Knock Iveagh: Memory and Materiality in a Community Landscape

Knock Iveagh is a hill near Rathfriland, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is topped by an ancient burial cairn and was part of a longue durée ritual landscape, with important multi-period artefacts having been found within the area. In 2017 this State Monument featured heavily in both local and British news media due to the erection of a wind turbine on the summit endangering the site. This caused a groundswell of support and protest from the community, led by Veronica Kelly, Anne Harper and Arlene Pattison, as Friends of Knock Iveagh. This robust and emotive community initiative reminded many Irish heritage specialists and archaeologists of the importance of the site from both an artefactual and landscape perspective, as it reflects the long, shadowy prehistory of Ireland and its turbulent medieval past. This volume includes modern re-examination of the Neolithic pottery of the cairn, for the first time since 1954; the Iron Age Ardbrin Horns are examined in a practical way to highlight the ritual aspect of the landscape, while a top Irish palynologist explains the landscape changes and how it affected the creation of the area. The topography is examined using drone technology to complement this. Language and townland names illustrate the landscape as a constantly reworked intangible heritage feature, reflecting the changing languages and occupations of the inhabitants. The importance of objects, landscape, language and folkways to the sense of place, identity and wellbeing is also discussed, as a form of decolonising the past and building an authentic community heritage for the future. This holistic approach to demonstrating the sites importance is very much a template for community archaeology groups in all parts of the world.