Press Release Issued by Dick Roche’s Office 5pm, 1 May 2007:

Dick Roche, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has received a report that archaeologists working on the route of the M3 motorway have found archaeological evidence of a national monument at Lismullin, Co. Meath.



The archaeologists were excavating known adjacent sites under the directions issued by the Minister for the archaeological works on the motorway scheme.

In the course of these excavations, additional archaeological features were discovered on the edge of the area of the excavations and, as required by the Minister’s directions, the area being excavated was expanded. Two lines of stake holes (15 - 20 cm in diameter), have provided evidence for the existence in the expanded area in the past of a circular enclosure (80 m in diameter) with a smaller inner central enclosure (16 m in diameter). Two further rows of stake holes show evidence of an entrance and passageway from the outer enclosure to the inner enclosure. The monument has been heavily truncated by ploughing in the past and the surviving features are shallow and fragile.

The report received by the Minister was made to him under the relevant provisions of the National Monuments Acts. These require that where a National Monument is discovered during the carrying out of a road development, the matter shall be reported to the Minister.

Pending any directions by the Minister, no works which would interfere with the Monument may be carried out, except works urgently required to secure its preservation, carried out in accordance with measures specified by the Minister. In this instance, the archaeological team was authorised to continue to clean back the surface of the area, to complete a plan of the features and to check for associated features outside the enclosure. A small number of the stakeholes are also to be excavated to try to recover sufficient material for radiocarbon dating.
No further excavation of the enclosure will take place pending the decision of the Minister on any directions to issue in relation to the monument.

The National Monuments Acts provide that where the discovery of a National Monument has been reported to the Minister he must consult with the Director of the National Museum before issuing directions in the matter to the road authority.

The Minister has consulted with the Director of the Museum on the directions that would be most appropriate in this instance from the point of view of best archaeological practice. Directions will issue as soon as possible after the Minister receives the Director’s response. The Minister is advised that the surviving elements of the Monument are extremely fragile, underlining the need for an early decision on how to proceed.



See http://www.tarawatch.org/ and http://www.savetara.com for news updates. Thanks to the Campaign to Save Tara for photos and assistance. See www.savetara.com

NEW TARA DISCOVERY HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR REINSTATEMENT OF NATIONAL MONUMENTS ACT

An Taisce – 02 May 2007

There was a time not too long ago that a new site worthy of the designation “National Monument” would have been wholly welcomed by the Minister of the Environment. More importantly its preservation would have been guaranteed.

The discovery of a circular wooden structure of possible Iron Age date in the Tara-Skryne valley is a major event. It is a new key element in an integrated complex of monuments and places that have been recognized both archaeologically and historically. The number of sites on the Tara ridge alone is now approximately 40. The importance of Tara and it’s relationship with the High Kings of Ireland is known to all. The discovery of what could be called a temple, after the fashion of a comparable discovery at Emain Macha, seat of the Kings of Ulster, is of obvious major significance. Such sites are extremely rare.

Prior to this government’s ill-advised amendments to the National Monuments Act in 2004, the Minister for Environment would have had very limited “wriggle-room” and a National Monument would have been safe. No longer; a stroke of the pen by the current minister will be enough to remove this newly discovered temple from the landscape. “Preservation by Record” they may say; how about “Destruction by Documentation”?

What should have been done? Full scientific excavation followed by reconstruction. In fact just like what was done at Knowth. There the tourists can view the replica circular structure of circa mid 3rd millennium BC date – and similarly here too tourists would love it. Its straight-forward economics.

Carrickmines, Woodstown and Tara; three new National Monuments. Carrickmines; Government response – Monuments Act changed and site destroyed. Woodstown; a second bite at the cherry – and a new road is coming. And Tara? Wouldn’t it be a pleasant novelty if we could keep a new National Monument for a change?

The 2004 amendment to the National Monuments Act must be repealed for sake of cultural integrity of this island. We owe not only to future generations but also to the present one if we are to attempt to have any self-respect regarding our own culture.

Irish Times - Thursday, May 3, 2007

Minister for the Environment Dick Roche has already issued draft directions that would allow for the destruction of the recently discovered “henge” along the route of the M3 in Co Meath, it was claimed yesterday.

The environmental group TaraWatch said Mr Roche had sent draft directions to the National Museum to preserve the henge “by record”, a process that would facilitate photographs and written records being made before the henge is removed. Under Section 14A of the National Monuments Act 2004, if a national monument is discovered, the Minister is required to consult the director of the National Museum before deciding on what action to take.

