✦ The Ancient Atlas

Loughcrew

MegalithicEuropeIreland

Complex of approximately thirty passage tombs spread across the Loughcrew hills (Slieve na Calliagh — 'mountain of the hag') in County Meath, Ireland. The cairns are conventionally dated c. 3300 BCE, contemporary with Newgrange and Knowth. Cairn T preserves the most spectacular megalithic art in Ireland: deeply carved concentric circles, sunburst motifs, and abstract symbols on multiple chamber stones. The cairn's passage is aligned on sunrise at the spring and autumn equinoxes — the rising sun illuminates the rear chamber and specific carvings in sequence. Hugh Newman documents the alignments and the Winnemucca petroglyph correspondence.

53.7444°, -7.1119°

Look Closer — this site carries open questions: geometry beyond period explanation; stones fitted without mortar, almost no gap. See geometry across the Atlas →
Open in the Atlas map →

Walkthrough videos (3)

Loughcrew | Megalithic Art in Ancient Ireland & The Winnemucca Connection | MegalithomaniaLoughcrew | Megalithic Art in Ancient Ireland & The Winnemucca Connection | Megalithomania · Hugh Newman / MegalithomaniaLoughcrew: myths, history and astronomy of a Neolithic cemetery in IrelandLoughcrew: myths, history and astronomy of a Neolithic cemetery in Ireland · Anthony Murphy / Mythical IrelandThe Hill of the Witch — the Cairns of Loughcrew, a quick guideThe Hill of the Witch — the Cairns of Loughcrew, a quick guide · Anthony Murphy / Mythical Ireland

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