Dowth Complex, Co. Meath

Description

SMR No.: ME020-017----

Monument Type: Megalithic tomb - passage tomb

Dowth (Ir. Dubhadh) is the least well known of the three great tombs of Brú na Bóinne although it compares in size with Knowth and Newgrange. The mound is surrounded by a kerb of 115 stones and has two tombs facing westwards. The smaller south tomb has a short passage and a circular chamber with a recess; the north tomb is cruciform in plan containing a large stone basin. There are smaller satellite tombs to the east and south-west of the large mound.

The large crater in the centre of the mound is the result of excavations in the 1840s. There has also been quarrying of the western side. There are few surviving finds from this work but it is known that quantities of human and animal bone were found in the chambers. Like Knowth, Dowth appears to have been a focus of activity in the first millennium AD and also associated with mythology. One of the passages connects with an Early Christian souterrain or underground passage.