A VISIT TO THE KING'S STABLES ©
by Tira Brandon-Evans
The King’s Stables is an artificial pool built during the Bronze Age and dating to around 1200 BCE. It is located very near the ritual hill of Emain Macha, also known as Navan Fort, near Armagh City, in Northern Ireland. It lies west and slightly to the north in line of sight from the crest of Emain Macha. When I stood on Emain Macha I could clearly see the grove surrounding the King's Stables.
Aerial View of the Navan Fort Complex Found Here
The pool is about 25 metres (82 feet) in diameter. It is 3.5 metres (10-12 feet) deep. The sides are steeply-sloped. The pool is surrounded by a low circular bank open on one side. It is partially filled with mud and peat. Floating vegetation makes the surface appear solid in some places and this can lead to accidental drownings. A fence now surrounds the King's Stables to prevent animals being trapped in the pool.
The King's Stables pool was originally excavated in 1975. The investigation showed the pool was not natural but was dug into the earth deliberately. A layer of hazel branches was placed in the bottom of the pool by those who dug it. Clay moulds for leaf-shaped bronze swords were found in the King's Stables along with pottery, bone and wood artefacts, and a number of animal bones. In total, there were 214 animal bones. Some of these may have been animals who were trapped in the steep sided pool and drowned. A huma skull was also found in the pool.
Local legends tell the pool was the property of a great king, some say Lugh, others Conchobar. The king used the pool as a watering hole for his horses and the stable was nearby. The King's Stables has survived in an area where other, larger, and more important ritual constructions have been destroyed over the centuries – usually by materials being taken away for other construction and by farmers plowing the areas over. No one is sure why the King's Stables has survived. There is a local legend the pool is guarded by a faery who punishes anyone that harms the pool or surrounding bank.
The Kings Stables is located in a farmer's field at a distance from the hill of Emain Macha. When you get out of your car you go through the stile in the fence and walk towards a thicket of trees.
The grove around King's Stables as seen from the road
As you draw closer, you see the trees are growing around and upon a bank or dyke.
Drawing even closer, you see there is an open side to the bank and this has been fenced to prevent large animals from wandering in and drowning in the pool. The pool is very deep and the sides are steep so any animal that did venture in would have a hard time getting out.
The face of the pool is deceptive. Water plants cover much of the surface and this makes the pool look shallow and inviting.
In addition to the wonderful hawthorns on the dyke there are number of well grown beech trees, which I found interesting because the beech is associated with ancestral wisdom.
The Kings Stables feels lonely and deserted, as if the people here have forgotten about it but there is still a sense of lingering ancient magic, as if the People of the Hills still visit here. There is no feeling of darkness, but there is a feeling of quiet and gentle haunting. But what is this?
Could it be? Yes! It is! a clootie tied to the branch of a beech tree.
The Sidhe are not the only ones who remember. But now it is time to go and I take the path that leads away from the Kings Stables and out into the wide world.
A Visit to the Kings Stables © 2008 by Tira Brandon-Evans. All rights reserved.
Tira Brandon-Evans is the Founder and Moderator of the Society of Celtic Shamans, editor of Earthsongs: Journal of the Society of Celtic Shamans, and is, herself, a Faery Shaman. Her books, The Green and Burning Tree: A Faery Shaman's Handbook, Portals of the Seasons: A Celtic Wheel of the Year, Through the Unremembered Gate: Journeys of Initiation, The Labyrinthine Way: Walking Ancient Paths in a Modern World, and Healing Waters, are all published by Elder Grove Press. She is presently writing a book about the Ogham. You may contact Tira by email at info@faeryshaman.org.
A Visit to the Kings Stables © 2008 by Tira Brandon-Evans. All rights, including rights to copy these images, are reserved. Used with permission. Top of Page
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