Navan Fort

The Irish name of Navan Fort is Eamhain Mhacha, from Old Irish: Emain Macha. The second element refers to the goddess Macha, for whom nearby Armagh (Ard Mhacha) is also named. However, the overall meaning of the name is unclear. It has been interpreted as "Macha's twins" or "Macha's pair" (possibly referring to the two features on the hilltop, or to Navan Fort and another nearby monument), or as "Macha's brooch" (possibly referring to the shape of the monument). There are tales that try to explain how the name came about. In the second century AD, Greek geographer Ptolemy noted a place called Isamnion somewhere in southeastern Ulster. Some scholars believe this refers to Emain, and Gregory Toner has derived it from Proto-Celtic *isa-mon ("holy mound"). Others believe it refers to a place on the coast. Eamhain Mhacha, and its short form An Eamhain, was anglicised as 'Owenmagh', 'Nawan' and eventually 'Navan'. ==Description==

Navan Fort, sometimes called Navan Rath, is a State Care Historic Monument in the townland of Navan. It is on a low hill about west of Armagh (at grid ref. area H847 452). The site consists of a circular enclosure in diameter, marked by a large bank and ditch encircling the hill. The ditch is on the inside, suggesting the earthwork was symbolic rather than defensive. Inside the enclosure two monuments are visible. North-west of centre is an earthen mound in diameter and high. South-east of centre is the circular impression of a ring-barrow, about in diameter. ==Construction and early history==

Flint tools and shards of pottery show activity at the site in the Neolithic (c. 4000 to 2500 BC). In the eighth century BC (Bronze Age), a ring of timber poles was raised at the western site, where the high mound now stands. It was 35m in diameter and surrounded by a ring ditch with an eastern entrance. The structure was rebuilt several times over the following centuries. The building had a western entrance, toward the setting sun, which suggests it was not a dwelling. A ditch and bank were dug around it. There is evidence that the huge ditch and bank that encircles the hill was dug at about the same time. Not long after it was built, the building was filled with thousands of stones, to a height of nearly 3 metres. The building was then deliberately burnt down before being covered in a mound of earth. It was made up of many soil types, suggesting that soil was brought from surrounding areas. The larger ring was in diameter, the smaller about . This figure-of-eight structure was then cleared away and replaced by another round wooden structure. It was double-walled, had a central hearth and an eastern entrance. Two graves were found just outside the entrance. This structure was in turn replaced by a ring-barrow: a round mound, usually raised over a burial, surrounded by a ditch and bank. It may be an attempt to replicate an ancient burial mound (sídhe), which were believed to be portals to the Otherworld and the homes of ancestral gods. ==In Irish mythology==

at the Navan Fort centre In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, Emain Macha is the royal capital of the Ulaidh, the people who gave their name to the province of Ulster. It is the residence of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster. He is said to have had a warrior training school at Emain. Conchobar's great hall at Emain was called by medieval writers in Chraebruad (the red-branched or red-poled edifice), and his royal warriors are named the Red Branch Knights in English translations. Emain Macha is said to have been named after Macha, who is believed to have been a sovereignty goddess of the Ulaidh. One tale says that Macha, queen of the Ulaidh, forced her enemy's sons to dig the great bank-and-ditch after marking it out with her neck-brooch (eomuin), hence the name. Before dying in childbirth, she curses the Ulstermen to be overcome with the exhaustion of childbirth at the time of their greatest need. This is a fore-tale of the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley). The name Emain Macha is thus explained as "Macha's twins". Many other characters from Irish mythology are associated with Emain Macha, including: • Amergin the poet • Cú Chulainn, the great warrior • Emer, his strong-willed and beautiful bride • Conall Cernach, his foster-brother and close friend • Lóegaire, another warrior • Cathbad, the chief druid • Fergus mac Róich, another great warrior and king • Deirdre of the Sorrows, and Naoise, her brave lover • Leabharcham, the wise woman ==Conservation and tourism==

Until 1985, the site was threatened by the growth of a nearby limestone quarry. Due mostly to the efforts of the activist group Friends of Navan, a public inquiry held that year halted further quarrying, and recommended that Navan be developed for tourism. A visitor centre, featuring artefacts and audio-visual exhibitions, was opened in 1993, but closed in 2001 for lack of funds. It reopened in 2005 after the site was bought by Armagh City and District Council. Other significant prehistoric sites nearby include Haughey's Fort, an earlier Bronze Age hill fort two-thirds of a mile (1 km) to the west; the King's Stables, a manmade pool also dating to the Bronze Age; and Loughnashade, a natural lake which has yielded Iron Age artefacts. ==In popular culture==

Eamhain Mhacha is the name of an Irish traditional music group formed in 2008. Irish heavy metal band Waylander also has a song called "Emain Macha" on their 1998 album Reawakening Pride Once Lost. "Emain Macha" is the name of a place in the computer games Dark Age of Camelot, Mabinogi and ''The Bard's Tale''. "Eamhain Macha" is the name of the capital of Ulster in the "Viking Invasion" expansion to the video game "Medieval Total War". ==See also==

• Bricriu's Feast • Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology ==External links==