Showing 159 items matching "stone structures"
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Hume City Civic Collection
Photograph, 1970s
The bluestone bridge which spans the Jacksons Creek was built in 1857 and replaced a laminated timber bridge. In the 1970s the stone bridge was replaced with a wider cement structure to accommodate the increased traffic flow.A black and white photograph of the bluestone Macedon road bridge over the Jacksons Creekmacedon street road bridge, harris, thomas lascelles, jacksons creek, george evans collection -
Hume City Civic Collection
Photograph, Early 1970s
In the early 1970s the eastern approach to Sunbury was changed. The stone bridge spanning the Jacksons Creek was replaced by a wider concrete structure and dangerous curves were taken out of the road. The area on the LHS of the photograph including the two arched stone bridge has been incorporated into a public picnic area.A black and white panoramic view of the eastern approach to Sunbury and the Sunbury township before the road was widened and straightened and the new bridge was built. There are two cars in the foreground. One is approaching the bridge and the other is leaving Sunbury.macedon street, macedon street road bridge, jacksons creek, sunbury township, george evans collection -
Nillumbik Shire Council
Sculpture: Anthony PRYOR (b.1951- d.1991 Melb, AUS), Paretaio, 1985
In the early 1970s, Arthur Boyd bought and restored a large, two-storey traditional farmhouse called Il Paretaio. Situated on the crest of a hill and surrounded by fields and olive groves, it is five kilometres from the village of Palaia in the province of Pisa, Tuscany. Boyd established this farmhouse as a residency programme, (which was later managed by the Australia Council). The residency program ended in 1990. Anthony Pryor undertook an Australia Council residency at Paretaio in 1984. This work is one in a series made during his time there. This work was entered into the Shire of Eltham Art Award in 1985.Pryor is an artist of national significance. This work is an example of his series of 'boxes' made principally for his own pleasure and often swapped with artists and other friends as soon as they were finished. The 'box' series was part inspired by Japanese techniques of wooden construction. Pryor first visited Japan in 1975 and was immediately drawn to Japanese methods of working with stone and wood. Many of these boxes are based upon the principles of the Japanese Zen Buddhist monk Sengai Gibon (1750-1838). This work relates to Sengai's famous hanging scroll Circle, Triangle and Square in which the circle can be read to stand for the cosmos, the square for the individual, and the triangle for aspiration. A heavy, box-like (cube) structure created from huon pine, with bronze, brass and stone elements. Within the cube is an eastern inspired, rear lattice wall in combination with bronze domestic fittings, and symbols (cube, pyramid and circle). Metal lightning, clouds and wooden rainbow hover over an asymmetrical bronze bed floating within the cube. A chair leans and a tilting ladder reaches towards the sky. Stamped into wood: lower right 'ANTHONY PRYOR PARETAIO'huon pine, pryor, brass, bronze, stone, cube, paretaio, italy, eastern, japan, sengai gibon, symbols, zen buddhism, sculpture, personal -
Nillumbik Shire Council
Sculpture: Mark STONER (b.1951 UK, arrived 1957 AUS), Untitled Spiral, 1991
... in the notion that ancient man-made structures such as stone walls... Stoner refers to as Nirvana. The structure is built of masonry ...A small scale concrete work that can be imagined as an ancient monolithic fortress or religious edifice. It suggests ideas like perpetuity, worship, preservation and history. Untitled Spiral is made up of three spirals, the first is constructed as a closed form, the second is open and the third is the space created within the second. The sense of enclosure is powerful but this is offset by the ledge which traces the top edge of the spiral shapes. This pathway leads from a precarious position to the highest point of sanctuary, or to what Stoner refers to as Nirvana. The structure is built of masonry-like units which "suggest a material presence and earthiness". Stoner is absorbed by how we define landscape and what is meant by natural. He is interested in the notion that ancient man-made structures such as stone walls, which are intrinsic to many landscapes, can now be accepted as being natural, organic forms. -
Loreto Australia and South-East Asia
Monstrance
One of original religious artefacts used in the Loreto Chapel. Although no maker's mark, opals would indicated Australian made.Gold coloured monstrance. (Receptacle in which the Holy Eucharist was kept as well as placed for public adoration.) At the top is a large round structure, rayed like the sun - 'viril' and inside the viril is a glass section for holding the host - 'vidriera'. Highly decorated and surrounded by gem stones and opals. -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.Photograph of stained glass windows at Greenwich Chapel and Museum, Englandgreewich, stone, museum, chapel, stained glass -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England, Mason's Mark on stonework
