Not sure why I didn't post last Friday when it popped up in my arcdar (archaeology radar).  Maybe because of the pool martini party.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/outcry-as-burial-ground-razed-under-cover-of-night-993522.html

"An ancient burial ground near the Hill of Tara - said to be more impressive than the national monument discovered in recent months - has been destroyed."

"Bulldozers razed the Baronstown site early yesterday morning to allow construction work on the controversial M3 motorway in Co Meath continue."

"Protesters claimed that the site, a bronze age settlement described as a "multi-period archaeological complex", was destroyed overnight after machinery moved in. They claim earth movers stripped the site at about 4am on Wednesday."

The whole Tara fiasco is worrisome because of the impact it would have on conservation of heritage sites.  Even if one of the most important archaeological sites in Ireland can be subject to wanton destruction, then everything else is pretty much fair game, not just in Ireland, but anywhere in the world.

Looks like Lismullin, the large (80m diameter) Iron Age ceremonial enclosure near the Hill of Tara, Ireland recently discovered during road construction, will not be saved and instead will be demolished and paved over to make way for the construction of the four-lane M3 motorway.  The Hill of Tara and the nearby valley is the seat of ancient Irish kings, an ancient pagan religious center, and an archaeological treasure trove.  The Hill of Tara has been listed as one of the 100 most endangered places by the World Monument Fund because of the move by the Irish National Road Associations (NRA) to go ahead with the M3 construction.  Despite protests from conservation groups, archaeologists, and politicians, the NRA will continue construction of the M3 through this archaeologically rich area. 

It is even of more distress the fact that a preliminary archaeological assessment of the area before actual construction failed to discover Lismullin.  It was actually during actual road work that the site was discovered, thus halting the construction.  It is possible to say that it was an honest oversight or failure on the part of the archaeologists who conducted the survey, but it's rather fishy to me.  I wouldn't be surprised if certain unscrupulous elements in the government really pushed for the construction of this motorway for political or financial gain, and "influenced" the archaeological report in some way.

Anyway, read more at:

http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/tara/

Here's an update on Tara, the ancient seat of Irish kings. 

Ancient site on endangered list
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/6728805.stm

"The ancient Hill of Tara in Meath - once the seat of Ireland's high kings- has been named one of the world's 100 most endangered heritage sites."

"The World Monument Fund has placed Tara on its "crisis list" following the go-ahead for the controversial M3 motorway through the site. "

Archaeological site may be doomed
http://www.irishpost.co.uk/news/story.asp?j=5645&cat=news

"The site of a massive ancient pagan temple unearthed at one of Europe's most archaeologically significant sites will be buried under a controversial motorway, campaigners warned last week."

"Fears were growing that the government is to plough ahead with the contentious M3 route despite the discovery that has excited heritage campaigners."

Tara, County Meath, Ireland, is a neolithic pagan religious center, the seat of the High Kings of Ireland, and a World Heritage site.  Not to mention the focus of countless literary works.  While the Hill of Tara won't be directly threatened, the valley below will be scarred by the highway, which will come within less than a mile of the Hill.  The increased pollution will damage the monuments faster than wind erosion and rain, and the increased access will probably lead to more people visiting it and more likelihood of vandalism. 

I don't disagree that living people will always come before dead people.  I can understand the argument for the Three Gorges Dam in China because it will provide electric power to a lot of people, although the environmental, cultural and social repercussions are overwhelming and barely justifiable.  But a certain measure of conservation of our pasts should kept in mind.  Building a new road where there was already one (albeit smaller one) to relieve traffic but risk damaging significant cultural resources is certainly not a balanced trade-off. 

/soapbox

ETA: some sites about the whole controversy:

General info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_of_Tara

Against road construction:
http://www.savetara.com/
http://www.tarawatch.org/

Government site:
http://www.m3motorway.ie/