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

Description of Kerbstone 74

Stage 1 consists of a series of finely incised, sloping, elongated lines apparently made with a chisel-like implement. These are cut by the deeply picked lines of Stage 2, which form a ribbon or channel and which cut across many of the vertical lines; though on the upper part of the stone the picked lines are shallower, possibly due to weathering.

The carving extends across the main face and comprises five horizontal, three-sided rectangles opening downwards; the innermost rectangle is almost complete. Inside this there are three horizontal lines; the outermost turns down at the right, the middle one turns down at each end and almost joins with the innermost of the five rectangles. A vertical line is deeply picked slightly left of the centre of the stone. In the bottom area there are some small patches of Close Area-picking, and there are some dispersed chisel marks on the lower left.

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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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