Ireland

Our first visit of the day will be to Giant’s Ring, a Neolithic henge monument situated on the outskirts of Belfast. This enormous earthwork is approximately 200m across with a stone passage tomb at its centre known as the Druid’s Altar. The henge is so large, it is often mistaken for a hill fort with its well-preserved high bank. Afterwards, we continue to Downpatrick where we visit Down Cathedral, built on the site of a Benedictine Monastery. Repeatedly damaged by Viking raiders, Norman invaders and earthquakes, there is little left of the original church which stood here in the 10^th century and the building we see today dates back less than two centuries. However, it is here that we find the alleged resting place of St. Patrick, celebrated patron saint of Ireland. In the early 20^th century, so many people were removing soil from the grave site to carry with them when they emigrated, a mammoth granite stone was placed on top. On our way back to Belfast we stop at Ballynoe Stone Circle accredited by Aubrey Burk himself as ‘one of the great rings of Western Europe;’ and at the impressive Neolithic Legananny Dolmen, probably the most famous megalithic monument in Northern Ireland.

Today we journey north. Situated dramatically on the edge of an outcrop on the craggy Antrim coast, we visit the ruins of Dunluce Castle. Built by the McQuillan’s, a Scottish clan of hired mercenaries, it was later taken by the McDonnell clan who later became Earls of Antrim from the 17^th century onwards. A few years ago excavations here revealed traces of an abandoned town in the shadow of the castle. Evidence suggests it was a modern, planned settlement with cobbled streets, large stone houses and market square. A short drive brings us to probably the most famous geological feature of Northern Ireland, the Giant’s Causeway. Formed between 50 and 60 million years ago when molten rock was forced through fissures in the earth, the Causeway is one of only two UK coastal sites (the other being the Jurassic coast) to feature on the World Heritage list. After lunch we visit the Hinch Distillery and enjoy a whiskey tasting.

This morning, we drive south to Armagh to visit Navan Fort, legendary Emian Macha in early Irish mythology, the seat of Chonchobhar and stronghold of the Red Branch Knights. Archaeologists conducting recent geophysical surveys of the area have revealed a large number of consecutive temple complexes and its thought this large hilltop enclosure represents an ancient ceremonial site. We continue to Fourknocks, where we see a fine example of a passage tomb, now preserved under a concrete dome with lighting apertures to show the unusual decoration to good effect. The remains of at least sixty individuals were found here and grave goods included stone and bone pendants and beads, as well as bone pins.

We visit Newgrange this morning, a monumental burial mound from the Neolithic period, pre-dating Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Giza. A unique feature of the Newgrange passage is a stone box set in the roof which allows the rising sun to shine along the passage at the time of the winter solstice, and to hit the back of the rear chamber. This demonstrates not only the importance of astronomical events in the annual Neolithic calendar, but also the engineering skills of the builders. From here, we visit the UNESCO-listed site of Knowth. This large mound overlies earlier Neolithic occupation, and covers two passage graves, one with a simple undifferentiated passage, and the other with a cruciform terminal chamber. There are more than three hundred decorated stones in the main mound, the largest group of megalithic art in Europe. Common motifs are spirals and serpentine forms. Later, we visit the Hill of Tara, once the seat of the High Kings of Ireland. We wander the Iron Age hilltop enclosure and view the so-called Stone of Destiny.

We spend the morning at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin for its superb overview of Irish archaeology. Highlights include an impressive range of Bronze Age gold and metalwork, the 4,500-year-old Lurgan log boat, carved from a giant oak trunk and measuring over 14m and the perfectly preserved human remains found in Ireland’s boglands during the Iron Age. In the afternoon we head out of the city and view two Neolithic stone circles. Broadleas stands on a slightly elevated mound and measures over 30 metres in diameter and Athgreaney, a similar size with fourteen stones still remaining, and one outlier. One of the seven sites in Ireland known as the Pipers Stones, these granite boulders are said to be the remains of a piper and his dancers, petrified in stone in violation of the Sabbath.

We head for the passage grave cemetery at Loughcrew, also known as Slieve na Callighe (Hill of the Witch) where we see some of the oldest monuments in Ireland. Cairn T, one of the largest tombs in the complex is aligned to sunrise at the spring and autumn equinoxes and one of its kerbstones, known as the Hag’s Chair, has been shaped and decorated with a cross, probably as a place for celebrating the Catholic Mass during the penal times. We continue to the coastal town of Sligo. Located at the mouth of the Garavogue River, the name Sligo means "Shelly River" in Gaelic and this area’s natural harbour once saw trade from Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans. After lunch, we encounter one of the best and largest examples of an Irish Court Tomb at Creevykeel. These structures have a courtyard area surrounded by walls and their size and shape suggests that they were constructed for some kind of social event involving large gatherings of people.

Today’s highlight is our visit to Carrowmore, considered the largest and oldest prehistoric cemetery in Ireland and one of the biggest in Europe. Most of the monuments are clustered around the great chamber of Listoghil, the only tomb to contain inhumations rather than cremations. The tombs were re-used for burial by the Bronze and Iron Age long after their initial construction. After lunch, we will explore the Carrowkeel megalithic complex. Like Carrowmore, this is a megalithic hill top passage tomb cemetery known locally as ‘the Pinnacles’. It is an atmospheric site with views stretching over Sligo Bay and the cairn topped hill of Knocknarea.

We journey to Galway situated at the mouth of the River Corrib at the head of Galway Bay. Enroute, we stop at Rathcroghan – the former capital, Connachta, of the prehistoric and early historic rulers of the western territory. The unique archaeological landscape, often referenced in early Irish medieval manuscripts, includes burial mounds, ringforts and medieval field boundaries from Neolithic up to the early medieval period. Once in Galway, we visit the Galway City Museum to see its Prehistoric collection.  

We take the ferry to Inis Mor, the largest of the three Arran islands. Here the island’s wild natural landscapes are accentuated by the thatched roofs of Irish stone cottages and dry-stone walls which criss-cross the hills. It’s also rich in archaeological sites, the most impressive of which is Dun Aengus. This spectacular fort stands on the edge of the dizzying cliffs of Inis Mor with a sheer drop of more than 100 metres to the sea. The fort is the most impressive of several located on the Aran islands and its D-shaped plan comprised of concentric semi-circular defensive walls up to 4 metres thick in places.

Today we venture into the Burren described by Cromwell’s surveyor Edmund Ludlow as ‘a savage land, yielding neither water enough to drown a man, nor a tree to hang him nor soil enough to bury him". We view this extraordinary limestone landscape in a different light today and it forms part of the UNESCO Global Ge0park in Western Ireland. Here we see an evocative early Neolithic dolmen tomb at Poulnabrone and the stone fort at Cahercommaun where settlement began in the iron Age. This triple sone fort is dramatically situated on the edge of a cliff, all three of its concentric walls abutting the cliff edge.

We say farewell to Ireland and transfer to Shannon Airport for our flight back to London.