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Knock Iveagh in County Down has been a hugely significant place since Neolithic times. The hilltop provides unique views in all directions from Slieve Guillion to Slieve Donard and from Lough Neagh to the Antrim plateau. This site was special to Co Down's earliest inhabitants for good reason. It is possible to observe the complete journey of the sun, from its 'birth' on the eastern horizon at dawn until its 'death' in the west at dusk, from the summit of Knock Iveagh. This is something which would have been considered very important in pre-Christian times.
Archaeological exploration in 1954 revealed that the hillside is littered with bone and ash, and this pre-dates the arrival of the cairn at Knock Iveagh's summit. Such a layer of bone and ash is very unusual, and lends strong support to an argument that this was a 'sacred' hillside for millennia. Some archaeologists believe that Knock Iveagh may also have been the location for ritual fires and if so, these would have been visible across a wide distance. The round 'cist' cairn on the top of the hill is one of the oldest in the North having been dated to approx 3700BC.
The hillside was largely unspoilt for more than 5000 years until the arrival of a road, which snaked its way up to the top of the hill and appears to have entered the legally protected 'scheduled' area around the cairn, despite having no Scheduled Monument consent. Sadly it appears that despite apparently noting this breach, the authorities chose to take no action under HMO 1995.
Archaeological exploration in 1954 revealed that the hillside is littered with bone and ash, and this pre-dates the arrival of the cairn at Knock Iveagh's summit. Such a layer of bone and ash is very unusual, and lends strong support to an argument that this was a 'sacred' hillside for millennia. Some archaeologists believe that Knock Iveagh may also have been the location for ritual fires and if so, these would have been visible across a wide distance. The round 'cist' cairn on the top of the hill is one of the oldest in the North having been dated to approx 3700BC.
The hillside was largely unspoilt for more than 5000 years until the arrival of a road, which snaked its way up to the top of the hill and appears to have entered the legally protected 'scheduled' area around the cairn, despite having no Scheduled Monument consent. Sadly it appears that despite apparently noting this breach, the authorities chose to take no action under HMO 1995.
A large wind turbine has now been constructed on the hillside, after a deeply flawed planning process where State Archaeologists & nearest neighbours were not consulted. We believe the development was incorrectly screened for EIA, and a great deal of the additional development (on which the turbine relies) is unauthorised EIA development, having never been through the planning process at all!
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In 2021 ABC Council initiated Judicial Review proceedings against the Department for Infrastructure for their failure to intervene at Knock Iveagh. Despite this, the development remains in place and since it was built it has earned at least half a million pounds of our money in ROCS. With the authorities arguing among themselves about who is to blame, time is running out to Save Knock Iveagh.
Public access to the hilltop and monument, which has been free for generations (and in fact probably since earliest times), has now very sadly been prevented by the landowner. We dispute this, and believe the Council should be making an Access Order to enable the community to access the monument, a known inauguration place, as is their traditional right under common law.
Knock Iveagh (Cnoc Uí Echach) was the location of ritual inaugurations and was the 'power hill' of the ancient Uí Echach Cobo tribe, one of the tribes (túatha) which made up the ancient kingdom of Ulaid. They later became the Magennis Lords of Iveagh. In common with other inaugural sites around Ireland, clear sight-lines in all directions would likely have been key. Additional solar alignments involving views both to and from Knock Iveagh appear to strengthen the arguments that the cairn may have originally been a passage tomb which interacting with the wider ancient landscape. During our research we have identified many other previously unknown archaeological sites including a bawn-like structure, immediately to the North of Knock Iveagh summit. These discoveries add to what was previously understood about the site and show that it remained a very important place within Ulster's landscape for more than 6,000 years.
You can support our campaign to Save Knock Iveagh, and to hold the numerous public bodies who have failed to protect this important piece of Northern Ireland's heritage to account by following us on social media, and engaging with our tweets and posts. THANK YOU!
Public access to the hilltop and monument, which has been free for generations (and in fact probably since earliest times), has now very sadly been prevented by the landowner. We dispute this, and believe the Council should be making an Access Order to enable the community to access the monument, a known inauguration place, as is their traditional right under common law.
Knock Iveagh (Cnoc Uí Echach) was the location of ritual inaugurations and was the 'power hill' of the ancient Uí Echach Cobo tribe, one of the tribes (túatha) which made up the ancient kingdom of Ulaid. They later became the Magennis Lords of Iveagh. In common with other inaugural sites around Ireland, clear sight-lines in all directions would likely have been key. Additional solar alignments involving views both to and from Knock Iveagh appear to strengthen the arguments that the cairn may have originally been a passage tomb which interacting with the wider ancient landscape. During our research we have identified many other previously unknown archaeological sites including a bawn-like structure, immediately to the North of Knock Iveagh summit. These discoveries add to what was previously understood about the site and show that it remained a very important place within Ulster's landscape for more than 6,000 years.
You can support our campaign to Save Knock Iveagh, and to hold the numerous public bodies who have failed to protect this important piece of Northern Ireland's heritage to account by following us on social media, and engaging with our tweets and posts. THANK YOU!