Excavations at Knowth Amplify Archaeology Podcast

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Excavations at Knowth Amplify Archaeology Podcast

September 14, 2024

Excavations at Knowth

Dig into the Story of Knowth in Amplify Archaeology Podcast Episode 41 with Dr Kerri Cleary

Excavations at Knowth

Dig into the Story of Knowth in Amplify Archaeology Podcast Episode 41 with Dr Kerri Cleary

In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Neil chats with Dr Kerri Cleary about Professor George Eogan’s excavations at Knowth.

There are few places as deeply layered in stories as Knowth. Located in the famous bend of the Boyne like its near neighbour Newgrange, Knowth has been a place of significance for millennia. Through the Neolithic as a place of settlement and ritual, an Iron Age ancestral burial ground, an early medieval ‘royal’ residence of the kings of North Brega, and activity continued through the medieval period and onwards. Today Knowth is part of the celebrated Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site, and visited by thousands of people every year. Its complex story was uncovered in a truly monumental series of excavations led by the late Professor George Eogan. In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast, Neil chats with Dr Kerri Cleary who discusses those excavations and George’s incredible legacy in Irish archaeology, and describes the story of Knowth through time. Kerri is the co-author of a fantastic new guidebook to Knowth published by the Royal Irish Academy, that provides a wonderfully accessible introduction to this incredible archaeological complex.

The images here are all courtesy of the Royal Irish Academy.

Professor George Eogan during the excavations at knowth megalithic cemetery

Professor George Eogan at Knowth

Courtesy of the Knowth Archive, Royal Irish Academy

Knowth Guidebook

Knowth Guidebook, Royal Irish Academy

sandmartins fly out of their nest above the kerbstones decorated with megalithic art at Knowth

Sandmartins at Knowth

By Uisce Jakubczyk, Courtesy of the Royal Irish Academy

Excavations at Knowth megalithic cemetery

Artist's impression of the passage tomb construction phase

By Steve Doogan. Courtesy of the Royal Irish Academy

Reconstruction drawing of Knowth, Steve Doogan. Courtesy of the Royal Irish Academy

Artist's impression of the passage tomb cemetery at Knowth

By Steve Doogan. Courtesy of the Royal Irish Academy

AMPLIFY ARCHAEOLOGY PODCAST

Title: Excavations at Knowth

Duration: 1 hour 16 mins.

Summary:

In this episode of Amplify Archaeology Neil chats with Dr Kerri Cleary about Professor George Eogan’s excavations at Knowth.

Excavations at Knowth – Key Discussion Points

What and where is Knowth? – 2 min 14 secs
Professor George Eogan – 5 min 40 secs
Kerri’s links with Knowth – 9 min 05 secs
What was Knowth like before George started work? – 11 min 04 secs
What was the background to the excavation? – 14 min 40 secs
The experience of the excavation– 18 min 18 secs
The excavations at Knowth and Newgrange overlap, did they influence each other? – 21 min 55 secs
The chronology of Knowth, beginning with its earliest origins – 25 min 30 secs
The megalithic art at Knowth – 34 min 03 secs
Knowth in the Bronze Age – 40 min 12 secs
Knowth in the Iron Age – 44 min 15 secs
Knowth in the Early Medieval Period – 48 min 39 secs
The Mythology of Knowth – 52 min 40 secs
Knowth as part of the World Heritage Site – 57 min 20 secs
Knowth as part of the World Heritage Site – 57 min 20 secs
The Guidebook to Knowth – 1 hour 04 min 17 secs
The Knowth Macehead – 1 hour 09 min 41 secs

Show notes and links to further information

You can pick up a copy of the brilliant new guidebook from the Royal Irish Academy here.
And you can enjoy a deep dive into the details of the excavations at Knowth in the seven volume series now available Open Access on the Digital Repository of Ireland here.
Please do leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you can, or share the episode on social media using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us to be found so I’d be very grateful!
If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our membership service Tuatha. You’ll find online courses on Irish archaeology and heritage, articles on places to visit, itineraries for great days out (including one on the Boyne Valley featuring Knowth), opportunities to join us on our monthly lecture series and on our tours, and lots more! You can learn more and sign up here, and don’t forget to use the coupon code AMPLIFY20, to get 20% off your first subscription.
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