The Megalithic Art of the Passage Tombs at Knowth, Co. Meath

Description of Kerbstone 77

On the left of the main face there is a clockwise spiral of four turns; the pickmarks here are elongated and run at an angle, mostly downwards from lefr to right, and sometimes horizontally. Below this on the right is a downward opening U-motif, enclosing a short, finely picked zigzag/serpentiform.

Above and to the right of the spiral is another single U-motif, opening upwards. To the right is a large circular motif, with a wide, ribbon-like, C-motif enclosing another, narrower, C-motif, some arcs and a central gapped circle. To its upper-right is a double loop, with an irregular wavy line below it, and below that a solidly picked shape with wavy lines running out from each corner.

To the right are some shallow patches of area-picking made with a medium-sized, rounded point, and right of this, and party overlapping with one of the area-picked patches, is a large C-motif enclosing a circle with a small gap opening to the right. Along the right edge of the stone there are some picked wavy lines. Most of the picking is done with a medium-sized, rounded point.

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Knowth is a Stone Age Passage Tomb in the Boyne Valley in Ireland's Ancient East and together with Newgrange and Dowth are the principal sites of Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage Site. Knowth is the largest passage tomb of the Brú na Bóinne complex. The main mound is about 12 metres (40 ft) high and 67 metres (220 ft) in diameter covering about 1 hectare (2.5 acres). It contains two passages placed along an east-west line and was originally encircled by 127 kerbstones of which 124 are still in place.

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