An environmental group warned today it would begin new legal proceedings to have work on the M3 motorway halted if sufficient action was not taken to preserve the recently discovered monument at Lismullen in the Tara-Skryne valley.
If the Minister for the Environment Dick Roche issues directions to allow the motorway between Navan and Dunshaughlin go through the site there will be litigation, TaraWatch spokesman Vincent Salafia said.
Archaeologists with the National Roads Authority (NRA) believe the circular enclosure - dating from the late Bronze or early Iron Age - may be a sister site to the Hill of Tara which is located 2km away.
Mr Salafia said the discovery of the site was proof that a proper archaeological assessment of the route had not been undertaken prior to the commencement of the project and that the NRA's process for assessing a site had failed.
He called on Minister Roche to initiate a consultation process between the NRA, Meath County Council and other interested parties so as to avoid "adversarial" legal action.
The group delivered a submission to the Department of the Environment today which contained a report on the significance of the site by US archaeologist Dr Ron Hicks.
It also advocated a re-routing of the motorway westward toward Trim which it said could reduce the distance between Navan and Dunshaughlin by up to 2.5km and still preserve the integrity of the archaeological complex associated with the Hill of Tara.
A Department of the Environment spokesman said Minister Roche received a submission from the director of the National Museum Pat Wallace on Thursday last regarding the site and that a decision on how to proceed was imminent.
Under the terms of National Monuments Act 2004 the Minister is required to consult the director of the National Museum if a national monument is found before taking action.
