Irish Megalithic Tombs
This and other great books on Celtic history can be found at : http://crimsonbooksinc.storesecured.com/items/Irish-Scottish-Celtic/list.htm
Irish Megalithic Tombs - Elizabeth Shee Twoling
“The earliest evidence we have for human occupation in Ireland dates to 8000 BC.”
Starting around 4000 BC large stone tombs began to appear across Europe, there being over 1600 in Ireland alone. Both their construction and contents reveal much , although the reuse of these spaces over the centuries can lead to some confusion about their builders.
Often time these tombs are associated with supernatural beings and gods, predating written language but surviving to this day. Although many of the famous tombs, such as Newgrange, were revered for ages, and later used as the basis for settlements, scholarly interest in them did not develop until the 17th century.
Because most of these historians were English they dismissed the idea that the Irish could have built these magnificent structures, assuming they were the work of Danish invaders, or even Phoenicians.
While over the years these sites were mapped and recorded, it wasn’t until the 1930s that any true excavations began. Four basic types of tomb were discovered, the Court, the Portal, the Passage and the Wedge - each with unique features and burial associations.
For anyone interested in Irish history, this study of these tombs give an invaluable basis to start from.