background information
large scale solar constructs belonging to the neolithic period (misleadingly called passage tombs, even though no human remains have been found in the earliest structures) typically consist of: a parallel sided passage leading into an often cross-shaped structure - both built with massive stones (orthostats) and covered with large slabs (capstones, corbels and  lintels). alternating layers of stone, earth, turf, shale or clay were heaped up to cover both passage and chamber and form a round mound which is usually delimited by large stones (kerbstones)
the passage is always astronomically aligned: at specific times of the year like solstices, equinoxes or cross quarter days - a narrow beam of light from the rising or setting sun enters the mound and illuminates the central chamber. some structures are aligned to particular stars or the cycles of the moon
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usually grouped in a cluster, these complexes were placed onto prominent elevations
the size and execution of these sun chronometers varies greatly: whilst some are simple structures a couple of metres in diameter, others are of a sophisticated design and construction covering up to one and a half acres of ground
of the two hundred or so remaining passage-mounds in ireland, fifteen feature megalithic art. these ~390 stones represent the first major western european art tradition since the ice age
the art is harmoniously integrated into the architecture of the mounds. as one expects the art in a church to be religious, one can assume the art displayed on an astronomical construct to refer to the sun, the moon and the stars
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