Ancient CURSUS Complex Revealed By LIDAR In IRELAND

Cursus monuments are huge earthworks in Britain and Ireland dating to the Neolithic that look like long ceremonial pathways. They mostly stretch for hundreds of metres, but in some cases are much longer. Although their function is unknown, archaeologists think they may have played a role in tracking the agricultural seasons for and for commemorating the ancestors. In 2022 a lidar survey revealed a cluster of five cursus monuments in Ireland which were subsequently visited on the ground. A new paper published in the journal Antiquity discusses this incredible discovery. #ancienthistory #archaeology #neolithic ✨ IN THIS EPISODE 00:00 A Hidden Monument Revealed by LiDAR 01:14 The Lost Ritual Landscapes of Britain and Ireland 04:42 The Baltinglass Cursus: A Massive Complex 08:00 What This Means for Neolithic Ireland ✨ JOIN MY CHANNEL    / @megalithhunter   ✨ FOLLOW ME ON SOCIALS Bluesky: @MegalithHunter.bsky.social ✨ REFERENCES O'Driscoll, J., 2024. Exploring the Baltinglass cursus complex: routes for the dead. Antiquity, pp.1-18. ✨ PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS CC BY 4.0 DEED https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Images and diagrams about the Baltinglass cursus monuments, credit: O’Driscoll, J., in the paper referenced above. CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Approximate course of the Dorset Cursus, credit: Jim Champion Google Earth Location of the Newgrange Cursus Other Maps of the Rudston Cursus monuments and the Dorset Cursus, credit: Chris Collyer at ww.stone-circles.org.uk CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Rudston Monolith, credit: Trish Steel