Ireland is a country with a rich archaeological history. Many cultures and peoples have made their home on the Emerald Isle, from the Neolithic settlers and the Celts to the Vikings, Normans and English. With such a deep history, there’s a lot for archaeologists and historians to dissect. (And if you’re curious what it’s like to do archaeology, I’ve written an article about my own experiences with it here!)
So what places should you visit? Well, with the limited time I had in each area, there was only so much I could see. I’ll go over the Hill of Tara and the National Museum of Ireland’s Archaeology exhibit here for now.
I do plan on going back to Ireland eventually, at which point I’ll update this post with more archaeological sites and museums!
Hill of Tara
If you’re going here, don’t plan for it to take your whole day. It’s an awesome archaeological site to check out, but it won’t take you more than a couple of hours to see everything.
Brief History and Layout
The Hill of Tara has a far-reaching history as a spiritual site, a burial site, and even a place for crowning kings. It has also been the site of several battles throughout history. Much of this is no doubt due to its position as a high point in an otherwise flat landscape.
What might surprise you is that this site is actually still used for burials and spirituality! There is a church on the Hill (whose grounds destroyed part of a mound) with a cemetery just outside of it. While the burials date back several hundred years, there were dates as recent as 2023 on headstones!
There are several artificial mounds that served a spiritual purpose or were used for a sort of banquet hall. There is also a large burial mound which you can see inside of called the Mound of Hostages.
One of the coolest parts was the Lia Fáil, or Stone of Destiny (pictured above), the primary inauguration stone for crowning the High King of Ireland. There were a lot of coins left at its base.
From the Hill of Tara you can see all the way to the extent of the horizon in every direction. We met an Irishman there during our visit who told us that it was a popular spot to see the Northern Lights when they became visible. I would love to revisit the Hill during an event like that!
Accessing the Hill of Tara
At the base of the Hill is a few buildings that comprise a sort of Visitor Center: a gift shop, café, and bathrooms. We stopped here for lunch before ascending the hill. This café/ gift shop closes around 5 PM.
Tara is otherwise free to access, restricted only by a gate to keep out cars and animals. This was perfect for us since we got there around 4:30 and wouldn’t have otherwise had time to see it.
Overall, I think the Hill of Tara was worth it just for the views, but I would have loved to spend a bit more time there to get a better sense of the history and layout. Make sure you take pictures of the signs by the entrance to help orient yourself!
One place that can provide a lot more context for the Hill of Tara is the Archaeology Museum in Dublin.
National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology
I actually spent part of two separate days at this museum. I wish I could’ve spent more time.
This museum, located in Dublin, is packed full of relics and information, so much so that during our first visit I only had time to look at the main exhibit room.
The Main Hall
At the time of my visit, the main exhibit was about gold. It displayed the multitudes of hoards of gold found in archaeological digs around the island, how they were made, and what the various items were used for. The informational signs in the museum were very detailed. (And were written in both English and Irish Gaelic, which was awesome to see!)
Wrapping around the sides of the main room was an exhibit detailing Neolithic and pre-Celtic history and culture. This included a 45-foot long logboat discovered near Galway, and several reconstructions of burial sites, structures and carvings. I didn’t even finish reading all of this in the 2 hours I spent during my first day in the museum. We had a scheduled tour of the Jameson Distillery, so we couldn’t spend too much time there. (If you’re curious about that, Paul Passing Through wrote a great article about the one in Cork. I visited the one in Dublin, but from the sound of it they’re pretty similar.)
Other Exhibits
On the 2nd day that I went there (just before going to the Hill of Tara), I spent less time reading everything so I could explore more of the museum. There are a lot of side rooms for smaller exhibitions (including one on Ancient Egypt).
The upstairs section of the museum focused on the Battle of Clontarf. This battle between the Irish Kingdom of Leinster and the Viking settlers of Dublin (AKA Baile Átha Cliath) ended in an Irish victory. It’s important to note that the goal for the Irish was not to kick the Viking settlers out of Ireland. They just wanted them to bend the knee to Irish rule, a goal they accomplished successfully.
One of my favorite things at the museum was the Bog Bodies on display. Thought to be the remains of kings or important people from ancient history, these bodies were found in bogs. Surprisingly well-preserved given their age, these bodies provide a lot of insight into eating habits and cultural customs of early Ireland. They do have the real bodies on display, but they’re set up in such a way that you won’t see them if you don’t want to. You can read about them without looking at them at all.
Besides this, there are a multitude of other rooms that I didn’t have time to look at super closely. They showcased Christian art, talked about the Hill of Tara, and so much more.
Access and Layout
The Museum’s admission is free. This made it so much easier to return on a second day.
The hours are a little bit weird. They are open from 10AM-5PM Tuesday-Saturday, and 1PM-5PM on Sunday and Monday.
Sunday and Monday just happen to be the days I visited. Luckily, the National Library is right next to the Museum. On our first day there we visited the Library while we waited for the museum to open.
The museum’s layout can be a bit confusing. Sometimes I would move from one room or exhibit into another without realizing it. Even so, I don’t think it really matters all that much. Everything generally ties into Irish history, so you can’t go wrong in any of the rooms.
Conclusion
In case it wasn’t obvious from other blog posts (and my name), archaeology and anthropology are big interests of mine. So much so that I have a Bachelor’s Degree in it! Archaeological sites can provide so much insight into history and culture and are always worth a visit if any of that interests you.
While I only detailed two locations here, I’ll be returning to add more later when I revisit Ireland. There are so many sites scattered around Ireland that provide a greater perspective on the rich history of this great land! Many of them are still out there waiting to be discovered!
Have any questions, comments, or concerns? Leave them below and I’ll get to them ASAP!
