Ireland
. (Sometimes written Lough Crew). Loughcrew is a site of considerable historical importance in Ireland. It is the site of megalithic burial grounds dating back to approximately 3500 and 3300 BC, situated near the summit of Sliabh na Caillí
and on surrounding hills and valleys.
, Carrowkeel
and Carrowmore
). They are thought to date from about 3300 BC. The sites consist of cruciform chambers covered in most instances by a mound. A unique style of megalithic petroglyphs are seen there, including lozenge shapes, leaf shapes, as well as circles, some surrounded by radiating lines. The site has three parts, two are on hilltops, Carnbane East and Carnbane West. The other, less well preserved cairn is at Patrickstown. The Irish name for the site is Sliabh na Caillí
, which means "mountain of the hag
". Legend has it that the monuments were created when a giant hag, striding across the land, dropped her cargo of large stones from her apron. The orthostats and structural stones of the monuments tend to be from local green gritstone
, which was soft enough to carve, but which is also vulnerable to vandalism. In 1980 American Irish researcher Martin Brennan discovered that Cairn T in Carnbane East is directed to receive the beams of the rising sun on the spring and autumnal equinox
- the light shining down the passage and illuminating the art on the backstone. Brennan published his extensive research into the art and alignments in his book 'The Stars and the Stones: Ancient Art and Astronomy in Ireland' - Thames and Hudson 1983, later re-publishded as The Stones of Time 1996. Brennan also discovered alignments in Cairn L (53.743299°N 7.134040°W) at Lough Crew, Knowth, and Dowth in the Boyne Valley. The Cairn T alignment is similar to the well-known illumination at the passage tomb at Brú na Bóinne (Newgrange), which is aligned to catch the rays of the winter solstice
sunrise.
There are about twenty-three tombs in the Loughcrew complex in addition to Cairn L and Cairn T, along with additional archeological sites.
Plunkett
family, whose most famous member became the martyred St Oliver Plunkett. The family church stands in the grounds of Loughcrew Gardens. With its barren isolated location Sliabh na Caillí became a critical meeting point throughout the Penal Laws
for Roman Catholics. Even though the woods are now gone an excellent example of a Mass Rock can still be seen on the top of Sliabh na Caillí today. The Plunketts were involved in running the Irish Confederacy
of the 1640s and were dispossessed in the Cromwellian Settlement of 1652. Their estate at Loughcrew was assigned by Sir William Petty to the Naper Family c.1655
. The Napers are descended from Sir Robert Napier
who was Chief Baron of the Exchequer of Ireland in 1593.
The Napers built an extensive estate of some 180,000 acres (730 km²) in north Meath
in the subsequent centuries which mirrored that developed by their neighbouring Cromwellians, the Taylors of Headfort
. Following a third and devastating fire, in 1964, the three Naper sons went to court and requested that the state allow the family trust to be broken up and the estate divided between the three sons. Subsequently the house and gardens have been restored by Charles and Emily Naper, who open the gardens and run an annual opera festival. By chance Mrs Naper's grandmother was married to Randal Plunkett of Saint Oliver's family.
Oldcastle, County Meath
Oldcastle is a town in County Meath, Ireland. It is located in the north-west of the county near the border with Cavan, approximately 21 km from Kells. The R154 and R195 regional roads cross in the town's market square...
, County Meath
County Meath
County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. (Sometimes written Lough Crew). Loughcrew is a site of considerable historical importance in Ireland. It is the site of megalithic burial grounds dating back to approximately 3500 and 3300 BC, situated near the summit of Sliabh na Caillí
Slieve na Calliagh
Slieve na Calliagh is the highest peak in a low range of hills in northwest County Meath. The hills are notable as the location of the Loughcrew Megalithic Tomb Cemetery.-External links:* - photos and videos from Knowth.com...
and on surrounding hills and valleys.
The Loughcrew Passage Tombs
Lough Crew Passage Tomb is one of the four main passage tomb sites in Ireland (the others are Brú na BóinneBrú na Bóinne
is a World Heritage Site in County Meath, Ireland and is the largest and one of the most important prehistoric megalithic sites in Europe.-The site:...
, Carrowkeel
Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery
Carrowkeel is a Neolithic passage tomb cemetery in the south of County Sligo, near Boyle, County Roscommon. An Cheathrú Chaol in Irish means 'the Narrow Quarter'. Circumstantial Carbon 14 dating places the tombs at between 5400 and 5100 years old, so that they predate the Pyramids on Egypt's Giza...
and Carrowmore
Carrowmore
Carrowmore, County Sligo is one of the four major passage tomb cemeteries in Ireland. It is located at the centre of a prehistoric ritual landscape on the Cúil Irra Peninsula in County Sligo in Ireland....
