Excavations at Knowth Volume 7: The Megalithic Art of the Passage Tombs at Knowth, Co. Meath (7)

About the Author\nGoerge Eogan BA, PhD, DLitt, LittD(hc), MRIA, FSA, was an Irish archaeologist with particular interest in the Neolithic and Late Bronze Ages. He was professor emeritus of Celtic Archaeology at University College Dublin. He was the director of the Knowth excavations for almost 40 years, as part of his research into the passage tomb builders in Ireland and Western Europe, and the results of his work in this area were published in an extensive series of books and papers. He also served as a member of Seanad Éireann.
Elizabeth Shee Twohig MA, PhD, MRIA, FSA, is a graduate of University College Cork, and was senior lecturer in Archaeology there until her retirement in 2007. Her research interests in megalithic art and megalithic tombs began when she worked on M.J. O’Kelly’s excavations at Newgrange in the 1960s.\nThe complex of passage tombs at Knowth is dated c. 3200–2900 BC, and this volume deals with one of the most significant aspects of the site. It presents a complete catalogue of the 390 recorded carved stones at Knowth, through descriptions, drawings and photographs. Six main styles of art have been identified and these are discussed, together with the motifs and techniques employed. The Knowth carvings constitute c. 46% of all such art in Ireland, and the volume sets the Knowth art in the context of the other Irish carvings, those in western and northern Britain, and also the somewhat earlier art found on megalithic tombs in Atlantic Europe.