Great winter sunshine at Newgrange.
Image credit: ryaner
Sites within Newgrange
Images
31/03/2023 – Too soon it was time to say goodbye to Newgrange and head for the bus.
31/03/2023 – The entrance to Newgrange. It’s not understated!
Artist unknown.
Image credit: unknown
Reprinted in ‘The testimony of tradition’ by David MacRitchie (1890).
archive.org/details/testimonyoftradi00macriala/page/126/mode/2up
Image credit: Mr Moyneux, 1724.
In ‘The testimony of tradition’ by David MacRitchie (1890).
archive.org/details/testimonyoftradi00macriala/page/n143/mode/2up
Image credit: A superb drawing by W F Wakeman 1889.
Quite the most stonerest of all the stones in Brú na Bóinne.
Image credit: ryaner
The grand entrance to Newgrange, I believe Victoria Beckham was the design consultant and built by Barratt
NMA’s “Green and Grey” sleeve.
Image credit: Howburn Digger's late 80's RA inspired 7" sleeves collection
Drawing from “Early Races of Scotland” via archive.org
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
The ultimate Neolithic development of the Carrowkeel ‘light box?’ If one didn’t know better it appears as if constructed yesterday (ahem).
Image credit: Robert Gladstone
The entrance stone.
Image credit: ryaner
Triple spiral.
Image credit: ryaner
Pre-Bothy Band album from 1974. Newgrange Spiral on whisky bottles, album sleeves etc. I saw the triple spiral on a rug in a hotel in Letterkenny years ago but I didn’t get a photo.
Image credit: Mick Hanly and Micheal O Domhnaill
Image credit: Mason, Dublin
This beautiful rock art illustration is available for £11 (special offer at the Co-op for this this week only). Well worth the money. The £11 worth of beautiful art comes with a free 70cl bottle of irish whiskey attached. Rock Art – it’s the gift that just keeps giving.
Image credit: Howburn Digger
linocut interpretation of newgrange carvings...will feature on this years yule cards :)
Image credit: Layla Bert Smith
Taken from Munro 1899
Image credit: Copyright expired
Street art, New Street, Dublin 8
Image credit: ryaner
Street art, New Street, Dublin 8
Image credit: ryaner
Street art, New Street, Dublin 8
Image credit: ryaner
Martin Brennan at Newgrange, explaining how he had a revelation while examining the dividing line on both of the opposing kerbstones, K1 and K52 (pictured)
Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandsandStone.com 2009
(After Beckensall, 2001)
Image credit: IH
Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandStone.com 2008
A picture of a picture in Newgranges Interpretive centre
Image credit: Bawn79 © 2008
A picture of a picture in the Newgrange Interpreative centre.
Image credit: Bawn79 © 2008
Right and Rear Recesses in Main Chamber
Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandStone.com 2007
Newgrange from the north-east
Image credit: ryaner
April ‘06
Image credit: ryaner
Light box with carved lintel. April ‘06
Image credit: ryaner
Itinerarium Curiosum 1776
Image credit: William Stukeley, M.D. F.R. & A.S.
Newgrange in the hazy evening mist seen from Dowth at sunset 21st December 2006.
Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandStone.com
The morning sun behind Great Circle Stone 1, December 21st 2006.
Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandStone.com 2006
Winter Solstice eve 2006, With a very long lens you can see straight down the passage to where the light enters the chamber, at the centre of the photo.
The light entering through the door ends further up the passage as can be seen in the photo, the long lens tightly compresses the length of the passage.
Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandStone.com 2006
The front entrance and the entrance stone with that insanely fantastic carving work.
Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandStone.com
Detail of the two large spirals on kerbstone 67, lit by flash.
Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandStone.com
10/10/06, I had made my way to Newgrange and Dowth for some (near) full moon pics late at night, after leaving Dowth I bumped into renowned artist Richard Moore who has been painting in the Boyne Valley for over 20 years. He painted, I snapped, then I snapped him painting! Very nice man and a great painter. This was taken at around 1am.
