What is recorded here

Knowth passage 3 is one of the longest and most complicated underground routes at the site, linking medieval house 7 to Tomb 1C East through a beehive chamber and steep rising sections. It cuts across both upper and lower parts of the mound, joins another passage near a satellite tomb, and turns south toward the house corner. The route is less a hidden chamber than a lived underground street, bending through ancient stone and medieval building at once.

Nine Man-made underground passages have been recorded in excavation at the passage tomb complex. They are associated with the early medieval open settlement (ME019-030060-) and are placed largely on the sides and summit of the great mound. This monument is Man-made underground passage 3 located on the E side of the mound, and it was connected to medieval house 7 and the entrance to Tomb 1C East itself. It is one of the longest and most complicated of the Man-made underground passages at Knowth, and it is cut into both the upper and lower fosses of the rath. The main section runs N (L 8.8m; max. Wth 0.85m) from the entrance to the E tomb to a sub-rectangular beehive chamber (dims 1.8m x 1.6m; H 1.8m). There is a step-up from this chamber to a passage (L 6.3m) rising steeply W up the mound to another step-up beyond which it continued W (L c. 9.2m) but it was no longer roofed. Just before its S end which is connected with the passage from medieval house 4 to the passage tomb this Man-made underground passage was joined by the re-modelled entrance from Man-made underground passage 2 that was at a lower level and also extended N. At the junction of Soutterains 2/3 with the passage tomb the S wall of the tomb was extended E by drystone walling and this provided the S wall of another passage (L 2.1m; Wth 1.3m; H 1m) of this Man-made underground passage that is roofed with stones from a satellite tomb, two of which have megalithic art. This passage almost reached the kerb of the tomb, but the passage turned S (L c. 3m), although unroofed, to connect with the NE corner of medieval house 7. (Eogan 2012, 124-6) True location: ITM (699637, 773465) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 06 November 2013 Amended: 17 September 2020 See the attached illustrations: _1 Early medieval features, from Knwoth 5, Fig. 4:1 _2 Man-made underground passage plan, from Knowth 5, Fig. 25

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