Fourknocks Passage Tomb is a

passage grave A passage grave or passage tomb consists of one or more burial chambers covered in earth or stone and having a narrow access passage made of large stones. These structures usually date from the Neolithic Age and are found largely in Western Europ ...

and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

located in

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Location

is located northwest of Naul, near a hilltop overlooking the Delvin River. The placename means either "cold hill" or "bare/exposed hill."

History

Fourknocks Passage Tomb dates to 3000–2500 BC. It was unknown to archaeology until 1949, when a woman making a visit to

Newgrange Newgrange () is a prehistoric monument in County Meath in Ireland, placed on a rise overlooking the River Boyne, west of the town of Drogheda. It is an exceptionally grand passage tomb built during the Neolithic Period, around 3100 BC, makin ...

mentioned, "there are mounds like this on my uncle’s farm." It is not marked on any of the old

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

maps. It was first excavated from 1950 to 1952 by PJ Hartnett. He found

cist In archeology, a cist (; also kist ; ultimately from ; cognate to ) or cist grave is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. In some ways, it is similar to the deeper shaft tomb. Examples occur ac ...

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are items buried along with a body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into an afterlife, or offerings to gods. Grave goods may be classed by researche ...

including a foot bowl and a carved antler pin, urns containing cremated remains and a

posthole This page is a glossary of archaeology, the study of the human past from material remains. A B C D E F ...

. Unlike other

s, the tomb at Fourknocks is not believed to have been covered over with stones. A wooden pole may have held up a wooden or animal-skin roof. During reconstruction after excavation, a concrete roof was placed over the chamber for protection.

Description

Fourknocks has a 17 foot long passage leading into a wide, pear-shaped chamber (18 X 21 ft) with three smaller offset chambers. Fourknocks has a strong similarity to Cairn L at Loughcrew. The original roof was likely a wooden structure supported by a central pole. Two of the

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...

s have chevron decoration and one of them has

lozenge Lozenge or losange may refer to: * Lozenge (shape), a type of rhombus *Throat lozenge A throat lozenge (also known as a cough drop, sore throat sweet, troche, cachou, pastille or cough sweet) is a small, typically medicated tablet intended to ...

decoration. Two other mounds in the Fourknocks complex were excavated. One of these likely served as the cremation site for the bones found in the main tomb and was used for later interments.

References

{{Reflist Buildings and structures completed in the 3rd millennium BC National monuments in County Meath Archaeological sites in County Meath Tombs in the Republic of Ireland 1949 archaeological discoveries Archaeological discoveries in Ireland