There are over 145,000 known archaeological monuments across Ireland,
representing more than 12,000 years of human settlement. These monuments are central to a sense of place for communities across the land, evidence of continuity and also change. Offering places of retreat, for quiet reflection and education, they also prompt questioning of a past which was at times conflicted in all its complexity of ancient tribalism, conquest and independence. Intertwined as it is with the landscapes in which it is built, this heritage inspires Irish art and culture, literature and language. Over the last 150 years, a thousand of these monuments have come into the care of the State.
