Anam Cara Festival

BREAKING NEWS - MASSIVE HENGE discovery

1/ BREAKING NEWS: Hill of Tara to be lost under M3, warn Campaigners

2/ PRESS RELEASE Minister for the Environment
Issued by Dick Roche's Office 5pm on 2 May, 2008....

3/ PRESS RELEASE - TARA WATCH.org:
Minister Roche Must Place Preservation Order on Massive Henge Discovery at Tara'

4/ RTE News Report

5/ BBC: Ancient site motorway is halted

6/ FURTHER INFORMATION: Irish Indimedia

1/ Hill of Tara to be lost under M3, Warn Campaigners
2 May, 2007

The site of a massive ancient pagan temple unearthed at one of Europe’s most archaeologically significant sites will be buried under a
controversial motorway, campaigners warned tonight.

Fears were growing that the Government is to plough ahead with the
contentious M3 route despite the discovery that has excited heritage
campaigners.

The Government insists it has not decided the future of the major find
near the historic Hill of Tara in Co Meath, uncovered just 24 hours
after Transport Minister Martin Cullen turned the first sod on the project.

While work has been suspended to allow further examination, the
Government is today fending off claims by campaigners that this is
merely a stay of execution for the site.

Environment Minister Dick Roche is consulting National Museum director, Pat Wallace on the best way to proceed.

But Vincent Salafia, an environmentalist and long standing Save-Tara
campaigner, claimed the Government was committed to developing the
motorway regardless of the impact.

He alleged Mr Roche had already taken the decision to demolish the
ancient find - though the minister denied the allegation.

Mr Salafia claimed documentation has already been drafted on the
Government’s plans for the site.

“In these directions, Minister Roche directs that the national monument
be preserved ’by record’,” he said.

“In other words, excavations will resume in a matter of days, and the
massive enclosure will then be demolished.”

The Irish National Monuments Act allows for the partial or complete
destruction of national monuments, or finds of significant importance,
by the Government if it is deemed to be in the public interest.

The National Museum director is consulted but has no veto over any
Government decision.

A spokesman for the Minister insisted a decision had not been made,
stating consultations between Mr Roche and the National Museum were
ongoing.

2/ PRESS RELEASE
Ministery for the Environment
Issued by Dick Roche's Office 5pm today....

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.

3/ PRESS RELEASE: TARAWATCH
Tuesday, 1 May 2007

'Minister Roche Must Place Preservation Order on Massive Henge Discovery at Tara'

A massive prehistoric 'henge' site has been discovered in Lismullen, beside the Hill of Tara. The circular enclosure is over the size of 3
football fields, and is without doubt a national monument because of the rarity of henges in Ireland, as well as its importance to the Hill
of Tara archaeological complex.

The discovery last month was kept a secret by the authorities, and it is understood that the National Roads Authority (NRA) has heavily
pressurised the archaeologists, Archaeological Consultancy Services (ACS), to rush to complete excavations so the site can be demolished. Large numbers of archaeologists have been paid overtime to complete the work and the site is under 24 hour security.

TaraWatch has written solicitors' letters to the Minister for the Envrionment, Minister for Transport Meath County Council and the
National Roads Authority and demanded that all works on the site cease immediately, as is required by section 14 A of the National Monuments Act, 2004, which states:

(4) Where a national monument has been discovered, ...then ---

(a) the road authority carrying out the road development shall report the discovery to the Minister,

(b) ... no works which would interfere with the monument shall be carried out, except works urgently required to secure its preservation
carried out in accordance with such measures as may be specified by the Minister,

The Minister, Dick Roche, is then required to consult with the Director of the National Museum, Pat Wallace. This has not occured and the
Museum is currently investigating the site.

In this case, instead of stopping work on the site and consulting with the Minister, the NRA have accelerated works and will destroy this
national monument.

Therefore, it is legally incumbent on the Minister to halt works, place a Preservation Order on the site, and reroute the M3 motorway like he did in Waterford in 2005 when he rerouted the N25 to avoid a large Viking site in Woodstown.

Vincent Salafia said: "This site is a show-stopper and is without doubt a national monument of world significance according to our experts. It would be a sin to
demolish it.

"Legal and expert advice is being taken, with a view to seeking an Interlocutory Injunction in order to secure the site before it can be
demolished. "Martin Cullen drafted this legislation. Now he and Minister Roche are legally bound to enforce it.
Related Link: http://www.tarawatch.org

4/ RTE News Report:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0501/meath.html

Prehistoric Site Discovery Halts M3 Work
Tuesday, 1 May 2007

The Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, has ordered that work be stopped on the M3 motorway near Tara, Co Meath, because of the discovery of a substantial national monument. Yesterday, the Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen turned the first sod on the M3 motorway.
The archaeological site was discovered in Lismullen beside the Hill of Tara, and is said to be the size of three football fields. It has been described as a massive prehistoric site.

5/ BBC News: Ancient Site Motorway is Halted
Last Updated: Tuesday, 1 May 2007, 19:33 GMT 20:33 UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/6613729.stm

Work on the controversial M3 motorway in County Meath near Tara has
been halted after the discovery of a highly significant archaeological find. The project has been bitterly opposed by environmental campaigners. They are opposed to the route because of its proximity to the historic sites of Tara and Skryne.

The find is thought to be the size of several football fields and is a circular structure used possibly for ceremonies in ancient times.
On Monday, Irish Transport Minister Martin Cullen turned the first sod on the huge motorway project.

However, only one day later it has been halted by Environment Minister Dick Roche, environmentalists and historians warned that the Hill of Tara and its ancient burial site in County Meath was too important to be tampered with. The M3 is set to be built near the existing Enniskillen to Dublin road, which can be gridlocked at peak times. The National Roads Authority had argued that the motorway was needed because it can currently take up to two hours to travel the 25 miles between Navan and Dublin.

However, some historians objected to its route past an area which they view as a treasure trove of archaeological finds and Ireland's equivalent of the Egyptian Valley of the Dead. Tara, known as Temair, was once the ancient seat of power in Ireland - 142 kings are said to have reigned there in prehistoric and historic times. In ancient Irish religion and mythology Temair was the sacred place of dwelling for the gods, and was the entrance to the otherworld.