One of Ireland’s great pre-Christian Royal Temples

Navan Fort was named ‘Emain Macha’ which translates to mean ‘Macha’s twins’ after the children of the goddess Macha who reputedly founded this fort. This was also the capital of the Red Branch of the Ulaidh – the famous warriors who gave their name to the province of Ulster. Excavations have revealed the construction of a 40-meter mound dating to 95 BC and underneath this, an enormous roundhouse-like structure was built around a giant central oak. The floor of the building was covered with stones that were arranged in radial segments and the whole edifice was deliberately burnt down before being covered again in a mound of earth. This type of ‘repeated building and burning’ has also been found at the other great Royal seats at Tara in County Meath and Dún Ailinne in County Kildare. A more unusual discovery at this site was that of a skull of a Barbary macaque. This suggests the ruling families who governed here had international connections as far as the Mediterranean and North Africa.