Loch Craobh | |
_and_T%2c_Loughcrew.jpg) | |
  Shown within Ireland | |
| Location | County Meath,Ireland |
|---|---|
| Type | passage grave |
| History | |
| Periods | Neolithic |
| Official name | Loughcrew Megalithic Cemetery |
| Reference no. | 290 & 155 |
Loughcrew orLough Crew (Irish:Loch Craobh, meaning 'lake of the tree') is an area of historical importance nearOldcastle,County Meath,Ireland. It is home to a group of ancient tombs from the4th millennium BC, some decorated with raremegalithic art, which sit on top of a range of hills. The hills and tombs are together known asSlieve na Calliagh (Sliabh na Caillí)[1] and are the highest point in Meath. It is one of the four mainpassage tomb cemeteries in Ireland and is a protectedNational Monument. The area is also home to the Loughcrew Estate, from which it is named.
There are remains of more than twenty ancient tombs at Loughcrew. It is one of the four mainpassage tomb cemeteries in Ireland along withBrú na Bóinne,Carrowkeel andCarrowmore. Themegalithic monuments are spread across four hilltops: Carnbane East, Carnbane West, Carrickbrack and Patrickstown Hill. These hills and the tombs themselves are together known asSlieve na Calliagh orSliabh na Caillí, meaning "mountain of theCailleach", the divinehag ofIrish mythology. Legend has it that the monuments were created when a giant hag, striding across the land, dropped her cargo of large stones from her apron.
No comprehensive dating programme has been conducted there, but the monuments are estimated to date from about 3300 BC. The monuments consist of cruciform chambers, all of which would have been covered by mounds. A unique style ofpetroglyphs is found there, including lozenge shapes, leaf shapes, as well as circles, some surrounded by radiating lines.[2] Theorthostats and structural stones of the monuments tend to be from local greengritstone, which was soft enough to carve.
In 1980 Irish-American researcher Martin Brennan discovered that Cairn T in Carnbane East is directed to receive the beams of the rising sun on the spring and autumnalequinox - the light shining down the passage and illuminating the art on the backstone.[3][4] Brennan also discovered alignments in Cairn L (53°44′36″N7°08′03″W / 53.743299°N 7.134040°W /53.743299; -7.134040), Knowth, and Dowth in the Boyne Valley. The Cairn T alignment is similar to the well-known illumination at the passage tomb at Brú na Bóinne (Newgrange), which is aligned to catch the rays of thewinter solstice sunrise.
Irish folklore holds that it is bad luck to damage or disrespect such tombs and that doing so could bring a curse.[5][6] However, some of the Loughcrew tombs have been vandalised with graffiti, and security patrols have been put in place.[7]
In more recent centuries Loughcrew became the seat of a branch of theNorman-IrishPlunkett family, whose most famous member became the martyredSt Oliver Plunkett. The family church stands in the grounds of Loughcrew Gardens. With its barren isolated location,Sliabh na Caillí became a critical meeting point throughout thePenal Laws for Roman Catholics. Even though the woods are now gone an excellent example of a Mass Rock can still be seen on the top ofSliabh na Caillí today. The Plunketts were involved in running theIrish Confederacy of the 1640s and were dispossessed in theCromwellian Settlement of 1652. Their estate at Loughcrew was assigned bySir William Petty to theNapier Family c.1655. The Napiers are descended fromSir Robert Napier who wasChief Baron of the Exchequer of Ireland in 1593.[8]
The Napiers built an extensive estate of some 180,000 acres (730 km²) in northMeath in the subsequent centuries which mirrored that developed by their neighbouring Cromwellians, the Taylors ofHeadfort. Following a third and devastating fire, in 1964, the three Napier sons went to court and requested that the state allow the family trust to be broken up and the estate divided between the three sons. Subsequently, the house and gardens have been restored by Charles and Emily Napier, who open the gardens and run an annual opera festival.[9]
Media related toLoughcrew at Wikimedia Commons
53°44′41″N7°06′45″W / 53.744672°N 7.112483°W /53.744672; -7.112483
