Navan Fort tourist information - Accommodation and information

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Navan Fort

Information about Navan Fort

Navan Fort is an ancient ceremonial monument near Armagh, Northern Ireland. According to tradition it was one of the great royal sites of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland and the capital of the Ulaidh. It is a large circular hilltop enclosure marked by a bank and ditch, inside which is a circular mound and the remains of a ring barrow.

Archeological investigations show that there were once buildings on the site, including a huge roundhouse-like structure which has been likened to a temple. In a ritual act, this timber structure was filled with stones, deliberately burnt down and then covered with earth to create the mound which stands today.

It is believed that Navan was a pagan ceremonial site and was regarded as a sacred space. It features prominently in Irish mythology, especially in the tales of the Ulster Cycle.

Navan Fort is the heart of the larger 'Navan complex', which also includes the ancient sites of Haughey's Fort (an earlier hilltop enclosure), the King's Stables (a manmade ritual pool) and Loughnashade (a lake which has yielded votive offerings).

Image: Navan Fort

Navan Fort, sometimes called Navan Rath, is a State Care Historic Monument in the townland of Navan. It is on a low hill about 1.6 miles (2.6 km) west of Armagh. The site consists of a circular enclosure 250 metres (820 ft) 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 40 metres (130 ft) in diameter and 6 metres (20 ft) high. South-east of centre is the circular impression of a ring-barrow, about 30 metres (100 ft) in diameter.