Ireland is a country known for its rich history and beautiful scenery. If you’re looking to explore some of the ancient sites that Ireland has to offer, here are five you should visit. These sites date back hundreds or even thousands of years, and they offer a glimpse into the past of this fascinating country. So, pack your bags and get ready for an adventure!
Geography
Ireland is a small island nation off the coast of Europe. The island is the nation’s second-biggest (after Great Britain). Northern Ireland takes up 80 percent of this area, but the United Kingdom controls a major portion of the north. Ireland is famed for its vast swaths of beautiful, emerald countryside.
In essence, the Emerald Isle is its title. However, there are huge regions of difficult, rocky terrain. Ireland was entirely buried by massive glaciers some 150 million years ago. The earth was taken away by the passage of these massive icebergs, creating vast expanses of smooth, limestone paving.
The wet peat bogs that dot Ireland’s heartland and west coast are the damp leftovers of glaciers’ dehydrated old lakes. The highlands of Ireland rise mostly towards the south and west, frequently terminating in precipitous mountains that plummet thousands of feet further into the Atlantic Ocean.
Culture
Ireland is a storyteller’s paradise. The custom may be traced back to Celtic poets who used to preserve and recount the country’s past. Ireland has produced a number of well-known writers, including four Nobel Laureates in Language. Music and athletics are two more areas where the Irish thrive.
Wildlife
Nature and rural life are very important to the Irish. Animals were even depicted on the country’s initial coinage. Because of Ireland’s moderate stages of development and pollution, most of the country’s open areas have remained largely untouched.
Government conservation efforts safeguard Irish wildlife. The government has initiated six national parks and thousands of national historic sites around the country to protect the natural environment.
Ireland Ancient Sites
The stunning remains of Ireland convey the story of early Irish history while also introducing you to many of the region’s most attractive surroundings. Numerous old artifacts have been maintained, providing the island with an especially rich archaeological legacy. Discovering the Neolithic, Celtic, and early Christian monuments found across Ireland.
1. Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara, in County Meath, is a spectacular limestone hill with a view all over the middle valley of Ireland to faraway mountainous regions, which has been celebrated in songs and poems.
It is an undiscovered Stone Age mass grave that once was Ireland’s cultural and spiritual heartland for ages, with only the ruins of ringforts and a freestanding stone commemorating the spot that was Ireland’s traditional and religious capital for decades.
It is home to a variety of historic structures and was formerly the seat of the High King of Ireland, according to legend. The Tara complex is comprised of a series of monuments that stretch for 1.3 miles over a low ridge just west of the major Dublin-Navan route.
Approaching from the east, the moderate ascent to 510 feet above sea level is deceiving, as it falls precipitously towards the west, earning it the Irish nickname “Team hair,” a peak from though there is a stunning landscape.
2. The Burren
Burren National Park in County Clare, in southwest Ireland, is rich in massive stone ruins. The Poulnabrone Dolmen is the largest, a remarkable ‘gateway dolmen’ (burial tomb) with a massive keystone that has become an icon of the district.
It was created around 5,800 years back and included at least 1,500-year-old remains when it was uncovered. The term “Burren” is derived from the Irish phrase “Boreann,” which means “rocky location.” When you consider the lack of soil cover and the amount of exposed Limestone Pavement, this is an apt moniker.
Because of the blend of nutrition plant and flower species, it has been referenced as a “fertile rock” in history. “Of this barony, it is stated that there is not enough water to drown a man, timber enough to hang one, nor ground enough to bury them,” commented a Cromwellian Army officer called Ludlow in 1651.
This item is so rare that the locals rob it from each other, despite the fact that their livestock is rich. The plants grow in two- or three-foot square tufts of dirt between the limestone rocks, and it is incredibly delicious and healthy.”
