THESE five monuments in Ireland may have 'routes for dead' into afterlife, archaeologists suggest

Traces of hundreds of monuments, which were previously unknown, have been identified in an archaeological survey.

Amongst these monuments, five of themhave been found to be"incredibly rare" prehistoric structures which once may have the hidden "routes for the dead" into the afterlife.

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The survey was conducted by the University of Aberdeen Department of Archaeology's James O'Driscoll, with the use of LiDAR technology.

O'Driscoll carried out the survey in the Baltinglass landscape of County Wicklow, Ireland which is dotted with prehistoric remains and the results were published in the journalAntiquity.

LiDAR is a type of remote-sensing method in which laserpulses are fired towards the ground to generate 3D models of a specific landscape.

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The method is useful in mapping the topography of the land and also revealing any hidden man-made features whichisgenerally not visible to the naked eyes.

Speaking to Newsweek, the researcher said, "I have been working on the Baltinglass landscape for over a decade. It formed the core component of my PhD."

"While my PhD focused on targeted geophysical and remote sensing surveys and excavations, what was sorely missing was a large-scale topographical model of the landscape, which would not only help to knit together all of the research that had previously been undertaken, but also help to discover new archaeological sites that were either hidden under trees and scrub overgrowth, or had been mostly levelled by thousands of years of ploughing," he added.

Discovery of five 'cursus' monuments

The survey's "most significant" findings were a group of five unknown "cursus" monuments.

Cursuses are a type of monumental Neolithic structures which are similar to ditches or trenches and are found in the islands of Great Britain and Ireland.

These prehistoric monuments generally have long and relatively narrow earthwork enclosures. "The discovery of the cursus monuments is particularly significant, as these are incredibly rare in Ireland," said O'Driscoll.

"There are less than 20 recordedcursusmonuments in Ireland, and they typically occur in isolation or pairs. This makes the identification of five examples in Baltinglass the largest cluster of these sites in the country—but also, the detailed topographical model of the sites and their surrounding landscape provided an opportunity to 'digitally' investigate these monuments in detail," he added.

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The archaeologist, using his new data, was able to observe that at least four of the five newly identifiedcursusmonuments were built in alignment with important solar events.

He added that these solar events are related to farming cycles, along with death and rebirth which emphasised the purpose of these mysterious monuments.

O'Driscoll hinted that the monuments may have symbolised the walking of the dead towards the heavens.

"The function of these types of monuments has always been a thorny topic, as we simply don't have enough information. But given that some of the Baltinglass sites can also be linked with burial monuments, this suggested to me that they may have been ceremonial monuments used in burial practices, where thecursusmarked the physical route in which the dead moved from the living into the afterlife," said O'Driscoll.

(With inputs from agencies)