Member-only story
Solving the riddle of Ireland’s historic round towers
Latest research overturns the popular theories concerning the function of Ireland’s mysterious round towers, built a thousand years ago during the early medieval period.
They were neither bell towers nor defensive places of refuge, believes author Christopher Freeland who also insists that the Catholic Church, despite its claims, had nothing to do with their origins.
Thought to have been 120 towers in Ireland once, often at least 90 feet tall, there are now about 60; many are ruinous but about 20 remain in good condition. In actuality, they represent an unresolved, enigmatic curiosity.
In the times the towers were built, Ireland, or Éire as it was then known, was a country of tuatha, or small kingdoms, each governed by a chieftain or king. Tribal pacts were always changing, but there were underlying common religious and cultural mores, often founded in ancient Celtic traditions — and, evidently, despite the political diversity, common architectural practices, as revealed in the uniform construction of the towers.
Who actually built the towers is unknown, and the dates of construction are uncertain — between the seventh and tenth, or the ninth and twelfth, centuries depending upon which estimates are favoured. The only other places where such towers are found are Scotland, where…
