Following ancient tradition, people from all over the world are gathering at the Hill of Tara, Ireland, today to mark the summer solstice. The Roman–Germanic Commission of the DAI can be found here at other times of the year, too, as it is investigating the spatial structure of this millennia-old sacred landscape around the Irish royal seat.

The hill, with its many monuments, was in use as a sacred site from the Neolithic into the modern era. The monuments visible above ground, mainly burial mounds and bank-and-ditch enclosures, are what remains of five thousand years of construction activity. The Hill of Tara (County Meath) is still one of the most important sites of Irish culture and identity. In the Middle Ages it was the most significant pagan sanctuary of the island and a symbol of royal rule where the High Kings of Ireland were inaugurated.

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