Dumha na nGiall

Neolithic passage tomb on the Hill of Tara, over 5,000 years old and aligned with the rising sun.

Dumha na nGiall – Irish for "Mound of the Hostages" – is the oldest monument on the Hill of Tara in County Meath and one of Ireland's most significant passage tombs. The circular mound, roughly 15 metres across and three metres high, was built between 3350 and 2800 BC following the same type as Newgrange: a short passage leads to a chamber illuminated by the rising sun on just two days of the year. Around 300 skeletal remains have been recovered here, including Bronze Age burials added centuries after the original construction. The name likely comes from a medieval practice of holding hostages on the hill – a late layer of meaning over a site of ancient ritual.