The Hill of Tara (Teamhair na Rí) in Co. Meath is a ceremonial and royal complex on a low ridge above the Boyne valley, active from the Neolithic through the early medieval period. Its monuments include the Mound of the Hostages (a Neolithic passage tomb, c. 3000 BC), the Iron Age ritual enclosure Ráith na Ríg, the Forrad and Tech Cormaic barrows, and the Banqueting Hall (Tech Midchúarta) — a long ceremonial avenue. Activity intensified in the later Iron Age (c. 1st century BC – 4th century AD), when Tara functioned as a pre-eminent sacral and assembly site.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Tara lay beyond the Roman frontier in unconquered Hibernia, but it was the foremost ritual-political centre of late prehistoric Ireland, associated in early medieval tradition with the high kingship and the inauguration rite at the Lia Fáil. Notably, Roman material — including 1st–4th century coins, a lead seal, and ornaments — has been recovered there, indicating contact with Roman Britain, possibly through trade, diplomatic gift-exchange, or returning mercenaries.
Excavations by Seán P. Ó Ríordáin (1950s) at the Mound of the Hostages and the Discovery Programme's Tara Research Project (1990s–2000s, direct
The Hill of Tara (Teamhair na Rí) in Co. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a sanctuary site from the Roman period in Britain.
Tara is classified as a Roman sanctuary — a religious site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Drumanagh (35.3 km), Bray (53.4 km), Navan (85.5 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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