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George Eogan
 George Eogan
is an Irish Archaeologist with particular interest in the Neolithic
and Late Bronze Ages. A first degree at University College Dublin was followed
by a doctoral thesis on Irish Late Bronze Age swords at Trinity College Dublin
under Frank Mitchell. In the 1950's he worked with
P.J. Hartnett on the Neolithic passage tomb at Fourknocks, and with Sean
O Riordain at the Mound of the Hostages on the
Hill of Tara.
He was the Director of the Knowth Research Project and excavated at
Knowth for more than 40 years as part of his investigation of the Passage Tomb
builders in Ireland and Western Europe. Professor Eogan is a native of Nobber,
Co. Meath in Ireland and has taught and lectured extensively on Irish
archaeology.
Excavation at Knowth
The excavation at Knowth is one of the greatest pieces of archaeology of our
time. On June 18th 2002 it was my privilege to be there with some students forty
years to the day from the start of the excavation. After touring the site,
George Eogan invited us over to a large caravan in the farmyard across the road
to join the anniversary celebrations with Knowth trowellers, workmen and other
local folk. This year I returned to Ireland to see George again, and to find out
more about George Eogan. Why did he choose to spend the greater part of his life
excavating at one site? And what was it like to be the first person in a
thousand years to enter a great Neolithic passage tomb?
More ...
Initially there was no evidence that the mound contained tombs. Having begun
to excavate on its northern side, we gradually moved westward and by the end
kerb, but these were suspected at the time to be associated with one of the
nearby small passage-tombs. Leaving the site in August of that year, we had
no definite clue as to the location of an entrance into the mound.
More ...
At Knowth, however, the orientation of the great mound suggests that there
could have been two ceremonies at different times, the vernal equinox
on March 20th or 21st, and the autumnal equinox on September 22nd or 23rd.
at these times, the sun rises and sets directly in the east and west,
while day and night have equal lengths. The spring equinox represents
the beginning of the growing season, and the harvest would have been
gathered at the autumnal equinox.
More ...
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