The beginning of the Neolithic in much of Western Europe marked the construction of the first large-scale communal monuments, which became a way to gather disparate communities for rituals and create a unified group identity. These enclosures are often found in groups in southern England, France, and Scandinavia/Denmark.

Recently, a notable group of these monuments has been identified in the Baltinglass area in County Wicklow, Ireland. In addition to the imposing hilltop enclosures, this landscape also hosts a group of at least five possible cursus-type monuments, the largest collection of such structures ever discovered in Ireland.

Cursus-type monuments are long parallel earthworks or wooden post structures, often ranging from 100 meters to 10 kilometers in length, which seem to have had a ceremonial and ritual role during the Middle Neolithic. The first archaeologists to discover this type of monument in England thought they were roman race tracks, hence the name cursus, which means “race”.

The landscape of Baltinglass, County Wicklow, Ireland, with indication of existing monuments and newly discovered
The landscape of Baltinglass, County Wicklow, Ireland, with indication of existing monuments and newly discovered “cursus”. Credit: James O’Driscoll / Antiquity

While in Great Britain, these monuments are often associated with waterways and forest clearings, in Ireland, they tend to be located on elevated ground and steep slopes, often near funerary complexes.

The five cursus found in Baltinglass share some characteristics with their British counterparts, such as astronomical orientation and association with funerary sites, but they also exhibit unique elements in terms of their morphology and location.

For example, the best-preserved cursus at Keadeen stretches for 303 meters and climbs 131 meters in elevation, with an associated inner bank and ditch. It’s topped at its northeastern end by a large seemingly looted burial mound.

The monumental cursus of Baltinglass, visualized by hill shading and simple local relief models
The monumental cursus of Baltinglass, visualized by hill shading and simple local relief models. Credit: James O’Driscoll / Antiquity

Another cursus at Boleylug is situated next to a tributary of the River Slaney and ends with a rounded extremity. Meanwhile, the cursus at Sruhaun appears to cross the River Slaney itself, connecting with a ditch enclosure and several mounds atop Tuckmill Hill.

These monuments are often aligned with key solar events, such as solstices and equinoxes, suggesting that they played an important role in the agricultural cycles and mortuary practices of Neolithic communities.

Unlike in Great Britain, where cursus-type monuments gradually replaced ditch enclosures, in Ireland, both types of communal structures coexisted, indicating continuity in Neolithic monumental traditions. The discovery of these cursus-type monuments in Baltinglass shows that early Neolithic farming groups in Ireland maintained links and exchanges with their counterparts in Great Britain and the continent.

Looking west along the Keadeen cursus line, with the causewayed enclosures of Spinans Hill 1 (foreground left), Rathcoran (center) and Hughstown (center background)
Looking west along the Keadeen cursus line, with the causewayed enclosures of Spinans Hill 1 (foreground left), Rathcoran (center) and Hughstown (center background). Credit: James O’Driscoll / Antiquity

According to researchers, although, given their diversity, it is often difficult to apply global theoretical frameworks to explain the function of cursus monuments, the sites in Baltinglass show a clear connection between the dead, major solar events, and seasonal agricultural cycles. The sunrise over the funerary complexes during significant solar events might have symbolized the ascent of the dead to the heavens, their perceived rebirth, and/or the blessing of the ancestors. The cursus might have physically marked the final route of the dead, where they left the land of the living and joined the ancestors beyond the visible horizon.

And they conclude, a more detailed analysis of the Baltinglass cursus monuments, as well as Irish examples in general, holds great potential for understanding Middle Neolithic ritual and ceremonial practices. However, the lack of detailed analyses, surveys, and excavations in the wider corpus of Irish cursus monuments prevents further progress, and the next necessary step is a comprehensive catalog of the sites. Until then, the Baltinglass cursus complex remains a unique example of the complex Middle Neolithic Irish ritual and ceremonial practices.


Sources

O’Driscoll J. Exploring the Baltinglass cursus complex: routes for the dead. Antiquity. doi:10.15184/aqy.2024.39


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