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

Description of Kerbstone 56

A number of motifs are picked on the main face of the stone, and the overall impression is one of an unusually well-planned and rhythmic whole. A medium-sized or large, rounded point is most commonly used, but the pickmarks near the top of the stone are shallower, probably due to weathering. There are five anti-clockwise spirals, three in a row and two in the spaces beneath them.

From the left, the motifs comprise a large spiral of five turns; the outer end of the spiral then doubles back for two-thirds of the way around the spiral and there is a short outer arc at the lower-left. To the upper-right of this there is a spiral of three-and-a-half turns, with a double circle below it, and lower down a spiral of four-and-a-half turns, which also doubles back on itself for two-thirds of a turn and then doubles back again for about a quarter turn.

In the middle of the stone is a spiral of five-and-a-half turns, and beyond this, to the right, are two spirals of three turns each. The space to the right of the middle spiral has a double circle at the top, with a small circle below, then a wedge shape with rounded corners, and below that a semi-circle facing down towards a set of four concentric arcs. Three chevrons are picked between the two spirals at the right.

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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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