Hill of Ward
Ireland · Europe
About
The Hill of Ward, or Tlachtga (Irish: Tlachtgha or Tlachta), is a hill and ancient monument in County Meath, Ireland. It is between Athboy (to the west) and Ráth Chairn (to the east). The hill is topped by a large enclosure of four concentric earthen rings. Tlachtga is mentioned in Irish mythology, and later folklore holds that it was a site where druids held sacrificial bonfires at Samhain. Archaeology has shown that Tlachtga dates to the Bronze Age, and was a site of ritual gatherings associated with feasting and intense burning until the late Iron Age. Later, high kings of Ireland held assemblies there. Since the late 1990s, Celtic neopagans have held yearly Samhain gatherings on the hill. The site is a protected National Monument.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.