Aideen's Grave
{{Short description|Megalithic dolmen in County Dublin, Ireland}}
{{use DMY dates|date=September 2024}}
{{use Hiberno-English|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name = Aideen's Grave
| image = Aideen's Grave 02.jpg
| caption = The dolmen in 2015
| coordinates = {{coord|53.3795|-6.0822|display=inline,title}}
| location = Dublin, Ireland
| type = Tomb
| material = Stone
| built = {{circa|2500 BC}}
}}
File:Howt - Aideens Grave Portal Tomb ps.jpg
Aideen's Grave is a collapsed megalithic dolmen located in the grounds of Howth Castle in north County Dublin, Ireland.{{cite web |title=Howth Dolmen |url=http://www.megalithicireland.com/Howth%20Dolmen.htm |website=www.megalithicireland.com |access-date=9 September 2024}}
History
The tomb is thought to date to around 2500 BC, and is located on the lower slopes of the Hill of Howth, overlooked by cliffs named Muck Rock, and faces south-east. It is likely the large cap-stone was brought from the quartzite cliff nearby.{{cite web |title=Howth Dolmen |url=https://voicesfromthedawn.com/howth-dolmen/ |website=Voices from the Dawn |access-date=9 September 2024 |date=15 October 2010}}{{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Charles Philip Kains- |title=Our Ancient Monuments and the Land Around Them |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OQAwAAAAYAAJ&dq=dolmen+howth&pg=PA91 |publisher=E. Stock |access-date=9 September 2024 |language=en |date=1880}} The tomb consists of two portal stones, an entrance stone and a collapsed colossal roof stone, which weighs an estimated 75 tonnes. The capstone is the second largest in Ireland after the one at Brownshill dolmen in County Carlow. The tomb has a single chamber.{{cite web |title=DU015-032---- : Megalithic tomb - portal tomb : HOWTH DEMESNE |url=https://heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0c9eb9575b544081b0d296436d8f60f8&query=18a4bc9c428-layer-10%2CREG_NO%2C11359020 |website=heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com |access-date=9 September 2024}} The name Aideen is said to refer to Étaín, a figure in Irish mythology.{{cite web |title=Aideen's Grave |url=https://www.sacredsites.ie/aideens-grave/ |website=Sacred Sites of Ireland - 2024 |access-date=9 September 2024}} She is alternatively mentioned as the daughter or wife of Aengus.{{cite web |title=Aideen's Grave |url=https://howthcastle.ie/aideens-grave/ |website=howthcastle.ie |access-date=9 September 2024}}
In 2024, calls were made by various politicians to make the tomb and surrounding area a national monument.{{cite web |last1=Barrett |first1=Rose |title=Minister urged to declare Aideen's Grave a national monument |url=https://dublingazette.com/dublinlocalmatters/news/calls-to-declare-aideens-grave-national-monument-338676/ |website=Dublin Gazette Newspapers - Dublin News, Sport and Lifestyle |access-date=9 September 2024 |date=28 May 2024}}
The dolmen is the subject of a poem by Samuel Ferguson from 1858 named Aideen's Grave.{{cite web |title=Poem: Aideen's Grave by Sir Samuel Ferguson |url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/aideens-grave |website=www.poetrynook.com |access-date=9 September 2024}}{{cite web |title=Aideen's Grave |url=https://celt.ucc.ie/published/E860001-002/text002.html |website=celt.ucc.ie |access-date=9 September 2024}}{{cite book |last1=Ferguson |first1=Samuel |title=Aideen's grave / |url=https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000279414 |publisher=Talbot Press |access-date=9 September 2024}} It is said that the poem came about through Ferguson's connection with Howth as well as his connection with the illustrator and antiquarian Margaret Stokes, who also lived nearby.
References
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}
{{European megaliths|state=collapsed}}
Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 3rd millennium BC
Category:Tombs in the Republic of Ireland