I’m not sure if this counts for #StandingStoneSunday , but it is fascinating.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-66514152
“They believe they have now found physical evidence that the site could have been in use as early as the 4th Century BC… This provided indications of huge Iron Age temples and other religious complexes.
This month researchers from Queen's University, Belfast returned to Navan Fort to take part in a dig, which they believe has uncovered evidence supporting this.”
@IrishStudiesQUB Excavations at Navan Fort resume this spring, and I anticipate Gleeson and his colleagues will turn up additional discoveries to enlighten our understanding of prehistoric Ireland.
It was a wonderful lecture.
@IrishStudiesQUB Gleeson, while noting some significant differences between the Irish 'royal sites" and the Scandinavian sites, sees both as examples of the concentration and control of religious cult by a societal elite. He suggested viewing nearby Armagh not necessarily as a Christian site in opposition to a pagan Navan, but within the context of the combination of sacral and secular functions of 'royal site' complexes.
@shezza_t is moving to .ie
Christy Jackson Nicholas
Michael Meckler