Knowth is a Neolithic passage tomb in the Boyne Valley and part of the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its great mound was originally edged by 127 kerbstones, many carved with spirals, circles, zigzags, and other abstract motifs. This page looks at Kerbstone K38, one of Knowth's decorated kerbstones.
Knowth Kerbstone K38.
The stone is greywacke, a type of sandstone composed of tightly cemented mineral grains and rock fragments. Most of the designs were made by tapping the stone with a rounded tool, creating shallow carvings. Near the lower left are two very small, carefully made circles. Just to the right of these are two light zigzag lines, divided by a straight horizontal line and enclosed within a many sided shape.
Above this is a short spiral with two turns. On the right side of the stone, zigzag lines are arranged into diamond shapes, along with three small curved or circular marks. One feature stands out from the rest. A double spiral turning to the left is cut much more deeply into the stone. It does not cut across the other designs, but it was probably added later.
K38 sits on the southern side of the great mound. On a guided tour you walk the kerb path at the base of Knowth and can pause here to study the panel at close range. The deep double spiral resembles the bold central spiral on Kerbstone K34, another highlight on the southern kerb. Scattered pick marks across the face suggest the stone may have been worked more than once over time.
One hundred and twenty-four kerbstones still ring the base of the Great Mound, which is 95 meters (312 feet) across at its widest point. Knowth cannot be visited on your own; access is by guided tour from the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre at Donore, with a shuttle bus to the site.
Aerial view of Knowth passage tomb and smaller satellite tombs.
The definitive guide to Knowth's carved stones is Excavations at Knowth Volume 7: The Megalithic Art of the Passage Tombs at Knowth, Co. Meath, edited by Professor George Eogan and Dr Elizabeth Shee Twohig and published as part of the Excavations at Knowth series. It is the official record of megalithic art from decades of excavation at Brú na Bóinne.
The catalogue entry for Kerbstone K38 describes its double spiral, zigzag chevrons and lozenge patterns in detail, including the deeper re-carving that sets the main spiral apart from the lighter motifs around it.
Knowth was built around 3200 to 2900 BC, and this volume covers one of the site's most remarkable features: its carved stones. All 390 decorated kerbstones, passage stones and chamber stones are catalogued with written descriptions, line drawings and photographs. Six main art styles are identified and explained, along with the motifs and carving techniques the Neolithic builders used.
Knowth accounts for about 46 percent of all passage-tomb art in Ireland and roughly a third of the megalithic art recorded in Europe. The book also places Knowth in a wider context, comparing its carvings with those at other Irish tombs, sites in western and northern Britain, and earlier megalithic art across Atlantic Europe. If you have walked the kerb at Knowth and want to understand what you saw, this is the reference to keep.
Purchase from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. A free digital edition is available from the Digital Repository of Ireland.
Ideal for a first visit to the Boyne Valley, this private tour explores the UNESCO World Heritage landscape of Brú na Bóinne. Visit Newgrange and Knowth with the official site guides, then discover places associated with Ireland's ancient kings, mythology, and Saint Patrick. The day also includes the Hill of Slane and the Hill of Tara.
Price €675 for up to six guests, plus booking fees.
Experienced beyond expectations. Michael tailored some of the trip depending on our preferences, and he is a friendly person as well. Read the full TripAdvisor review