161
Of greatest interest here is whether reverence for the sky was shaped by perceptions of the local topography, especially an orientated regard for the liminal horizon
where celestial bodies seemingly travelled out of, and into, the imagined underworld. If such was ever the case, did such veneration identify with the sector of sky
characterised by the region of imperishable circumpolar stars lying beyond the
lunar-solar arc of the horizon where stars can neither rise nor set? Furthermore, was
there a sacred belief that the spirits of the dead joined with the ancestors in this
perpetually darkest region of the sky? In considering spatial order and cosmology in
Phase 1 and 2 at Stonehenge, Pollard and Ruggles (2001) argue that ‘a multiplicity
of meanings and symbolic references were embodied in attendant depositional practices’ at that monument. Referencing other scholars, they consider the symbolism of
body directions at the site and how these relate back to ideas of sidedness, left and
right. In that model, ‘Left’ is associated with darkness and evil, the cardinal directions west or north equate to the world of the profane, weakness and death. Whether
the north sky was ever explicitly regarded as the abode of the ancestral spirits is not
specifically considered.
7 Broader Contexts: New Horizons
Archaeological and anthropological thought on prehistoric ritual and religion are
crucial to broadening our understanding of the belief systems and traditions of preliterate societies. Such enquiry takes us on a journey, in search of the unknowable,
in a sense. Unlike the security of ethnographic evidence or the tangibility of material culture retrieved by archaeological excavation, enquiry into the intangible
nature of lost traditions and belief systems is a perilous journey into the unknown.
The formulation of ideas and theory imposes a burden of rigorous duty of care—in
the methodological procurement of data and in the derivation of culturally contextualised interpretations. As scholars, we are fortunate to have a relevant body of
developed literature providing a framework for different research approaches and
consensus drawn from peer thinking. This provides a reliable platform to explore
the distant past and the inhabitants of these islands (e.g. Bell, 1997; Gibson &
Simpson, 1998; Insoll, 2011; Lewis-Williams, 2010).
Passage tombs are one of several distinctly different prehistoric traditions in
Ireland, representing the surviving expressions of our earliest religious architecture.
Typologically, they are regarded as the monumental pinnacle of the megalithic tomb
building tradition. Such claims are justified given their elaborate architectural form
in many cases and the prevalence of developed inscribed and incised megalithic art
on the structural stones; over 80% of all such art in Western Europe is found here.
Attributes such as landscape setting, elevation separateness from other types,
entrances facing other tombs and related cairns located at higher elevations in every
case, and the solstitial alignment of some burial chambers and passages are a striking characteristic. Their marginally later chronology than the court and portal
tombs, taken in conjunction with these attributes, could suggest the emergence of a
The North Sky and the Otherworld: Journeys of the Dead in the Neolithic Considered
Of greatest interest here is whether reverence for the sky was shaped by perceptions of the local topography, especially an orientated regard for the liminal horizon
where celestial bodies seemingly travelled out of, and into, the imagined underworld. If such was ever the case, did such veneration identify with the sector of sky
characterised by the region of imperishable circumpolar stars lying beyond the
lunar-solar arc of the horizon where stars can neither rise nor set? Furthermore, was
there a sacred belief that the spirits of the dead joined with the ancestors in this
perpetually darkest region of the sky? In considering spatial order and cosmology in
Phase 1 and 2 at Stonehenge, Pollard and Ruggles (2001) argue that ‘a multiplicity
of meanings and symbolic references were embodied in attendant depositional practices’ at that monument. Referencing other scholars, they consider the symbolism of
body directions at the site and how these relate back to ideas of sidedness, left and
right. In that model, ‘Left’ is associated with darkness and evil, the cardinal directions west or north equate to the world of the profane, weakness and death. Whether
the north sky was ever explicitly regarded as the abode of the ancestral spirits is not
specifically considered.
7 Broader Contexts: New Horizons
Archaeological and anthropological thought on prehistoric ritual and religion are
crucial to broadening our understanding of the belief systems and traditions of preliterate societies. Such enquiry takes us on a journey, in search of the unknowable,
in a sense. Unlike the security of ethnographic evidence or the tangibility of material culture retrieved by archaeological excavation, enquiry into the intangible
nature of lost traditions and belief systems is a perilous journey into the unknown.
The formulation of ideas and theory imposes a burden of rigorous duty of care—in
the methodological procurement of data and in the derivation of culturally contextualised interpretations. As scholars, we are fortunate to have a relevant body of
developed literature providing a framework for different research approaches and
consensus drawn from peer thinking. This provides a reliable platform to explore
the distant past and the inhabitants of these islands (e.g. Bell, 1997; Gibson &
Simpson, 1998; Insoll, 2011; Lewis-Williams, 2010).
Passage tombs are one of several distinctly different prehistoric traditions in
Ireland, representing the surviving expressions of our earliest religious architecture.
Typologically, they are regarded as the monumental pinnacle of the megalithic tomb
building tradition. Such claims are justified given their elaborate architectural form
in many cases and the prevalence of developed inscribed and incised megalithic art
on the structural stones; over 80% of all such art in Western Europe is found here.
Attributes such as landscape setting, elevation separateness from other types,
entrances facing other tombs and related cairns located at higher elevations in every
case, and the solstitial alignment of some burial chambers and passages are a striking characteristic. Their marginally later chronology than the court and portal
tombs, taken in conjunction with these attributes, could suggest the emergence of a
The North Sky and the Otherworld: Journeys of the Dead in the Neolithic Considered