Kilkenny Archaeological Society to host lecture on 'ancient mysteries of Knockroe Megalithic Tomb'

Kilkenny Archaeological Society is to host a lecture titled 'The ancient mysteries of Knockroe Megalithic Tomb - Recent discoveries and ongoing research'.

In this lecture by Professor Muiris O’Sullivan, archaeologist, reviews the key features and wider significance of the remarkable passage tomb monument at Knockroe in South Kilkenny, including the results of the most recent post-excavation research. The site lies at the south-west edge of the county, less than 150m from the Tipperary border.

Known locally as the Coshel (caiseal), Knockroe is best known for its double solar alignment, at sunrise and sunset, around December 21, the midwinter solstice. No less important is the megalithic art to be seen on several of the structural stones.  The lecture will suggest that Knockroe, built around 5,500 years ago, is a monument in the same league as the great mounds at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth in the Boyne Valley.

Muiris O’Sullivan is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at the UCD School of Archaeology.  He has published extensively on many aspects of Irish archaeology, notably passage tombs and megalithic art.  

Of his books, the excavation volume Mound of the Hostages, Tara (Wordwell 2005) and the related Tara – From the Past to the Future (Wordwell 2013), along with Megalithic Art in Ireland (Country House 1993) are most relevant to the lecture topic. He has discussed Knockroe in academic papers, book chapters and magazine articles, and is also the author of a heritage guide to the site.

Reflecting his broad knowledge of passage tombs, he was the lead archaeological consultant for the re-imagined visitor experience at the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage site in county Meath and serves on the scientific committee associated with the megalithic landscape around Carnac in Brittany as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Professor O’Sullivan is joint author of the ongoing ‘Know Your Monuments’ series in Archaeology Ireland and co-author of the book Antiquities of Rural Ireland (Wordwell 2018).  He was a member of the Heritage Council from 2016-2020 and former Dean of Arts at University College Dublin and Head of the UCD School of Archaeology.

The evevnt will take place at Rothe House, Kilkenny, on Wednesday, March 22 at 8pm. Admission is €8 members or €10 non-members.