3. Newgrange
Newgrange is a Prehistoric landmark within Bru Na Boinne area of Meath County, Ireland. The name comes from monks of Mellifont Abbey’s ‘newer’ grange (farm) nearby Drogheda, which is 8 miles (14 km) north. Although the monastery was demolished in 1539 CE, the area was still associated with the monks’ “new farm.” Newgrange, which predates the Pyramids of Giza and Glastonbury, was built around 3200 BCE and is part of one of Europe’s oldest renowned and important massive stone complexes.
The Newgrange landmark is 249 feet (76 meters) long and 39 feet (12 meters) tall, and it spans acres (4500 square meters). The entry leads to a 62-foot (19-meter) passage that leads to a central room with three cavities (also known as ‘compartments’) in the sidewalls at north, west, and south intervals. Human charred remains were found in the west recess during renovations.
Despite Newgrange being previously classified as a passageway tomb, it has since been acknowledged as a landmark whose aim was far more profound and universal, despite the fact that it contained the burial of the dead. The setting light rises through some kind of roof box above the doorway on the day all-around winter solstice on December 21, illuminating the corridor within and, in particular, the west recess at the back of the central chamber.
4. Glendalough
Glendalough, a large religious complex, is situated in a mountainous canyon with two lakes (the Upper and Lower Lakes), hence the Irish name Gleann dá Locha, which means “valley of the two lakes.” This is an archaeological site and historically rich landscape with a treasure of antiques to back it up.
Human activity in the valley has been documented much further back than that of the Neolithic Period. Modern investigations have discovered industrial growth which may have occurred around the same time as St Kevin’s alleged construction of a ‘monastery’ around 600AD.
Glendalough is one of Ireland’s finest significant medieval religious sceneries and has been a popular tourist destination since the eighteenth century. Ancient monks must have loved the beauty of the area because they built in the most picturesque locations: forested meadows, lagoon flats, and stream flex.
The basic marble monk dwellings that still survive today add to the beautiful nature of these sites. St Kevin’s Church at Glendalough, County Wick low, is a great example of this: it was built in the 6th century in a high off-the-ground glacier canyon above two lakes. The remains on the site presently originate from the 11th century and include a 33-meter (110-foot) circular castle, rock chapels, and several stone bends.
5. Skellig Michael
During the criminal period, when Catholics’ beliefs and principles were all being crushed by the forces that be, Skellig Michael was a haven for many of them. The monks of St Fionan lived in Skellig Michael. These Skelligs monks lived in stone beehive-shaped houses and led extremely modest lives out in the wild Atlantic.
On the surface, the huts were circular, but on the inside, they were rectangular. They were meticulously constructed to keep every raindrop from accessing their interior. The monks of Skellig spent most of their time worshipping in the cathedral and some of their time studying and tending to their gardens.
Historians have estimated that roughly 12 monks lived permanently on the rock. These monks apparently left the Isles in the 13th century and relocated to Ballinskelligs on the peninsula, where it became a holy site. The World Heritage Committee (WHC) designated Skellig Michael as a World Heritage Area in December 1996, classifying it as a site of exceptional universal importance.
The Skellig Rocks have risen to international prominence as a result of this honor. Thousands of tourists flock to the Skelligs each year as a reward of this coveted distinction. The monks constructed three sets of staircases that, depending on the climate, enabled entrance to the temple from the East, South, and North Steps landing locations.
Because the island has no fresh water supplies, a complex water storage system was devised, with two reservoirs built inside the monastery’s inner perimeter and a third a little to the west that gathered rainwater from exposed bedrock during rainfall.
According to a survey of the site, no more than a dozen monks and an abbot lived at the temple at any given time, and it was inhabited until the 12th or early 13th century. Skellig Michael remained in the Catholic Canons Regular’s ownership until the abbey of Ballinskelligs was disbanded in 1598.
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Summing Up
If you’re looking to explore some of Ireland’s ancient sites, these five should be at the top of your list. Each one has a unique history and offers visitors a glimpse into Ireland’s past. So if you’re planning a trip to this beautiful country, make sure to add these stops to your itinerary.