Mr Roche told The Irish Times yesterday that he was in consultation with the National Museum, but he declined to elaborate on the nature of that consultation. Asked if he had sent draft directions to the museum to preserve the monument by record, as claimed by TaraWatch, Mr Roche repeated that he was “in consultation with the National Museum” and referred to his department’s previously issued comments on the discovery. On Tuesday the department said: “The Minister has consulted with the director of the museum on the directions that would be most appropriate in this instance from the point of view of best archaeological practice. Directions will issue as soon as possible after the Minister receives the director’s response. “The Minister is advised that the surviving elements of the monument are extremely fragile, underlining the need for an early decision on how to proceed.”

TaraWatch spokesman Vincent Salafia said the group had “well-placed sources within the National Museum” who were aware of draft directions that had been sent, which instructed that the monument be preserved by record. Dr Mark Clinton, chairman of An Taisce’s national monuments and antiquities committee, said: “The discovery of what could be called a temple, after the fashion of a comparable discovery at Emain Macha, seat of the kings of Ulster, is of obvious major significance. Such sites are extremely rare.” He called for full scientific excavation to be followed by reconstruction.

Labour Party environment spokesman Éamon Gilmore said the issue could have been avoided if the Government had accepted a November 2004 proposal that the M3 be developed immediately in three sections, “and that the controversial section, running through the Skryne Valley, be rerouted”. Fine Gael transport spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell has said she was “stunned” to learn that “more than 500 archaeologists, hired at a cost of €30 million, managed to miss a four-acre historical site while excavating for the new M3 motorway”.

Tim O’Brien.

Irish Independent Thu, May 03 07

ENVIRONMENT Minister Dick Roche knew a month ago that the site of a possible pre-historic ‘temple’ had been unearthed on the route of the controversial M3 motorway.

The National Roads Authority alerted his department early last month that a pagan site - the size of three football pitches - dating from 3,500 BC had been discovered at Lismullen, Co Meath. It had not shown up in initial surveys.

Experts believe the find could be one of the most significant archaeological discoveries unearthed here, and might be the site of a structure similar to Stonehenge but made with wood.

Yesterday the Tarawatch campaign claimed Mr Roche had issued draft directions to preserve the site ‘by record’ - in effect, noting where the site was before destroying it to allow roadworks to begin.

The Government insists no decision has been taken on its future, made public just 24 hours after Transport Minister Martin Cullen turned the sod on the €850m project.

Paul Melia

The Guardian

Owen Bowcott, Ireland correspondent, Thursday May 3, 2007

Relic find halts road construction

A controversial plan to build a motorway through an Irish heritage site
has come to a halt 24 hours after the transport minister turned the
first sod on the project, following the unearthing of ancient relics on
the site.
Archaeologists, who have been campaigning for years to stop the
proposed M3 passing so close to County Meath's Hill of Tara, the
ancient seat of the high kings of Ireland, were jubilant after
excavators found the remains of an iron-age or bronze-age wooden henge,
an extensive ritual site with underground passages.
The discovery of the enclosure at Lismullen reinforced calls by
protesters who want the motorway re-routed from the Gowra valley, an
area where there are prehistoric monuments pre-dating many Egyptian
pyramids.
"Henges are generally used for ceremonial activity and this directly
links the valley with the top of the Hill of Tara, where a similar
henge was found," said Muireann Ni Bhrolochain, a lecturer in Celtic
studies at Maynooth and a leading opponent of the M3.
Construction was scheduled to begin last year. The Roads Authority has
blamed legal action by protesters for delays costing €1m (£680,000) a
week. Building work had begun even though the National Trust for
Ireland is taking a case to the supreme court that could block it. The
National Museum in Dublin will assess the henge's historical
significance.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2070928,00.html

Interestingly enough, among the discoveries at the newly uncovered Lismullen henge site is a rare dog burial:



My thanks to Dr. Muireann ni Bhrolchain for bringing this to my attention.

Wow! An archaeological plan of the Lismullen site has emerged. It looks like it might have had an equinoctial alignment, having its entrance way open towards the east:



You can read more about the Lismullen site in the report here:
http://www.meath.ie/LocalAuthorities/Publications/Heritage/File,7286,en.pdf

MEATH ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PRESS STATEMENT: 2 MAY 2007

LISMULLIN NATIONAL MONUMENT AND COMPLEX OF MONUMENTS IN TARA-SKRYNE AREA: SOCIETY CALLS FOR PRESERVATION OF COMPLEX, WIDER CONSULTATION AND FOR DECISION NOT TO BE MADE DURING THE ELECTION PERIOD

