Newgrange Cursus
The Newgrange cursus is a Neolithic monument in the firm of an ancient trackway is 100 yards long and 20 yards wide. It is located at Newgrange, in County Meath, and is part of the Brú na Bóinne complex.
It is assumed that the cursus was used as a ceremonial procession route.
Description
- Location map: 53°41’42"N, 6°28’23"W
A cursus is believed to have been a ritual procession route, and is typically found within a large Neolithic complex. It is characterized by having a long and narrow track bordered by parallel embankments and ditches.[1] The only gaps in the track are the pathway's entrances and exits. The terminal point of a cursus is an area that is either square or rounded in shape.[2]
The Newgrange cursus can be found approximately 100 yards east of the great passage tomb at Newgrange, in County Meath, Ireland. The ancient route lies on a north-south axis, and is made up of two parallel banks 20m apart. It probably originated from an area that once was a pond, now dried-up, and advances east-west, sloping upwards, to the north of the Newgrange ridge. The southern end of the track is closed off by a U-shaped terminal. Approximately 100 m of the prehistoric track exists today.[1]
History
William Stukeley (1687-1765), the antiquarian, coined the term, "cursus" in the eighteenth century to describe the long earthwork track at Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument in Wiltshire. He initially believed that the route was originally used as a Roman racecourse.[3] The word "cursus" is Latin for "course". Today, the word, "cursus" is used to describe long and narrow trackways or rectangular enclosures that are identified as ancient processional monuments.[4] There are several cursus monuments found in Ireland and Great Britain. They vary in form, shape, size, and boundary. [2]
Outside links
- National Monuments Service: Aerial investigation and mapping of the Newgrange landscape at Brú na Bóinne
- 659 Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site: Unesco
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Condit, Tom: 'The Newgrange Cursus and the Theatre of Ritual': Archaeology Ireland, 1997 Vol 11, issue 3; pages 26-27
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Leigh, Joanna; Stout, Geraldine; Stout, Matthew (2018). "A Pathway to the Cosmos at Newgrange Farm". Archaeology Ireland 32 (4): 25-29.
- ↑ Johnston, Robert (1999). "Chapter 1: An introduction to the cursus monuments of Neolithic Britain and Ireland". Pathways and Ceremonies: The Cursus Monuments of Britain and Ireland (Neolithic Studies Group Seminar Papers). Oxbow Books. pp. 1-8.
- ↑ "cursus". https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cursus. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- Lewis-Williams, D. and Pearce, D., Inside the Neolithic Mind, Thames and Hudson, London, 2005, ISBN 0-500-05138-0
| World Heritage Sites in the Republic of Ireland |
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Brú na Bóinne: Dowth • Knowth • Newgrange • Monknewton • Newgrange cursus • Townleyhall passage grave • |