). They are thought to date from about 3300 BC. The sites consist of cruciform chambers covered in most instances by a mound. A unique style of megalithic petroglyphs are seen there, including lozenge shapes, leaf shapes, as well as circles, some surrounded by radiating lines. The site has three parts, two are on hilltops, Carnbane East and Carnbane West. The other, less well preserved cairn is at Patrickstown. The Irish name for the site is Sliabh na Caillí
Slieve na Calliagh
Slieve na Calliagh is the highest peak in a low range of hills in northwest County Meath. The hills are notable as the location of the Loughcrew Megalithic Tomb Cemetery.-External links:* - photos and videos from Knowth.com...
, which means "mountain of the hag
Cailleach
In Irish and Scottish mythology, the , also known as the Cailleach Bheur, is a divine hag, a creatrix, and possibly an ancestral deity or deified ancestor...
". Legend has it that the monuments were created when a giant hag, striding across the land, dropped her cargo of large stones from her apron. The orthostats and structural stones of the monuments tend to be from local green gritstone
Gritstone
Gritstone or Grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for paper and for grindstones to sharpen blades. "Grit" is...
, which was soft enough to carve, but which is also vulnerable to vandalism. In 1980 American Irish researcher Martin Brennan discovered that Cairn T in Carnbane East is directed to receive the beams of the rising sun on the spring and autumnal equinox
Equinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
- the light shining down the passage and illuminating the art on the backstone. Brennan published his extensive research into the art and alignments in his book 'The Stars and the Stones: Ancient Art and Astronomy in Ireland' - Thames and Hudson 1983, later re-publishded as The Stones of Time 1996. Brennan also discovered alignments in Cairn L (53.743299°N 7.134040°W) at Lough Crew, Knowth, and Dowth in the Boyne Valley. The Cairn T alignment is similar to the well-known illumination at the passage tomb at Brú na Bóinne (Newgrange), which is aligned to catch the rays of the winter solstice
Winter solstice
Winter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...
sunrise.
There are about twenty-three tombs in the Loughcrew complex in addition to Cairn L and Cairn T, along with additional archeological sites.
Modern history
In more recent centuries Loughcrew became the seat of a branch of the Norman-IrishHiberno-Norman
The Hiberno-Normans are those Norman lords who settled in Ireland who admitted little if any real fealty to the Anglo-Norman settlers in England, and who soon began to interact and intermarry with the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. The term embraces both their origins as a distinct community with...
Plunkett
Plunkett
Plunkett, a surname originating in Ireland, and of Norse or Norman origin, may be spelled Plunkett, Plunket, Plunkit, Plunkitt, Plonkit, Plonkitt, Plonket, Plonkett, or Plunceid, and may refer to:* Baron Plunket, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom...
family, whose most famous member became the martyred St Oliver Plunkett. The family church stands in the grounds of Loughcrew Gardens. With its barren isolated location Sliabh na Caillí became a critical meeting point throughout the Penal Laws
Penal Laws (Ireland)
The term Penal Laws in Ireland were a series of laws imposed under English and later British rule that sought to discriminate against Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters in favour of members of the established Church of Ireland....
for Roman Catholics. Even though the woods are now gone an excellent example of a Mass Rock can still be seen on the top of Sliabh na Caillí today. The Plunketts were involved in running the Irish Confederacy
Confederate Ireland
Confederate Ireland refers to the period of Irish self-government between the Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. During this time, two-thirds of Ireland was governed by the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the "Confederation of Kilkenny"...
of the 1640s and were dispossessed in the Cromwellian Settlement of 1652. Their estate at Loughcrew was assigned by Sir William Petty to the Naper Family c.1655
1655 in Ireland
-Deaths:*16 February - Rory O'Moore, principal organizer of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 .*16 June - James Hamilton, 3rd Baron Hamilton of Strabane, peer ....
. The Napers are descended from Sir Robert Napier
Robert Napier (judge)
Sir Robert Napier was an English-born judge in Ireland.. He was High Sheriff of Dorset in 1606 and Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland. He was a Member of Parliament for Dorchester , Bridport and Wareham ....
who was Chief Baron of the Exchequer of Ireland in 1593.
The Napers built an extensive estate of some 180,000 acres (730 km²) in north Meath
County Meath
County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...
in the subsequent centuries which mirrored that developed by their neighbouring Cromwellians, the Taylors of Headfort
Marquess of Headfort
Marquess of Headfort is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Thomas Taylor, 2nd Earl of Bective. Despite the official title, the family unfailingly use the alternative rendering Marquis of Headfort, and this is the spelling more commonly encountered in references to family...
. Following a third and devastating fire, in 1964, the three Naper sons went to court and requested that the state allow the family trust to be broken up and the estate divided between the three sons. Subsequently the house and gardens have been restored by Charles and Emily Naper, who open the gardens and run an annual opera festival. By chance Mrs Naper's grandmother was married to Randal Plunkett of Saint Oliver's family.
External links
- Art and astronomy at Loughcrew
- Loughcrew Information and Images
- Details of how to obtain access to the interior of Cairn T
- From http://www.mythicalireland.com
- A Visit to Loughcrew Megalithic Complex
- Extent of Naper estate
- Loughcrew on video
- Loughcrew Spring Equinox slideshow
- Virtual Tour of Loughcrew