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England, Mason's Mark on stonework
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England, Mason's Mark on stonework
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England, Mason's Mark on stonework, 2017
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.Colour photograph of Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England, Mason's Mark on stoneworkgreenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England, Mason's Mark on stonework
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Information panel, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England, 2016
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Photograph - Colour, Information panel, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.Photograph of interpretation information in Greenwich Chapel and Museumgreenwich, stone, museum, chapel, stone, musuem, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Information panel, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Information panel, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Information panel, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England, 2016, 2016
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.Colour photograph of a sculptural portrait. greenwich, stone, museum, chapel, portrait, sculpture -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Photograph - Colour, Statue, "Hope", Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.Marble statue of Hopegreenwich, stone, museum, chapel, statue, hope -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Statue, "Faith", Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Statue, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England, 2016, 2016
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel, sculpture -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Greenwich Chapel and Museum, England, Mason's Mark on stonework
Greenwich Palace no longer exists however archaeology had added greatly to our understanding of life at the Tudor Court at Greenwich. Since 1971 there have been well over 20 digs on the site. Many wonderful and intriguing items from gold coins to tiled floors and human skeletons have been found. The first major dig uncovered the structure of the royal apartments next to the river. Not only did it clarify the floor plan but finds included some rare Tudor ceiling decorations, a hoard of gold coins and many personal items such as dice used for gaming. Perhaps the most revealing excavations have been the most recent. In 2005 while monitoring the digging of a drainage trench archaeologists found brickwork and tiles that formed the floor of the east end of the Tudor Chapel Royal where the altar once stood.greenwich, stone, museum, chapel -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph - Colour, Knowth and New Grange, Ireland, World Heritage Centre
The Megalithic Passage Tombs of Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth, Fourknocks, Loughcrew and Tara are located in the present day County Meath in Ireland's Ancient East. The Boyne Valley Mounds at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth were built around 3200BC making them older than Stonehenge in England and the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Built by Neolithic farming communities about 5000 years ago, the passage tombs have clear astronomical alignments such as the Winter Solstice Sunrise at Newgrange and the Equinox Sunrise at Loughcrew. Judging from the splendour and magnificence of Newgrange and Knowth it is likely that these temples of the ancestors were places of astrological, spiritual, religious and ceremonial importance, much as present day cathedrals are places of worship where dignitaries may be laid to rest. There is a lively debate about whether these wonderful megalithic structures were built primarily as burial tombs, sacred temples or astronomical observatories. While passage tomb is the traditional description for Newgrange and similar structures, chambered cairn or passage mound are the descriptions favoured by those who consider the passage tomb description too narrow. The large stones surrounding and inside the Passage Tombs are decorated with Megalithic Art such as spirals, concentric circles, triangles, zigzags and images which have been interpreted as the sun, moon and the human face. Irish passage tombs tend to occur in clusters traditionally described as a Necropolis or cemetery. The Boyne cluster includes Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth and Townleyhall. The other great clusters in County Meath are on the hills around Loughcrew. The ancient Boyne Valley passage tomb mounds at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth have been designated World Heritage Site status by UNESCO and attract 200,000 visitors per year. The sites and Visitor Centre are managed by the OPW (Office of Public Works). Newgrange is best known for the illumination of its passage and chamber by the winter solstice sun. The site is open to the public with controlled access to the passage and chamber. Tours of Newgrange start at the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre located near the village of Donore, Co. Meath. Knowth