Megalithic art stone
- found during M3 works
By - Sean Mac Connell.
A decorated stone bearing megalithic art similar to that
at Newgrange and Knowth has been found incorporated into
part of an early historic souterrain being dismantled as
part of the M3 archaeological works in the vicinity of
the henge at Lismullin, in the Gabhra Valley, Co.
Meath.
The nearest example of megalithic art is to be found in
the passage tomb of the Mound of the Hostages on the
summit of the Hill of Tara, which bears a similarity to
that found in this monument. The decorated stone was
noticed on Friday last by campaigners who oppose the
building of a motorway near Tara.
The art, which possibly dates to around 3,000BC, exhibits
a series of motifs commonly found in passage tomb
contexts - concentric circles, nested arcs and zig-zags
and is similar to a stone removed from a nearly passage
tomb centuries ago.
The excavation of the henge and the souterrain continues
and will probably be completed before Christmas. This
will allow the National Roads Authority to begin the
construction phase of the motorway.
© The Irish Times, 3rd. December 2007.
Related Articles:
Press Release, Campaign to Save Tara.
