Enigmatic Underground Iron Age Monument At Navan Fort And Its Connection To The Ulster Kings Investigated
Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - When scientists discovered a massive, underground anomaly at Nava Fort in County Armagh in Northern Ireland, they suspected they may have encountered something of archaeological and historical importance. It has previously been suggested that Iron Age temples of the early, legendary Ulster Kings are hidden below the ground.
Scientists are attempting to shed more light on the Navan Fort, a large circular earthwork. Image credit: Armagh City, Bambridge and Craigavon Council.
This year, archaeologists have continued the investigation of the mysterious complex at Nava Fort, and researchers from Queen's University, Belfast, think they have now found physical evidence that the site could have been in use as early as the 4th Century B.C.
The Iron Age covers the period from about 800 BC to the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD.
It was previously thought the site was home to a vast temple complex and ceremonial center where legendary kings, including Chonchobhar mac Nessa gathered.
"This year's dig has seen four fresh trenches opened on the hilltop site.
"What we are discovering here is that some of the early phases here are really very special.
They are unique probably in terms of the complexity of some of these monuments on this island - there's maybe only one or two other parallels that we know of.
Particularly because they are Iron Age in date, it is incredibly rare to find monumental structures of the Iron Age," said archaeologist Dr. Patrick Gleeson told the BBC.
"At the moment it looks like what we have is an entirely new early to mid-Iron Age monumental horizon to the complex," he said.
Ailill mac Máta, one of the Ulster kings. Credit: Irish artist Cormac McCann, CC BY-SA 3.0
When you come to the site today everything that you see dates to around 95 BC or later.
What we have discovered is that some of the buildings that were excavated in the 1960s sit within a huge series of timber palisaded enclosures from the 4th to 1st Century BC in terms of date range.
They consist of large buildings on the crest of the hilltop, situated within a large figure of eight shaped enclosure about 160m in diameter stretching across the crest of the hill with huge timber posts defining the edges of the site," Dr. Gleeson added.
According to Dr. Gleeson, this is an enigmatic structure and the ring barrow scientists have not found any evidence suggesting it to be a burial monument, as we would expect a ring barrow to be
The site may have been used for production, post-medieval activity or perhaps even early Medieval residential structures.
Dr. Gleeson said the discovery would contribute to "our understanding of the site".
Navan Fort may become a World Heritage Site. It is now a part of The Royal Sites of Ireland, a group of six pre-historic sites. Image credit: Armagh City, Bambridge and Craigavon Council.
"But it also solidifies some of the suspicions that have been developing over the last number of decades that, rather than this being a residential centre of the Kings of Ulster, it actually appears to be a ceremonial centre of paramount ritual and religious significance, where people engaged in major ceremonies and activities," he added.
"Then at some point it morphs into a more residential and symbolic centre in the medieval period. That allows us to situate it, not just in an Irish context but in a north-western European context as well."
See also: More Archaeology News
There is now also growing hope that Navan Fort will become a World Heritage Site and it currently sits on the tentative list with five other Royal Sites of Ireland.
The location of the site fits descriptions mentioned in the Ulster cycles of Irish mythology, such as one of the four great cycles of Irish mythology that describes the adventures of heroic kings and warriors, like, for example, Irish warrior hero Cuchulainn.
Could this exciting archaeological discovery confirm several mythological Irish events? It would seem the answer is yes, and we may know more in the near future.
Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer
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