The Hill of Slane, County Meath
Tracing the evolution of a sacred site, in light of the archaeological evidence
Located in County Meath, the Hill of Slane is a site shrouded in myth and a place that has been of evolving ritual, political and religious significance for centuries. This article endeavours to examine some of these myths in light of the archaeological evidence, and also examine how the sacred nature of the site was reflected in, and enhanced by, human activity over the centuries as evidenced by the extant physical remains.
Slane shares a number of characteristics with Tara, which is located a mere 15km away and is clearly visible from the hilltop. Indelibly linked in the story of St. Patrick, there are other common characteristics, including that before being assigned Christian significance, both sites seem to have had a pre-Christian ritual significance, albeit that of Slane has been much less explored than that of its neighbour with ‘little known’ about the site prior to more firm documentary evidence emerging in the 16th century (Harbison 1992, 267).
Pre-Christian
The earliest physical evidence of sacred or ritualistic significance is a mound located atop the hill. This mound is interpreted as a motte and the location of the first Norman castle at Slane, but it is likely that this was built atop an ‘important prehistoric site’, a probable enclosed barrow or burial mound (Seaver & Brady 2011). This burial mound, as the story is told in a 12th century poem explaining the origin of the naming of Slane, is reported to be the resting place of Sláine Mac Dela, the legendary king of the Fir Bolg (Seaver & Brady 2011);
“Slaine, whence the name? Not hard to say. Slaine, king of the Fir Bolg, and their judge, by him was its wood cleared from the Brugh. Afterwards, he died at Druim Fuar, which is called Dumha Slaine, and was buried there: and from him the hill is named Slaine. Hence it was said:
Here died Slaine, lord of troops: over him the mighty mound is reared: so the name of Slaine was given to the hill, where he met his death in that chief abode.” (CELT 2005, Poem/Story 77).
The probable existence of a pre-historic site such as this firmly suggests that Slane was a site of particular significance and ritual before the arrival of Christianity and that Slane was a sacred site prior to any claimed association with St. Patrick.
Paschal Fire
Slane is best known for its reputed association with St. Patrick, and in particular, the story of the paschal fire. As relayed in the early lives of Patrick, (Pakenham 2020, 64) following his arrival to Ireland, having landed at the mouth of the Boyne, Patrick journeyed inland and arriving at a place called Ferta fer Feic, a fire was lit in celebration of Easter. This action was unknowingly defying the wishes and tradition of the nearby King Loaghaire which forbade that any fire should be lit prior to that of the High King at Tara. As the tale goes, a prophecy was relayed to the king by his druids, that should the fire not be extinguished it would herald the collapse of his kingdom and thus a confrontation ensued, replete with the traditional accounts of miracles associated with Patrick, including an account of the conversion of Erc, a subject of the high king, later to be appointed as bishop of Slane by Patrick (Cogan 1862, 60).
Ferta fer Feic has traditionally been interpreted as being the hill of Slane, however, this interpretation has been challenged in recent years and it has been suggested that the true location is ‘likely near Rosnaree in the Bend of the Boyne’ (Stout 2014, 74).
St. Erc and Slane
St Erc is recorded in the annals as having died in 512AD aged “four score and ten years” (Cogan 1992, 62) having served as the first bishop of the diocese of Slane, presiding over a monastery founded by St Patrick on the Hill of Slane (Cogan 1992, 60). The association of St. Erc with Slane serves as the first documented link between St Patrick and Slane, and archaeological remains associated with him offer the first concrete evidence of Slane’s importance as a Christian religious site.
The earliest physical indication of Christian religious importance of the site are a pair of triangular stones located within the enclosed graveyard at Slane (Fig 2). These stones are the remains of a reliquary shrine, known as a gable shrine, within which the disarticulated remains of a prominent religious figure or saint would have been held (Stout 2014, 73). These stones are approximately 1.5m high and 2m apart with grooves etched into the edges which may have supported slabs which would have enclosed the interior (Seaver & Brady 2011).
The presence of a shrine like this within which the relics of a saint (usually directly associated with the foundation) would be protected and venerated, is a clear indicator that the site was a place of considerable ritual importance and a destination for pilgrims. The exhumation, or translation, of remains from normal graves to these shrines suggests that pilgrimages were already taking place at these sites and shrines were in reaction, or an attempt to foster, increased numbers visiting (Nugent 2020, 17).
