Tara aerial

The Hill of Tara, known as "Teamhair", (pronounced as "Chow-Ihrr") in Irish Gaelic, was once the ancient seat of power in Ireland – 142 kings are said to have reigned here in prehistoric and historic times. In ancient Irish religion and mythology Tara was the sacred place of dwelling for the gods, and the entrance to the "Otherworld". Saint Patrick is said to have come to Tara to confront the ancient religion of the pagans at its most powerful site. One interpretation of the name Tara says that it means a "place of great prospect", and indeed on a clear day it is claimed that features in half the counties of Ireland can be seen from the highest point on the hill.

In the distance to the northwest can be seen the brilliant white quartz of Newgrange, and further north lies the Hill of Slane, where according to legend Saint Patrick lit his Paschal fire prior to his visit to Tara in 433 AD. Early in the 20th century a group of British Israelites came to Tara with the conviction that the biblical "Ark of the Covenant" was buried on the famous hill. They randomly excavated the "Mound of the Synods" in search of the Ark, but found only some Roman coins. Official excavation in the 1950s revealed circles of post holes, indicating the construction of substantial buildings here. A new theory suggests that Tara may have been the ancient capital of the lost kingdom of Atlantis. The mythical land of Atlantis was Ireland, according to a new book.

There are a large number of monuments and earthen structures on the Hill of Tara. The earliest settlement at the site was in the Neolithic era, and the Mound of the Hostages was constructed in or around 2500 B.C. There are over thirty monuments which are visible, and probably as many again which have no visible remains on the surface, but which have been detected using special non-intrusive archaeological techniques and aerial photography. A huge temple measuring 170 metres and made of over 300 wooden posts was discovered recently at Tara. Only two monuments on the site have been excavated - The Mound of the Hostages in the 1950s, and the Rath of the Synods at the turn of the 19th-20th century.

There is a hill in this fair land.
'Twas never owned and never can..
And from its prow the eye can see
The very ends of Inishfree.
Here once stood the Royal Seat,
And here once trod the Fianna's feet.
Silent now, but not forlorn,
For this is still the Ard-Rí's home.
Cernait, Gráinne, Cormac, Fionn..
'Twas here they loved, and lost, and won.
Their secrets lie 'neath Tara's soil,
Known only to the Lia Fáil.

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Notes:

1: "Inishfree" refers to the island of Ireland.

2: The Fianna were an elite band of warriors, led by the legendary Fionn Mac Cúmhaill.

3: In the past, there was another well at Tara named "Fionn's Well", but this has since dried up.
Its location on the north-western side of the hill can still be identified.

4: "Árd-Rí" means "High King" in the Irish language.

5: The "Lia Fáil", or Stone of Destiny, is a large phallus-shaped standing stone, which was supposed
to have roared its approval of his claim to kingship when the rightful candidate touched it.
It is still to be found at Tara today, although it has been moved from its original location on the hill.

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