162
new and different cosmology. The hypothesis put forward here could lend support
to that thesis. The central idea is that the starry elements of the celestial dome were
not only regarded and revered but that the northern sector of the distant horizon, and
the northern sky, may have played a key role in the funerary function of the tombs
and the belief system of the tomb builders.
Archaeological opinion has moved demonstrably towards acceptance of the idea
that skyscape and culture are inseparable. Indeed, writing on monumentality in the
Neolithic, Chris Scarre states ‘The symbolism of monuments draws not only on
forms and materials taken from the landscape but also on the movements of the sun,
moon, stars, potent elements in the mythological and cosmological understanding
of Western and non-Western societies alike. Such relationships enhance the potency
of monuments’ (Scarre, 2011: 18–19). In this chapter, the idea is advanced that passage tombs and related cairns drew religious inspiration from the summits of locally
high terrain, enshrined meaning from the liminal distant horizon to the north, and
imbued the darkest region of that sky with the symbolism of death linked to a belief
that the spirits of those interred within the burial chambers journeyed to the afterlife
in that direction, the abode of the ancestors.
In his Opus Magnum ‘Astronomy in Prehistoric Britain and Ireland’, Clive
Ruggles advocates how ‘there is a pressing need to examine further evidence on the
location and design of monuments in relation to the contemporary landscape, but in
a systematic way. This will enable us to question, and ultimately improve, a range
of ideas about the ways in which symbolic relationships between monuments and
the surrounding terrain and sky reflected contemporary world-views’ (Ruggles,
1999: 156). The data, hypothesis and discussion presented in this chapter is a
response to Clive’s aim in that regard.
Acknowledgments My journeys in archaeoastronomy began mainly in the late 1980s when Clive
Ruggles acted as my examiner while then a post-graduate student at Trinity College Dublin. Later,
I was fortunate to participate with Clive on field survey campaigns related to research on the
recumbent stone circles in Cork and Kerry, south-west Ireland. Since then, I have been priveleged
to know Clive as a colleague, friend and mentor. His paper entitled ‘Pushing back the frontiers or
still running around in circles’ appeared in 2011. Apt words in my quest for enlightenment but
forever unattainable like the infinite liminal horizons discussed in this chapter.
References
Andrews, J. H. (2001). A paper landscape: The ordnance survey in nineteenth-century Ireland
(2nd ed.). Dublin: Four Courts.
Armit, I., Neale, N., Shapland, F., Bosworth, H., Hamilton, D., & Mckenzie, J. (2013). The ins and
outs of death in the iron age: Complex funerary treatments at Broxmouth Hillfort, East Lothian.
Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 32(1), 73–100.
Bell, C. (1997). Ritual: Perspectives and dimensions. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bergh, S. (1995). Landscape of the monuments: A Study of the Passage Tombs in the CúIl Irra
Region, Co. Sligo, Ireland, Arkeologiska UndersöKningar; Skrifter Nr. 6. Stockholm:
Risantikvarieämbetet.
F. Prendergast
new and different cosmology. The hypothesis put forward here could lend support
to that thesis. The central idea is that the starry elements of the celestial dome were
not only regarded and revered but that the northern sector of the distant horizon, and
the northern sky, may have played a key role in the funerary function of the tombs
and the belief system of the tomb builders.
Archaeological opinion has moved demonstrably towards acceptance of the idea
that skyscape and culture are inseparable. Indeed, writing on monumentality in the
Neolithic, Chris Scarre states ‘The symbolism of monuments draws not only on
forms and materials taken from the landscape but also on the movements of the sun,
moon, stars, potent elements in the mythological and cosmological understanding
of Western and non-Western societies alike. Such relationships enhance the potency
of monuments’ (Scarre, 2011: 18–19). In this chapter, the idea is advanced that passage tombs and related cairns drew religious inspiration from the summits of locally
high terrain, enshrined meaning from the liminal distant horizon to the north, and
imbued the darkest region of that sky with the symbolism of death linked to a belief
that the spirits of those interred within the burial chambers journeyed to the afterlife
in that direction, the abode of the ancestors.
In his Opus Magnum ‘Astronomy in Prehistoric Britain and Ireland’, Clive
Ruggles advocates how ‘there is a pressing need to examine further evidence on the
location and design of monuments in relation to the contemporary landscape, but in
a systematic way. This will enable us to question, and ultimately improve, a range
of ideas about the ways in which symbolic relationships between monuments and
the surrounding terrain and sky reflected contemporary world-views’ (Ruggles,
1999: 156). The data, hypothesis and discussion presented in this chapter is a
response to Clive’s aim in that regard.
Acknowledgments My journeys in archaeoastronomy began mainly in the late 1980s when Clive
Ruggles acted as my examiner while then a post-graduate student at Trinity College Dublin. Later,
I was fortunate to participate with Clive on field survey campaigns related to research on the
recumbent stone circles in Cork and Kerry, south-west Ireland. Since then, I have been priveleged
to know Clive as a colleague, friend and mentor. His paper entitled ‘Pushing back the frontiers or
still running around in circles’ appeared in 2011. Apt words in my quest for enlightenment but
forever unattainable like the infinite liminal horizons discussed in this chapter.
References
Andrews, J. H. (2001). A paper landscape: The ordnance survey in nineteenth-century Ireland
(2nd ed.). Dublin: Four Courts.
Armit, I., Neale, N., Shapland, F., Bosworth, H., Hamilton, D., & Mckenzie, J. (2013). The ins and
outs of death in the iron age: Complex funerary treatments at Broxmouth Hillfort, East Lothian.
Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 32(1), 73–100.
Bell, C. (1997). Ritual: Perspectives and dimensions. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bergh, S. (1995). Landscape of the monuments: A Study of the Passage Tombs in the CúIl Irra
Region, Co. Sligo, Ireland, Arkeologiska UndersöKningar; Skrifter Nr. 6. Stockholm:
Risantikvarieämbetet.
F. Prendergast