¹⁰⁴O'Sullivan, Muiris. "The Mound of the Hostages, Tara: a Pivotal Monument in a Ceremonial Landscape." Archaeology Ireland, Heritage Guide No. 34, (June 2006).

The earliest datable evidence of human use of the site was from the charcoal taken from beneath the cairn and from the sod layer at its edge. Conor Newman postulated that these may be evidence of a "ritual cleansing" in preparation for the construction of the tomb. (Newman, Conor. Tara: An Archaeological Survey. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy for the Discovery Programme, 1997, pp. 225-230.)

The charcoal deposits were dated to 3750-3500 (cal.) BCE. There was also a (probable) Mesolithic flake of chert discovered, which O'Sullivan described as "a spectacular discovery...offering the tantalising prospect that the Hill of Tara may have been a place to visit even before the Neolithic and/or that Mesolithic heirlooms were incorporated into the monument." (O'Sullivan, Muiris, Michael Herity, and Ursula Mattenberger. Duma na nGiall: the Mound of the Hostages, Tara. Bray, Co. Wicklow: Wordwell, 2005, pp. 221-25.)

Despite all this, O'Sullivan et. al. warn that " It would be an optimistic interpretation to suggest that the focus of the early Neolithic activity was the site on which the Mound of the Hostages was to be constructed..." (O'Sullivan, Muiris, Michael Herity, and Ursula Mattenberger. Duma na nGiall: the Mound of the Hostages, Tara. Bray, Co. Wicklow: Wordwell, 2005, pp. 221-25.)