Henge

The National Monuments Service's description

This monument is described by Stout (1991, 259) as:
This impressive enclosure is situated towards the summit at the eastern end of a ridge above the River Boyne. It is located on a grey-brown podzolic soil. The passage tombs at Dowth are situated 1km to the south-west. The monument consists of a flat-topped earthen bank which encloses an oval area, 165m north-west – south-east by 175m north-east to south-west. The bank is well preserved, reaching heights of between 3m and 5m. It is 20m wide on average. The interior has a domed shape created by the scarping of an area 18m wide inside the inner edge of the bank. This was the source of the bank material. The enclosing bank is breached in two diametrically opposed places; the more definite of the two breaks occurs in the south-west (227 degrees T) for a maximum distance of 20m, narrowing to 12m. The second opening, in the north-east (55 degrees T), was marked by a dotted line on the OS first edition map. Today the bank at either end of this break narrows considerably and there are traces of a narrower bank continuing across part of the break, leaving a gap of 15m. A slight rise and a definite fall to the exterior along this opening in line with the bank make it highly probable that this opening is not contemporary with the construction of the enclosure. A shallow ditch outside the bank in the south-west portion of the enclosure corresponds to a field fence marked on the OS 6-inch map of 1837.
(Coffey 1892, 51; 1912, 44; Crawford 1927, 98; Ó Ríordáin and Daniel 1964, 87, pl. 54; Burl 1969, 17; Wainwright 1969, 131; C. O’Kelly 1978, 56; Clare 1986, 311)

Date of revision: 10 January 2017

This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 13/1976).

References

Coffey, G. 1912 Newgrange and other incised tumuli in Ireland. Hodges Figgis, Dublin

Burl, H. A. W. 1969 Henges: internal features and regional groups. Archaeological Journal, 126, 1-28.

Wainwright, G. L. 1969 A review of henges in the light of recent research. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 35, 112-33.

Crawford, O. G. S. (ed.) 1927 Notes and news. Antiquity 1, 97-8.

Ó Ríordáin, S. P. and Daniel, G. 1964 Newgrange and the bend of the Boyne. Thames and Hudson, London

Coffey, G. 1892 On the tumuli and inscribed stones at Newgrange, Dowth and Knowth. Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, 30, 1-96.

Clare, T. 1986 Towards a reappraisal of henge monuments. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 52, 281-316.

O'Kelly, C. 1978 (3rd ed.) Illustrated guide to Newgrange and the other Boyne monuments. Cork. Author.

Moore, M. 1987 Archaeological inventory of county Meath. Dublin. Stationery Office.

Stout, G. 1991 The embanked enclosures of the Boyne region. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 91C, 245-84.

Thornton, G. 1980 A survey of the earthen enclosures of the Boyne Valley and related sites. MA thesis, University College, Dublin.