Click here to see a night time painting of Newgrange by Richard Moore:
mythicalireland.com/art/richardmoore/moreviews.html
and here for some more info on the artist:
mythicalireland.com/art/richardmoore/index.html
Image credit: Ken Williams/ShadowsandStone.com 2006
Looking down on the kerbstone, there is no decoration at all on the back and it is much smaller than it seems from the front.
The Triple Spiral, well a copy actually. This exact replica is located in a life-size model of the passage and chamber in Newgrange which is part of the visitor centre audio-visual ‘experience’.
Image credit: Ken Williams - ShadowsandStone.com
Just in case you were wondering... The world famous triple-spiral carving is quite small as demonstrated here by the lovely Niamh.
Image credit: Ken Williams - shadowsandstone.com
This is a casting of the carvings in the passageway, part of a replica of the Newgrange passage and chamber in the visitor centre.
Image credit: Ken Williams - shadowsandstone.com
Carved stone in passage (L19 methinks)
Image credit: Ben Millions: Antiquarian, acupuncturist and unemployed snow-plough operator.
Often looked at but not often ‘seen’, the carvings on Kerbstone 1 are AMAZING!
Image credit: Ken Williams - [email protected]
I’ve put this into interpretive but its just a straight ‘out of the camera’ photo with sharpening being the only adjustment. The standing stones are on the left, the edge of the mound is on the right.
Image credit: Ken Williams - [email protected]
After signing a form I was allowed stay until they locked the gates, on one side we had a magnificent sunset (not as lurid as my usual due to lack of clouds!) and on the other a very clear large moon.
Image credit: Ken Williams
The right hand recess and bowl, taken morning of Winter Solstice 2004
Image credit: Ken Williams (CianMcLiam)
The artwork on the roof of the right hand recess
Image credit: Ken Williams (CianMcLiam)
At night, the Plough is visible above and to the right of the mound.
Taken 19th Dec 2004. (Maybe you can make out the plastic green cover they place over the enterance stone at night, currently the only protection this superb carved monument has. You can easily make out the degredation of the carvings from photos only 30 years old...)
Image credit: Ken Williams (CianMcLiam)
Winter Solstice 2004, approx 9.55am the last few rays of sunlight leaving the passageway.
Image credit: Ken Williams (CianMcLiam)
Passage near the chamber on the left as you enter (L19).
These are spirals – not connected apart from a slight overlapping.
There are more spirals (including a double spiral) at the foot of the stone.
Chamber W recess showing basin and decoration on two stones (C2 and C3). See next image for detail of C3.
Chamber W recess. The design on the backstone (C3). The central design is a spiral nearly 40cm across with 12 returns and some outer arcs along the top and right.
Two smaller spirals can also be seen.
Chamber N recess showing, on the right, the stone (C10) containing the spiral design.
N recess of chamber, stone C10.
To quote O’Kelly in the Newgrange book:
“The three-spiral stone (often wrongly called a triple spiral: since a double spiral ... consists of two parallel coils, by analogy, a triple spiral should consist of three: in fact the design consists of three double spirals, the two on the right being S – or returning- spirals as well). In order to integrate the left hand spiral into the design the two free ends of its outermost double coil were separated so as to sweep concentrically round the two other spirals and to meet again having encircled the S-spirals. The whole pattern is only 30x28cm.”
This may not be too clear from the oblique angle of the image but if you look for a figure 8 outline round the right hand spirals that is the “outermost double coil” of the left hand spiral. This “8” contains and does not connect with the right hand double spiral.
A wonderful piece of art!
Chamber E recess showing basin and art on lintel and roof. See next image for detail of roof art.
The magnificent panel of art on the roof of the E recess of the chamber.
The circular feature centre right is a spiral nearly 40cm across with eight turns.
To the left of this, with the crack running through it, is a motif comprising a central diamond surrounded by eight circles finished off by a band of three wavy lines which follow the outer arcs of the circles.
