Corleck Head

Corleck Head
Two of the head's three faces
Material	Limestone
Size	Height: 33 cm (13 in) Width (max): 22.5 cm (8.9 in)
Created	1st or 2nd century AD
Discovered	c. 1855 Corleck Hill, County Cavan, Ireland 53°58′21″N 6°59′53″W / 53.9725°N 6.9981°W / 53.9725; -6.9981
Present location	National Museum of Ireland, Dublin
Identification	IA:1998:72[1]

The Corleck Head is an Irish three-faced stone idol usually dated to the 1st or 2nd century AD. Although its origin cannot be known for certain, its dating to the Early Iron Age is based on similar iconography from northern European Celtic artefacts from that period. Archaeologists agree that it probably represents a Celtic god, and was intended to be placed on top of a larger shrine associated with a Celtic head cult, and may have continued in use for the Lughnasadh, a medieval harvest festival celebrated by the Gaels that survived into the modern period.

The head was found c. 1855 in the townland of Drumeague in County Cavan, Ireland, during the excavation of a large Passage grave dated to c. 2500 BC. The archaeological evidence indicates that it was used for ceremonial purposes at Corleck Hill, a significant religious centre during the late Iron Age that for millennia became a major site of celebration during the Lughnasadh. As with any stone artefact, its dating and cultural significance are difficult to establish. The three faces may represent an all-knowing, all-seeing god representing the unity of the past, present and future or ancestral mother figures representing strength and fertility. The head was found alongside the Corraghy head, a two-headed sculpture with a ram's head at one side and a human head on the other. Today only the human head survives. The idols are collectively known as the "Corleck Gods". Historians assume that they were hidden during the Early Middle Ages due to their paganism and association with human sacrifice, traditions the medieval Christian church suppressed.

The Corleck Head came to national attention in 1937 after its prehistoric dating was realised by the historian Thomas J. Barron. When rediscovered it was a local curiosity placed on top of a farm gatepost; today, it is on permanent display at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. It is included in the 2011 Irish Times anthology A History of Ireland in 100 Objects.^[2]