Emain Macha, also known as Eamhain Mhacha, Emhain, Emuin and Emania, is an 18 acre (73,000 m²) Bronze Age hill-fort in County Armagh now known as Navan Fort. It was the capital for the Ulaid. It is also the mythological capital of the Ulster in the Ulster Cycle.

When the circular mound on top of the hill was excavated, it was discovered that, in 95 BC, a circular structure was built, 40 metres in diameter, with four concentric rings of posts around a central oak trunk. Its entrance faced west (prehistoric houses in the British Isles invariably face east, towards the sunrise). The floor of the building was covered with stones arranged in radial segments, and the whole edifice was deliberately burnt to the ground before being covered in a mound of earth and turf. The bank and ditch that surround the hilltop were built at the same time. Curiously the ditch is inside the bank - if it was a defensive rampart the ditch would be expected to be outside the bank to give the defenders maximum height advantage over any attackers. This would lead one to think it was designed to keep something in, not out - but what?

External links

• BBC Timelines