'Eamhain Mhaca' : Hill Fort
Visit Notes
Sunday, 5th February 2006
I don't know why it's taken me nearly five years to visit this amazing place. Eamhain Mhaca is the traditional seat of the kings of Ulster. The hill is protected on the south side by a deep ditch and bank. On its summit is a large mound that was originally thought to be a passage tomb, like Mound Of Hostages (County Meath) at Tara.
However, when it was excavated in the 1960s a remarkable series of structures was uncovered, which culminated in the building of a set of concentric rings of timber posts. This structure was then infilled with limestone and then set on fire. At the centre of this structure was a huge wooden pillar. Was this a representation of the world tree?
There are a number of very informative signs around the whole site to tell you all about its history. This is good because really there isn't a great deal to see and like Tara it requires a good imagination to fully appreciate this plain, yet complex site.
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About Coordinates Displayed
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This is an explanation of (and a bit of a disclaimer for) the coordinates I provide. Where a GPS figure is given this is the master for all other coordinates. According to my Garmin these are quite accurate. Where there is no GPS figure the 6 figure grid reference is master for the others. This may not be very accurate as it could have come from the OS maps and could have been read by eye. Consequently, all other cordinates are going to have inaccuracies. The calculation of Longitude and Latitude uses an algorithm that is not 100% accurate. The long/lat figures are used as a basis for calculating the UTM & ITM coordinates. Consequently, UTM & ITM coordinates are slightly out. UTM is a global coordinate system - Universal Transverse Mercator - that is at the core of the GPS system. ITM is the new coordinate system - Irish Transverse Mercator - that is more accurate and more GPS friendly than the Irish Grid Reference system. This will be used on the next generation of Irish OS maps. |
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