Knowth Kerbstone K46

Kerbstone K46 is one of the 127 kerbstones numbered in Professor George Eogan's record of the Knowth monument. It is located on the southern side of the great passage tomb mound.

The Megalithic Art of the Passage Tombs at Knowth, Co. Meath

Description of Kerbstone 46

Stage 1 consists of a set of at least three large, lightly picked, concentric circles on the top-left of the stone. Low down on the stone, mostly now below ground level, a semi-circle of roughly picked radial lines was recorded, one of which curves over and then downwards in an arc.

Stage 2 consists of a row of three picked, anti-clockwise double spirals, averaging two-and-a-half turns each, two of which overlie the lightly picked concentric circles. There are also a number of dispersed pickmarks.

Excavations at Knowth Volume 7: The Megalithic Art of the Passage Tombs at Knowth, Co. Meath

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Knowth Stone Age passage tomb

K46 forms part of the ceremonial kerb documented during decades of excavation at Brú na Bóinne by Professor George Eogan and his team. Detailed survey work on the orientation of the two passages has shown that simple equinox sunrise and sunset alignments do not fully explain their layout. The architecture may reflect a broader interest in seasonal and lunar cycles rather than a single astronomical event.

Few Irish passage tombs combine entrance kerb art with a full decorated kerb ring. Knowth belongs to that rare group, along with Newgrange and Dowth South, and includes some of the most elaborate rayed and arc motifs in the country.

One hundred and twenty-four kerbstones still ring the base of the Great Mound, defining an oval plan roughly 80 metres east-west and 95 metres north-south. Many carry carved spirals, lozenges, concentric circles and other abstract motifs that can be viewed on a circuit of the mound (kerbstone gallery).

Roughly half of all Irish passage-tomb art and about a third of the megalithic art of Europe comes from Knowth. The carvings share a distinctive Boyne Valley style that links kerb, passage and chamber stones into a single artistic tradition (Excavations at Knowth Volume 7).