knowth passage tomb

In this great mound about 40 feet high and 220 feet in diameter two great Passage-tombs were discovered in 1967 and 1968. One of the chambers is corbelled, like that at Newgrange, and is round and has side-chambers; the other has a flat roof and looks like little more than a widening of the passage. Both graves are richly decorated with megalithic art, as are also many of the kerbstones surrounding the base of the large mound. The entrances to the tombs were considerably disturbed in the Early Christian Period by the building of souterrains, which seem to penetrate into the mound like rabbit burrows. It is likely that this great mound was raised around 3000-2500 B.C. Excavations since 1962 have uncovered 17 satellite tombs (smaller passage graves) and other ritual features dotted around the base of the mound. Six of these satellite tombs and part of the perimeter of the mound are open to the public. In the 9th and 10th centuries Knowth was the seat of the kings of Northern Breaga, and the Normans used the mound as a motte at the end of the 12th century.