Mound of the Hostages facts for kids

The Mound of the Hostages (Irish: Dumha na nGiall) is a very old passage tomb located in the Tara-Skryne Valley in County Meath, Leinster, Ireland. It's a special place where people were buried a long, long time ago.

What is the Mound of the Hostages?

The Mound of the Hostages is a type of ancient burial place called a passage tomb. It was built between 3350 and 2800 BCE, which means it's over 5,000 years old! It looks like a big, round hill, about fifteen metres wide and three metres tall. It's built in a similar way to the famous Newgrange tomb.

How it Looks Inside and Out

The mound has a dome shape. There's a small doorway that goes almost one metre into the side. This doorway is framed with large, plain standing stones. Just like other passage tombs, this one is built so that the rising sun shines right down the passageway. This only happens twice a year! For the Mound of the Hostages, the sun lights up the inside on the mornings of Samhain (around November 1st) and Imbolc (around February 1st).

Inside, the passage is about four metres long, one metre wide, and 1.8 metres high. You can see cool designs carved into the stones, like swirls, circles, and X-patterns. These designs are very old art from the time when the tomb was built. The tomb used to have three separate areas where bodies were placed.

Who Was Buried Here?

People used the Mound of the Hostages for burials for a very long time. It was used from the early Stone Age (Neolithic period) all the way up to about 1600-1700 BCE. Experts believe that between 250 and 500 bodies are buried here! They were placed in layers under the main passage.

Ancient Burial Customs

Most of the people buried here were cremated, meaning their bodies were burned. Their ashes, along with special items called "grave goods," were spread on the floor of the tomb. These grave goods included pretty pottery, stone beads, and bone pins. After placing the ashes and goods, they were covered with stone slabs. Over many years, layers of ashes and stones built up from all the burials.

Later, during the Bronze Age, even more people were buried here. When there wasn't enough space in the passage, bodies were placed directly in the mound itself. More than 40 sets of remains have been carefully removed from the mound for study. These Bronze Age burials often involved placing an upside-down pot (called a cinerary urn) over the cremation ashes.

A Special Discovery

One very interesting discovery was the full body of a teenager from the Bronze Age. This person was buried in a crouched position in a simple pit dug into the mound. With the body, archaeologists found a decorated bead necklace, a bronze knife, and a bronze tool called an awl. These items suggest that this teenager was an important person in their community.

Location and Views

Unlike some other ancient sites, there's no sign of a ditch dug around the Mound of the Hostages. The mound is located north of two other important spots: the King's Seat and Cormac's House. It's also a bit south of the Rath of the Synods. The very top of the mound is the highest point on the hill. From there, you can see amazing views of the countryside all around!

How We Learned About the Mound

People started digging to learn more about the Mound of the Hostages in 1952. The first person in charge was Seán P. Ó Ríordáin, a professor from University College, Dublin. After he passed away, Ruaidhrí de Valera took over and finished the digging in 1959. Even though the digging finished in 1959, the full report about what they found wasn't published until 2005 by Dr Muiris O’Sullivan.

Images for kids

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  The entrance to the Mound of the Hostages