In Muirchú’s 7th century Life of Patrick, it is recorded that the relics of St. Erc were “worshipped at Slane” (Nugent 2020, 16). Nugent observes that in order for this detail to have been included in this account, Slane must have been well established as a place of pilgrimage at the time it was written (Nugent 2020, 16). The gable shrine at Slane has been associated with St. Erc and shrines like these were “common in the early Christian period” (Stout 2014, 74). Relics of saints were (and still are today for Catholics) venerated as sacred objects and associated with intercessions and miracles of God – such as healing or granting of prayers. Relics such as those which would have been held in the gable shrine at Slane would have been closely associated with the site itself. The association of a holy figure with a location, as well as the presence of his/her relics evidenced by the remains of a shrine and the resultant conclusion that the site served as a place of pilgrimage, firmly establishes Slane as a sacred Christian location in the early medieval period and evidences an evolution of the significance of the site from the pre-Christian associations previously recounted, to one of a Christian nature. Known as St Erc’s tomb, the gable shrine has retained religious and sacred significance into the modern period and was believed to have been the burial place of St. Erc. William Wilde recorded in the 19th century that the shrine attracted “particular reverence” with the coffins of those being interred in the graveyard customarily being laid down beside St. Erc’s tomb for a period before burial (Wilde 2003, 183).
St. Patrick’s Well
Other archaeological remains at Slane indicate its importance as a sacred Christian centre. Located within the graveyard enclosure are the remains of a well known as St. Patrick’s well. “Holy wells” are wells or springs which have a sacred association. The history of many is unclear, some are thought to predate Christianity and have pagan origins which were then adapted or converted to Christian usage, often through tales of their association with saints and miracles (French 2012, 2). Holy wells are also associated with pilgrimage or “pattern days” often coinciding with the feast of their saintly patron and often have associated miracles, often a “cure” of some kind with a related ritual (French 2012, 2). There are many wells associated with St. Patrick in Meath, the one at Slane being among them. In the 19th century it was recorded that patterns were held there within living memory and that depressions in nearby stones were said to be from the knees of St. Patrick (French 2012, 11). The well today has run dry, and is filled with rubble.
Other Remains
Further evidence of the importance of Slane as a sacred site for Christians is evidenced by the records and current remains of other buildings on the site. Slane is the site of the earliest documentary record of a round tower. It is recorded that the round tower, or cloicteach, at Slane was burned by the Vikings in 947 along with its bells and relics (Stout 2017, 170). There are also records of high crosses at Slane, with fragments of one found embedded within the wall of the church (Stout 2014, 75). While there is no visual evidence of a round tower today, there are substantial other extant remains including a medieval nave and chancel church, and a building known as the “college” thought to have served as a residence for priests (Flanagan 1992, 195).
While the bulk of the church (Fig 4) appears to have been rebuilt in the 13th century, and the impressive bell tower dates from the 15th, it has been suggested that sandstone portions of the east end of the nave indicate a pre-Norman date for this part of the church, as the stonework is suggestive of an antae, a projection associated with churches constructed between the 9th and 12th centuries (Seaver & Brady 2011). Collectively, these extant remains indicate that Slane was a site of sacred Christian significance throughout the medieval period.
Conclusion
The archaeological remains at Slane clearly illustrate that Slane has had a significant ritual, or sacred, significance for thousands of years. Within the Christian period, this significance can be charted by the archaeological and written record, as a site imbued with particular significance through its association with St. Patrick, the Paschal Fire, Tara, and St. Erc. This is a significance which continues to the present day – the graveyard remains in use, and religious ceremonies take place there regularly. Whether St. Patrick actually visited the site or if St. Erc was a real historic person, are questions that cannot be definitively answered, and are, to a degree, beside the point.
As appears likely, if the Norman motte was indeed constructed upon a pre-historic burial mound, the sacred significance of the site must stretch back further still – for it to be chosen as a place to build a mound it must have been viewed as a place of some significance. Perhaps it was merely due to the hills prominence and impressive views that it became a ritualised site, but it is tempting to reflect upon a possible symmetry between the pre-historic internment of individual(s), and the later association with the internment/relics of Christian figures as serving to give and enhance the sacred nature of the site. Thus a common link can be drawn, whereby the landscape and site is imbued with sacred and ritual significance by the actions of people, namely funerary practices and ritual, that continues to the present day to be enacted by the people who live there and renewed through the continued active use as the site for burials. While the initial significance and sacred aspects of the site may have first been due to its natural characteristics in the landscape, over time the significance of human activity (St. Patrick and presence of relics) and funerary rites there have come to the fore as the predominant factors establishing, and making, Slane a site of sacred significance.
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