has two passages and is surrounded by seventeen satellite cairns. The site is open to the public; however there is no public access to the interior passages and chambers. Tours of Knowth also start at the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre. Dowth is the only one of the three large Brú na Bóinne Passage Tombs which is not accessible from the Visitor Centre situated on the south bank of the river. Visitors to Dowth must drive directly to the site on the north bank, a couple of miles from the Slane / Drogheda road. Fourknocks with its short passage leading into a wide pear shaped chamber is in similar style to Tombs in Portugal. Just inside the main chamber to the left of the entrance is one of the few representations of a human face from the Neolithic Period in ancient Ireland. Entrance to Fourknocks Megalithic Passage Tomb. Megalithic Art - Loughcrew, Co. Meath Loughcrew Cairns form the largest complex of Megalithic structures in Ireland. The Cairns contain symbolic engravings similar in style to Newgrange. Like other Passage Tombs in ancient Ireland, they have clear astrological alignments.Tara was the seat of the High Kings of Ireland in the first millennium A.D. however Tara is also the site of a Passage Tomb known as the Mound of the Hostages that was built about 2,500 B.C. knowth, newgrange, megalith, ireland, world heritage, neolithic -
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Photograph - Colour, Knowth and New Grange, Ireland, World Heritage Centre
The Megalithic Passage Tombs of Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth, Fourknocks, Loughcrew and Tara are located in the present day County Meath in Ireland's Ancient East. The Boyne Valley Mounds at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth were built around 3200BC making them older than Stonehenge in England and the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Built by Neolithic farming communities about 5000 years ago, the passage tombs have clear astronomical alignments such as the Winter Solstice Sunrise at Newgrange and the Equinox Sunrise at Loughcrew. Judging from the splendour and magnificence of Newgrange and Knowth it is likely that these temples of the ancestors were places of astrological, spiritual, religious and ceremonial importance, much as present day cathedrals are places of worship where dignitaries may be laid to rest. There is a lively debate about whether these wonderful megalithic structures were built primarily as burial tombs, sacred temples or astronomical observatories. While passage tomb is the traditional description for Newgrange and similar structures, chambered cairn or passage mound are the descriptions favoured by those who consider the passage tomb description too narrow. The large stones surrounding and inside the Passage Tombs are decorated with Megalithic Art such as spirals, concentric circles, triangles, zigzags and images which have been interpreted as the sun, moon and the human face. Irish passage tombs tend to occur in clusters traditionally described as a Necropolis or cemetery. The Boyne cluster includes Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth and Townleyhall. The other great clusters in County Meath are on the hills around Loughcrew. The ancient Boyne Valley passage tomb mounds at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth have been designated World Heritage Site status by UNESCO and attract 200,000 visitors per year. The sites and Visitor Centre are managed by the OPW (Office of Public Works). Newgrange is best known for the illumination of its passage and chamber by the winter solstice sun. The site is open to the public with controlled access to the passage and chamber. Tours of Newgrange start at the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre located near the village of Donore, Co. Meath. Knowth has two passages and is surrounded by seventeen satellite cairns. The site is open to the public; however there is no public access to the interior passages and chambers. Tours of Knowth also start at the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre. Dowth is the only one of the three large Brú na Bóinne Passage Tombs which is not accessible from the Visitor Centre situated on the south bank of the river. Visitors to Dowth must drive directly to the site on the north bank, a couple of miles from the Slane / Drogheda road. Fourknocks with its short passage leading into a wide pear shaped chamber is in similar style to Tombs in Portugal. Just inside the main chamber to the left of the entrance is one of the few representations of a human face from the Neolithic Period in ancient Ireland. Entrance to Fourknocks Megalithic Passage Tomb. Megalithic Art - Loughcrew, Co. Meath Loughcrew Cairns form the largest complex of Megalithic structures in Ireland. The Cairns contain symbolic engravings similar in style to Newgrange. Like other Passage Tombs in ancient Ireland, they have clear astrological alignments.Tara was the seat of the High Kings of Ireland in the first millennium A.D. however Tara is also the site of a Passage Tomb known as the Mound of the Hostages that was built about 2,500 B.C. knowth, newgrange, megalith, ireland, world heritage, neolithic