Ireland's neolithic passage tombs were not just the burial place of the elite - new research

Catherine J. Frieman, Associate Professor in European Archaeology, Australian National University, Neil Carlin, Lecturer in Archaeology, University College Dublin, and Jessica Smyth, Associate Professor in Archaeology, University College Dublin

Fri 4 April 2025 at 1:20 pm GMT-5·4-min read


In County Meath in eastern Ireland sits the world heritage site of Brú na Bóinne. The late 4th millennium BC megalithic tombs have been labelled “passage tombs” by archaeologists because they typically feature a narrow passage leading to an internal chamber, covered by a large circular mound. Centuries of antiquarians and archaeologists thought they were burial places for the elite of Neolithic Irish society.

Genetic analysis of human remains within several of the tombs initially seemed to reinforce this. But our latest research has overturned this idea.

By integrating exciting new results from ancient DNA into archaeological models, combining archaeological and biomolecular data, we have been able to draw out a rich and complex picture of daily life, interactions, and social structure in Neolithic Ireland. Together, this evidence deconstructs the myth that only important individuals were socially active, which downplays the contribution made by collective action in the deep past.

What our research reveals is a complex pattern of small, mobile groups who moved frequently with their animals and gathered seasonally. These groups would meet with their extended community at their shared monuments to progress funerary rites for some of their dead, renew old relationships and form new ones. In this way, they built their kin networks over hundreds of kilometers and many generations through communal feasting, ceremonies, and work, as well as through having children together.

More:
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/ireland-neolithic-passage-tombs-were-182020550.html