Dr David Whitehouse comes face to face with what is claimed to
be the oldest map of the Moon ever made:
Several times, I think I am stuck as I try to squeeze through a
narrow triangular-shaped crack in the rock. Just ahead of me is
Professor George Eogan of the National University of Ireland.
Together, we edge towards the heart of this ancient Neolithic
burial mound. He has been this way many times before to uncover the
mysteries at Knowth in Ireland.
The complex in County Meath was constructed in around 3000 BC
and is the largest and most remarkable ancient monument in Ireland.
Although nearby Newgrange is more famous, Knowth has turned out to
be an astonishing treasure trove of stone engravings and artefacts.
Knowth has the largest collection of megalithic art in Europe,
strange circular and spiral patterns that many believe to be lunar
symbols.
Ancient carvings
The mound has two passages, one facing east and one facing west.
They are the longest cairn passages in Europe and, as I am finding
out, difficult to crawl through.
Eventually, the narrow passage opens into the very heart of this
vast ancient burial mound - a tall, central chamber. I am about to
come face to face with one of Knowth's most intriguing mysteries: a
map of the Moon ten times older than anything known before - at
least that is the claim.
It was first identified by Dr Philip Stooke, of the University
of Western Ontario, Canada, and revealed in Prehistoric Moon Map
Unearthed.
Dr Stooke did not believe that no one had drawn the Moon before
Leonardo da Vinci's sketch dated some time around 1505. So he
started searching records of ancient rock carvings and came across
something remarkable when he was studying the archives of a burial
chamber at Knowth.
"I was amazed when I saw it," Dr Stooke said. "Place the
markings over a picture of the full Moon and you will see that they
line up. It is without doubt a map of the Moon, the most ancient one
ever found."
But few people, not even Dr Stooke, have seen the Moonstone for
real. As I found, getting into the central chamber is a hard task
even for those with permission.
Professor Eogan gestures from the other side of the chamber,
ushering me into one of four recesses that protrude from it.
Crouching in front of a rock perhaps one metre high, I could see
that there were markings on its surface.
They had been made by "pitting" the rock with a lump of quartz,
of which there was a lot to be found in the vicinity. The pattern
was hard to detect so I swung the torch around and moved back a
little.
Suddenly, the shape carved into the rock seemed familiar. I
cannot be certain but it looked like a carving of the dark spots
that can be seen on the Moon with the unaided eye. "Is it a map of
the Moon?" I asked Professor Eogan.
"It could be," he said. "Certainly, the Moon is here." He
gestured towards another recess.
In another of the recesses off the central chamber is a large
stone basin thought to be where the cremated remains of the
chieftain were placed. But it is the wall behind the basin that
leaves me amazed. There, I see stars and crescents. They are
undoubtedly images of the Moon.
Some archaeologists speculate that the passages that reach into
the central chamber could allow sunlight, and moonlight, to shine
down the passage into the central chamber at certain times. If this
is true then there would have been times when moonlight would have
shone on the back stone of the eastern passage illuminating a map of
itself.
Back on the outside, I reflect for a few moments about the
mystery of this place and what I have seen. Was it really a map of
the Moon and is this place one of the most important lunar sites in
the world?
Offering no answers I could see the Moon rising over the ancient
monument as it has done for a multitude of centuries since the Moon
stone was carved.
Knowth has proved to be an astonishing treasure trove
A real Moon map is compared with the Knowth markings
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