The Minister for the Environment has acknowledged the existence of a
national monument at Lismullin, discovered during the preparatory works
for the M3 motorway.
This is not the only national monument that has been discovered in this
section of the motorway. It is simply the only one that the roads
authorities have so far recognised as such. In this quite limited area
of the M3 motorway (i.e. the Dunshaughlin to Navan section) we believe
that a complex of outstanding monuments has come to light, outstanding
not only in their size and variety but also in their chronological
extent, ranging in date from the Middle Stone Age down to historic times.
Apart from the known sites at Roestown and Dowdstown, a remarkable
complex of sites has emerged in the core Tara area, between Ross Cross
and Garlow Cross. We believe there is evidence of human settlement and
activity from the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) constituting some of the
earliest evidence for human habitation in Co. Meath, and evidence of
subsequent activity in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages at many other
sites. There is also evidence for very impressive settlement during the
1st and 2nd millennium AD including some outstanding ringforts and many
other types of monuments have been turning up since the excavations
started. The complex could be best described as ‘an archaeological mosaic’.
As only one national monument has been acknowledged, serious questions
must now again be asked about the National Monuments Act 2004 which
leaves the decision on whether to report the discovery of a national
monument entirely up to the developers on road schemes. Apart from the
conflict of interest involved, the Act does not set out any objective
criteria for the determination of what is or is not a national monument.
The question could be asked: how many national monuments are being
destroyed along road schemes simply because they are not recognised as such?
Preservation by record i.e. excavation and destruction is not the
answer. The Meath Archaeological and Historical Society calls for the
preservation of this complex of outstanding monuments. We call 1) for
full and wider consultation, 2) the inclusion of the entire complex in
the decision-making process and 3) that no decision on this issue be
made during the election period.
ENDS

Statement by the Campaign to Save Tara

After the recent announcement of the discovery of a National Monument at Lismullen, the Campaign to Save Tara is calling for any decision on the future of the Henge to be postponed until the Election is over.

As far back as 2001 a Government funded research project reported that the whole area around the Hill of Tara comprised a 'mosaic of monuments' and should be considered as a whole and interconnected archaeological landscape.

During the preparation for the Environmental Impact Statement, the NRA’s own archaeological advisors stated: ‘The monuments around Tara cannot be viewed in isolation, or as individual sites, but must be seen in the context of an intact archaeological landscape, which should not under any circumstances be disturbed, in terms of visual or direct impact on the monuments themselves.’ (Margaret Gowan and Co. Ltd, Navan to Dunshaughlan Route Selection, August 2000, paragraph 7.3)

In his presentation to the An Bord Pleánala Oral Hearing (2002) Conor Newman, ex-director of the Discovery Programme said: “… the valley between Tara and Skryne is chock-a-block with archaeological monuments, and interesting and complex ones at that: indeed it is a wonder that with such results appearing at regular intervals along this route, why was the whole route not surveyed.”

He said on the discovery of this present monument: “This is a monument of major significance. It compares with Iron Age monuments found at the related royal sites of Emain Macha and Dun Ailinne, and a discovery of this magnitude in a landscape so heavily invested with ceremonial monuments was predicted from the start. The view expressed on MCC's website report that its position beneath the ceremonial complex on the Hill of Tara suggests that it may have served 'smaller or lesser political units' that might somehow have been skulking around the fringes of Tara is frankly asinine.”

It is rather surprising that a site the size of Lismullen, where the National Monument was uncovered, did not show up in the geophysical survey but such examinations only reveal the tip of the iceberg as not all archaeological features can be detected by geophysics. This advice went unheeded by the NRA consultants at the beginning of this process.

Michael Canney of the Campaign to Save Tara said: 'The Lismullen Henge is undoubtedly a major find and its true significance lies in it orientation and proximity to Rath Lugh and the Hill itself. There are clear connections and all the evidence points to this being a major monument located in a large and extensive 'Tara Complex', which extends throughout the Valley.'

'The Government and the NRA rejected the Discovery Programme research during the route selection process and now, three years and €40 million in archaeological fees later, the motorists of Meath are faced with further delays in delivering much needed infrastructure. If the Government had read their own research, rather that favouring the agendas of powerful local figures, the railway would be built and the Tara Valley would have been given the recognition and protection it deserves.'

In a related development Proinsias de Rossa MEP, will raise the matter in the European Parliament on Wednesday next. The petitions committee of the parliament has previously expressed concern about the proposed M3. Mr. de Rossa is keen to ensure that all relevant EU legislation on heritage is applied to the new National Monument. The Labour Party Manifesto, published on Thursday last, explicitly sets out that it is party policy to re-route the most controversial section of the route.
The Campaign to Save Tara is running an election campaign about the Tara/M3 issue. They are seeking written assurances from all parties and local candidates that they will re-route the road should they form part of the next government. The campaign is urging its supporters to 'Vote for Tara' on the basis of these written commitments.

