Newgrange

April 10th 1999

Our family visited the passage tomb at Newgrange during our Easter holiday back in Ireland and I can safely say that it is one of the most interesting and enjoyable places to visit in the country. The Visitor Centre is discreetly located and beautifully designed, and the staff were genuinely welcoming. Even the food was perfect; we had the loveliest home-made vegetable soup and soda bread at very reasonable prices, and the admission fee of £7 for a family, including the short bus ride to the actual site and an introductory audio-visual, is terrific value. The pictures here are from other sources as, as luck would have it, the shutter release on my camera decided to remain 'stuck in reverse' on the day of our visit, although I would not have been allowed to take photos in the passage or tomb anyway. One of the highlights of our guided tour was when the burial chamber was cast into darkness and a blade of artificial light, simulating what happens on the morning of the winter solstice, finds its way down the entrance passage and into the chamber.

Brú na Bóinne

Brú na Bóinne - the dwelling place or palace of the Boyne - describes the area between the towns of Slane and Drogheda where the River Boyne meanders in dramatic loops and bends. Here lies one of the world's most important archaeological landscapes, dominated by the spectactular prehistoric passage tombs of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. Older than Stonehenge or the pyramids of Egypt, these remarkable passage tombs were built over 5000 years ago by Neolithic (New Stone Age ) farmers, and their survival through time reflects the sophistication and ingenuity of the Stone-Age culture which constructed them.The international significance of Brú na Bóinne was formally recognised in 1993 when it was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The Passage

Newgrange

The passage grave at Newgrange is one of the most famous prehistoric monuments in Western Europe. Built over 5000 thousand years ago, the burial chamber is reached through a long stone passage, and the whole construction is covered by a huge mound. The mound (more accurately it should be referred to as a Cairn) itself ranges from 79m to 85m in diameter and stands 11m high and is bordered by a kerb, made up of 97 stones, many of which are decorated. The most striking of these kerb stones is the entrance stone which is an outstanding example of megalithic art. The mound was constructed from over 200,000 tonnes of stone and earth. It has been estimated that it would take eighty men four days to drag a four ton stone the three kilometres from the nearest quarry. One can only try and imagine the dedication of the workers to such a long and laborious task The carving of the decorations on the stones must have been a slow and tedious task and today, one of the main reasons for the fame and importance of Newgrange is its richness in mural megalithic art. In the chamber, the east recess is the most extensively decorated although the other two recesses are also interesting for the excellence of their designs. Research into whether these decorations represent some deeper meaning is just beginning and any conclusions will have to be based on other examples of megalithic art becoming available for examination.

The passage is 19m long and is lined on each side by standing stones, and it leads directly into the burial chamber, which has a cruciform plan. The roof over the chamber is 6m high and has remained intact and waterproof for more than 5000 years, although I have since read that the roof lets in water during heavy rainfall; who do you believe and is it important if a drop of water gets in?
Of Newgrange's many notable features, perhaps the most famous is the small opening over the door, the roof box. The roof box is aligned so that at dawn on the morning of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year (Dec. 21st.) and a number of days before and after, a beam of sunlight penetrates the passage and creeps slowly to the very back of the chamber. After about fifteen minutes, this dramatic representation of rebirth and life at the turning point of winter, recedes and the dead are once more allowed to rest in darkness. At no other sunrise is the chamber illuminated.
On the 21st December 1967, Professor M.J. O'Kelly of University College Cork, supervisor of the restoration of the mound, became the first person in thousands of years to witness the miracle of Newgrange. The precise location and alignment of the roof box reveals the incredible depths of knowledge which this ancient civilization possessed.

Legends

The entire passage grave cemetery at Brú na Bóinne was associated with the Tuatha De Danann (the race of the godess Danu). They were believed to have ruled Ireland before the arrival of the Celts and afterwards to have hidden themselves in the fairy mound. To this day, superstitions abound about the powers associated with these "fairy sites". The greatest of all Celtic warriors, Cuchulainn, was said to have been conceived at Newgrange. The Celtic heroes and warriors recognised the great antiquity of Newgrange and the greatness of its construction. For them it must have been a palace fit for the gods to live in.

Roof Box Over Entrance

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