‘One of the jewels in the crown of Irish passage tomb architecture’
What happens next with Cairn T at Loughcrew will really depend on the current status of the structure and whether it is deteriorating or stable, according to Dr Stephen Davis, Lecturer in Archaeology at UCD.
He described Loughcrew as "one of the jewels in the crown of Irish passage tomb architecture and megalithic art" and feels some sort of intervention is needed if it is in danger of collapse.
However, what form intervention may take is not any easy question to answer and he feels that a full engineering assessment of the structure and regular monitoring is necessary to ascertain if it is deteriorating, and at what pace, before any decisions on its future can be made.
"It is not clear if or at what pace the structure is deteriorating. It needs to be regularly monitored in very fine detail over a period of time to see if the cracks are worsening, in the same way as at Knowth, using 3D laser scanning. This work may already be being done.
"It is important to know what the state of the structure is at the moment. From there you can start to come up with plans as to what to do with it going forward.
"If it is stable then fine, but it will clearly not be possible to allow people back into the tomb even then - it is a matter of health and safety. If it is deteriorating, then difficult decisions will have to be made.
"You either leave it to do what it's going to do, or you try to prop it up in some way or you take it down a piece at a time and stabilise it, then rebuild it."
However, he said that to excavate would potentially be a costly job and that very few people would have experience of such an excavation. A key question is funding as it could potentially cost millions, both for the excavation and restoration of such an iconic monument.
Dr Davis also pointed out that there is also the risk that if it is restored, it would not be the same structure it used to be, and while it is likely that the goal would be to rebuild it to be as close as possible to its current state, it is also something that needs to be taken into consideration.