A publication of the Archaeological Institute of America
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Evidence from both excavations and rare manuscripts reveal much about early Ireland’s cosmology and its people’s deep connection to the land
Tara near the midpoint of the north-south line connecting Emain Macha and Dún Ailinne. The significance of this arrangement is still unknown, but it is notable. Archaeological work shows that early activity at these sites may have had to do with burials, and that these enclosures were constructed during the Iron Age. Surprisingly, none of them are suitable for defense. Instead, each seems to mark off an area that only makes sense if viewed as sacred. One of the compelling things about doing archaeological work in Ireland is that the early medieval manuscripts preserve so many tales surrounding these sites. Some stories are clearly mythological, others are pseudohistory—medieval invention—and it isn’t always easy to tell them apart. Even so, they are essential in developing a full understanding of the sites. And, in turn, by studying the sites archaeologically, we can begin to understand some of the meaning behind the myths. Collections of Old and Middle Irish stories called dindshenchas, literally “histories of places,” were compiled between the tenth and twelfth centuries A.D. and imply a sacred geography for the pre-Christian sites in Ireland. All the places listed in these stories are connected with the old gods.
Ronald Hicks is a professor of anthropology at Ball State University specializing in landscape and cognitive archaeology.  © 2011 by the Archaeological Institute of America archive.archaeology.org/1105/features/neolithic_iron_age_ireland_royal_sites_tara.html 
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