Knowth Kerbstone K81

Kerbstone K81 is one of the 127 kerbstones numbered in Professor George Eogan's record of the Knowth monument. It is located on the north-western side of the great passage tomb mound.

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

Description of Kerbstone 81

A long serpentiform motif enclosed in a gapped, rectangular frame is picked across the upper part of the stone. The bends in the centre of the serpentiform are set close together, but at each end the bends become more splayed out. More than one phase of carving may be a factor here, as the picking of the serpentiform also shows differences, with the pickmarks set closely together in the centre but much more widely spaced at each end, particularly on the right.

Different techniques were also used for the rectangle; a chisel with a narrow cutting edge and a medium-sized point were used for the bottom line, while a chisel with a medium cutting edge was used for the top line. On the left this was made with a series of short, vertical marks. A short, horizontal line is picked along the right shoulder of the stone. Part of the lower-left corner of the rectangle is flaked off, and there are a number of dispersed chisel marks in that area.

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

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Knowth Stone Age passage tomb

Stone K81 belongs to the kerb ring that defines the oval footprint of the Knowth passage tomb in the Boyne Valley. Few Irish passage tombs combine entrance kerb art with a full decorated kerb ring. Knowth belongs to that rare group, along with Newgrange and Dowth South, and includes some of the most elaborate rayed and arc motifs in the country.

One hundred and twenty-four kerbstones still ring the base of the Great Mound, defining an oval plan roughly 80 metres east-west and 95 metres north-south. Many carry carved spirals, lozenges, concentric circles and other abstract motifs that can be viewed on a circuit of the mound (kerbstone gallery).

Roughly half of all Irish passage-tomb art and about a third of the megalithic art of Europe comes from Knowth. The carvings share a distinctive Boyne Valley style that links kerb, passage and chamber stones into a single artistic tradition (Excavations at Knowth Volume 7).

The mound cannot be visited independently. Access is by guided tour from the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre at Donore, on the south bank of the Boyne, with a shuttle bus to the site and interpretation by trained guides.