Souterrain

The National Monuments Service's description

Nine souterrains have been recorded in excavation at the passage tomb complex. They are associated with the early medieval open settlement (ME019-030060-) and are placed largely on the sides and summit of the great mound. This is Souterrain No. 8 set into the base of the mound at NW. It consists of a straight passage (L 3.2m; Wth 0.7m; H 0.6) leading to a beehive chamber (dims 2m x 1.7m; H 1.5m) closed with a single capstone. The entrance was from an unroofed shallow pit outside kerbstone 89 of Tomb 1C, ran beneath that stone, and along the passage which was built in the fill of the lower fosse of the rath. The passage and chamber had a fill (T 0.3-0.4m) of silt from which no artefacts were recovered. This souterrain is conserved and its entrance beneath the kerbstone can be seen, but it is inaccessible. (Eogan 2012, 101)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 06 November 2013
Amended: 17 September 2020

See the attached illustrations:
_1 Early medieval features, from Knowth 5, Fig. 4:1
_2 Souterrain plan, from Knowth 5, Fig. 4: 11

References

Eogan, G. 2012 Excavations at Knowth 5: the archaeology of Knowth in the first and second millennia AD. Dublin. Royal Irish Academy.