HILL OF TARA

The megalithic tomb called the Mound of the Hostages is the oldest monument on the Hill of Tara dating back to between 2500 B.C. and 3000 B.C. The passage, 4m in length and 1m wide, was subdivided by sillstones into three compartments each containing cremated remains.

A wonderfully decorated stone can be viewed from the entrance gate. The engravings may represent the sun, moon or stars as religious symbols or maybe the stone was used as a prehistoric calendar.

NEWGRANGE

The Megalithic Passage Tomb at Newgrange was built about 3200 BC. The kidney shaped mound covers an area of over one acre and is surrounded by 97 kerbstones, some of which are richly decorated with megalithic art. The 19 metre long inner passage leads to a cruciform chamber with a corbelled roof. It is estimated that the construction of the Passage Tomb at Newgrange would have taken a work force of 300 at least 20 years.

TRIM CASTLE

Trim Castle, the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland, was constructed over a thirty-year period by Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter. HUGH de Lacy was granted the Liberty of Meath by King Henry II in 1172 in an attempt to curb the expansionist policies of Richard de Clare, (Strongbow). Construction of the massive three storied Keep, the central stronghold of the castle, was begun c. 1176 on the site of an earlier wooden fortress. This massive twenty-sided tower, which is cruciform in shape, was protected by a ditch, curtain wall and moat.