Friday, 4 May 2007 16:36
http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0504/tara.html

The Department of the Environment has received the recommendations of
the Director of National Museum relating to the significance of the
newly discovered archaeological site near the Hill of Tara in Co Meath.

The substantial ancient enclosure is thought to date back to the Iron
Age and is likely to have been used for ceremonial purposes.

Environment Minister Dick Roche has already ordered a stop to the
construction work on the M3 motorway in the vicinity of the find,
pending the completion of the National Museum report.

A department spokesman said its archaeologists will examine the report,
and the Minister will issue directions to the National Roads Authority
as soon as possible.

The Irish Times is running an online poll with the question:



At this moment in time, 73% said YES, 27% said NO.

Looks like public opinion is against the Government on this one. About time too!

Irish Examiner, 07 May 2007

By Elaine Keogh
REPORTING the discovery of a national monument while building a road is
up to the developer, a historical society has claimed.
As Environment Minister Dick Roche considers the future of the monument
found on the route of the M3 near the Hill of Tara, it has been claimed
other national monuments have been uncovered on other sections of the
same road.
The Meath Archaeological and Historical Society (MAHS) said: “This is
not the only national monument that has been discovered on this section
of the motorway, it is simply the only one that the roads authorities
have so far recognised as such.”
The enclosure uncovered recently at Lismullen, 2km from Tara, may be a
royal and sister site to Tara, archaeologists with the National Roads
Authority believe.
However, Julitta Clancy, archaeological officer with the MAHS, said the
find raised questions about the National Monuments Act 2004, “which
leaves the decision on whether to report the discovery of a national
monument entirely up to the developers on road schemes”.
“The act does not set out any objective criteria for the determination
of what is or is not a national monument and one must ask how many
national monuments are being destroyed along road schemes simply because they are not recognised as such.”
She said a complex of sites had emerged in the core Tara area, with
evidence of human settlement and activity from the Mesolithic (Middle
Stone) Age at Blundelstown just north of Tara, where a major
intersection is planned.
She said other sites provided evidence of “very impressive settlement
during the first and second millennium AD, including some outstanding
ring forts — the complex could be best described as an archaeological
mosaic”.
Along with the Campaign to Save Tara, the group has asked the minister
to hold off on a decision over the site until after the election.
The company building the motorway said work was progressing on schedule.
Enda Tyrrell, a member of the Eurolink M3 Ltd consortium, said:
“Contrary to the recent misinformation in the media, the 500m exclusion
zone at Lismullen, required as a result of the new archaeological
discovery, does not affect our day-to-day work on the project.”

Irish Independent, Friday May 4th 2007
THE general election, with all its attendant bells and whistles, has
diverted attention from one of the most bizarre bureaucratic bungles of
recent times.
For years, campaigners have warned that the controversial €850m M3
motorway, close to the Hill of Tara, would destroy the country's richest
archaeological landscape.
Proponents of the motorway argued that the new road was badly needed,
and would not damage the Hill of Tara.
This week, the minister with responsibility for roads, Martin Cullen,
turned the first sod on the motorway, oblivious to the fact that his
colleague, the minister with responsibility for the Environment, Dick
Roche, had been told as long ago as April 4 that a four-acre Irish
equivalent of Stonehenge lay directly in the path of the new road.
It seems incredible that, over a 12-day period, one minister failed to
tell the other that a 3,000-year-old question mark hung over his pet
project.
Instead, the Environment Minister halted the massive project the very
day after the Roads Minister had blithely launched it.
It is even more difficult to understand how the ancient site could
remain undiscovered after many years of examination and excavation
involving 500 archaeologists and costing €30m.
The Minister for the Environment tells us he is now awaiting an
evaluation from the National Museum.
The Transport Minister tells us the project has not stopped.
But have they told each other?

Tuesday, 8 May 2007 16:15
http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0508/m3.html

TaraWatch has predicted a High Court challenge will be initiated
almost immediately if the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, approves the demolition of a prehistoric site in the path of the M3 motorway.

Mr Roche is currently examining a report from the Director of the
National Museum, Dr Pat Wallace, on the newly found enclosure at
Lismullen. He is expected to announce a decision on the matter this
week.

Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch said today that he would prefer if all
sides in the row would participate in mediation to resolve the
problem to everyone's satisfaction.

However he said if Minister Roche orders that the new
find be preserved by record then there would be a race against the clock
to secure a judicial review of that decision.

Mr Salafia said a new submission to the minister from US academic Dr
Ronald Hicks had concluded that, to avoid damage to this pre-historic
landscape, the route should be shifted.

The environmental group maintains it is not opposed to the road, but
wants it moved to protect the Tara site.