Attempts have been made to explain the meaning of these symbols – some say they are representations of the sun at different times of the year, others say they represent celestial bodies such as comets. One thing seems certain – they represent heavenly bodies of some form.

There is a new theory as to the meaning of these symbols, one which reveals a duality of meaning, and an ancient knowlegde of the complex movements of the heavens.

It is to mythology, and particularly the ancient story about how Dowth was built, which reveals an ancient astronomical symbolism which may help to explain something about the meaning of the 'Place of Darkness'. The story comes from the Dindshenchas, a collection of ancient stories about Irish placenames, and concerns Bresal, who was the ruler of the time.

"In his time there fell a murrain on kine in every place in Ireland, except for seven cows and a bull that increased strength for every farmer in his time. By him is built the solid hill in the likeness of Nimrod's tower, so that from it he might pass to heaven, - that is the cause why it was undertaken". The story continues to tell how Bresal's sister stopped the Sun from moving so that there would be 'no night but bright day' until work reached completion. Unfortunately, they committed incest and the Sun went down . . .

The men of Erin left the task incomplete, saying: ". . . since darkness has fallen upon our work, and night has come on and the day is gone, let each depart to his place. Dubad (darkness) shall be the name of this place for ever." (Source: Metrical Dindshenchas)

Given that there are seven "suns" on kerb 51, and that the mythology about Dowth speaks of a bull and seven cows, it seems likely that the site has some connection with the constellation of Taurus, the Bull, which contains the open cluster the Pleiades, otherwise known as "The Seven Sisters". This constellation was very important around the year 3000BC, when the Boyne Valley mounds were being constructed, as it contained the Sun on the Spring Equinox, that very important moment of the year when the Sun's path along the ecliptic crossed the celestial equator heading northwards. It is the Sun's position among the zodiac stars at this time which determines the current 'age' – i.e. the "Age of Taurus".

Another interesting phenomenon which occurs at this time is what is known to astronomers as a 'heliacal rising' of the Pleiades. This happens when the stars in question rise at the eastern horizon but are quickly lost in the glare of the rising sun. It is interesting to note that the Egyptians, and the Dogon tribe in Africa, among others, used the same Dowth-like 'sun-wheel' symbols to signify a heliacal rising.