A blog about things that interest me, politics, news, media, architecture, development, environment, local history, secularism, web, dublin ireland, tara

Contact me at expectationlost@gmail.com

Thursday 9 August 2007

Could someone define the Tara Hill and Valley landscape?

There has been lots of talk about the Tara Valley landscape but it hasn't been defined.

The core Tara landscape/complex can be best defined by highlighting the following defensive sites: Skryne, Rath Lugh, Rath Miles, Ringlestown Rath, Riverstown defensive earthwork, and Rath Maeve.
I know it probably couldn't be defined exactly down to the last metre but this map added to be by Con Conner is the only visual description(*) I've seen to attempt to define the Royal City of Tara.


Map by Con Connor of druidschool.com

The Druid expert suggest that the extent of the Royal City is determined by the defensive raths on high points around Tara. Although all 10 of NRA proposed routes enter this zone with the archaeologist's/conservationist preferred choice of those 10 the 'orange route' (which goes to the west away from the Gabhra Valley) cuts off the (Ringlestown) rath circled in the bottom left of this picture. (Googlemap of NRA routes) Heres a capture of my version of Connor's investigation which can be explored on googleearth.


Are the yellow lines the extent of the Royal City of Tara landscape.


I have also added to the googlemap the outline of the Bru na Boinne national park ( around New grange Knowth and Dowth )as example of trying to define a national monument and to compare the size with any future national park for Tara.

A archaeological protection zone and buffer zone for development.

Report on the M3 motorway impact on the Tara landscape. by Edel Bhreathnach, Conor Newman, Joseph Fenwick.

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