‘Ritual avenue’ discovered near Tralee

An archaeological survey has shown that the people of Tralee were fascinated by the “pale moon rising” almost 2,000 years before the Victorian ditty that has come to symbolise their world-famous festival.

A Bronze Age “ritual avenue” criss-crossing the new N22 Tralee by-pass, around Ballingowan is the first of its kind in this island, and is most likely aligned to the moon and sun, the excavators of the site, Rubicon Heritage say.

“Sites are defined by post pits, certainly. But apart from areas in Cambridge- shire and North Yorkshire, and to a lesser extent Scotland, an avenue such as this has never been found,” Colm Moloney, archaeologist said.