mega-what / ancient sacred places / Ireland, West Meath, Mullingar

Ushnagh Hill: Cairn WM024-059

NGR 229085/248982 (IM 29090 ITM 48980 / 53.49023, -7.56250) [Googlemap]

Trajectories 1200BCE. Tap/Click pics for big ones.
Ushnagh Hill (Hill of Uishneach) is about 14km west of Mullingar, Co. West Meath. In ancient times the Hill of Uishneach was regarded as the centre of the island of Ireland (Navel of Erinn).

NE from Ushnagh Hill Cairn, West Meath, Ireland. NE from Ushnagh Hill Cairn, West Meath, Ireland. This site is the summit cairn of the hill but it only got a brief visit in hazy conditions. Survey position was at its eastern end, beside the trig point, to optimise views between the bushes.

North-eastern views are curtailed by a hedge. Some distinctive hills provide markers for summer sunrises and part of the lunisticeLunistices are the most northerly and southerly moons of the month. The lunar equivalent of solstices - more. range.

SE from Ushnagh Hill Cairn, West Meath, Ireland. SE from Ushnagh Hill Cairn, West Meath, Ireland. To the south-east is a prominent hill. The winter solstice is at its south foot, the half-month bracket on its summit and the solstice/cross-quarter mid­point is in its north basal dip. There are also some useful lunar correspondences.

SW from Ushnagh Hill Cairn, West Meath, Ireland. More hills in the south-west serve for the sets and it looks as if the lunar mid­point was in the dip between two hills while the winter solstice sunset was at the foot of the hill.

NW from Ushnagh Hill Cairn, West Meath, Ireland. NW from Ushnagh Hill Cairn, West Meath, Ireland. North-westwards this prominent hilltop is beyond the lunar limit.

Note that in all pictures on this page the azimuth scale has been inverted so that the continuous line is at Altitude/Elevation = -1°, while the tips of the unit ticks are at 0°.

Green lines approximate hidden horizon segments. They are based on computer generated data from HeyWhatsThat.com.

Other partially surveyed monuments in the area are:

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References
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© Michael Wilson.