These wavy lines and circles are repeated in motifs to the right of the spiral (not visible) and in the bottom left-hand corner of the picture.
Corbelled roof in chamber.
Kerb K17. Concentric circles. One on top edge, right of centre. One on right hand edge. A third, on left hand top corner, is not visible. SW quadrant – probabaly in public area.
Kerbs K52 and K51 – both bearing art. There is also art on the top of K51. NW quadrant.
Kerbstone K52 – in the NW quadrant diametrically opposite the entrance.
Kerbstone K67 – in NE quadrant.
Art on right hand side of kerbstone K95 – seven stones to the right of the entrance.
Multiple chevron pattern on kerbstone K93 – five stones to the right of the entrance.
Postholes from the 1982 excavations
Satellite tomb Z – to the NE of the entrance to the main site.
Newgrange frontal view.
I was surprised to see no image like this already up!
Image credit: Cursuswalker
on the backside...
Image credit: © J. McGuinness 2003
Sept. 2002
Sept. 2002
View from Newgrange, Sept. 2002
Sept. 2002
Sept. 2002
Sept. 2002
The famous lintel.
The entrance really is beyond the joke. The worst bit is queuing to get in.
Newgrange
Detail from a kerb stone at Newgrange
Image credit: Mark McCann
Detail of the entrance stone at Newgrange
Image credit: Mark McCann
Articles
A survey of ancient Irish genomes has found evidence that the parents of an adult male buried in the heart of the Newgrange passage tomb were first-degree relatives.
The research of the male’s genome suggests that he was among a ruling social elite which is similar to the inbred Inca god-kings and Egyptian pharaohs.
The study, which was led by archaeologists and geneticists from Trinity College Dublin, focused on the earliest periods of Ireland’s human history.
The team conducted a painstaking genetic analysis of the ancient bones of 44 individuals recovered from all the major Irish burial traditions court tombs, portal tombs, passage tombs and other natural sites.
Famous for the annual winter solstice, little is known about who was buried in the heart of the Newgrange passage tomb which was built over 5,000 years ago.
ARCHAEOLOGISTS who discovered a new passage tomb near Newgrange want it declared a national monument.
Using light detection and ranging imaging known as LiDar, an underground passageway and several other previously undetected features have been discovered near the river Boyne, Co Meath, on private land south-west of Newgrange.
The LiDar imagery showed a mound with a circular enclosure, while further work involving new technologies, known as magnetic radiometry and resistivity, unveiled a definite passage, leading northeast out of the newly discovered tomb.
PROBING
It is the first discovery to be made without any archaeological digging, instead being found through use of LiDar and other “ground-probing techniques.” The archaeologists who made the discovery, led by Kevin Barton, are calling on the Minister for Heritage, Jimmy Deenihan, to declare the site a national monument.
Because the new discovery is on private ground, the team of archaeologists need the Minister to do this as without Government designations, an excavation would be impossible.
In order to fully understand the results of the LiDar study, which was performed in and around the Bru Na Boinne UNESCO Heritage site, archaeologists feel a fully comprehensive excavation would be necessary.
Activist group ‘Save Newgrange’ are backing the archaeologists’ request to the minister, as well as requesting that Meath County Council include the new findings in the Management Plan for the World Heritage Site. Vincent Salafia, spokesperson with Save Newgrange, says that there is an obligation to allow an excavation of the site, as well as a council obligation to include findings in the management plan.
“With this exciting discovery, the onus is on the Minister to obey the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and fully protect the site.
“The State is under a duty to fully investigate the entire World Heritage Site, and to give the monuments the highest legal protection possible, which is national monument designation under the National Monuments Act,” he said.
The results of a full scale excavation could lead to an expansion of Newgrange and could halt any further plans for an N2 Bypass of the site, which would be critical if there were any more requests from local council to build the motorway.
In 2012, An Bord Pleanala refused an application for the bypass because of proximity to the monument. Local politicians, however, are still hoping to procure a bypass.
herald.ie/news/new-tomb-and-passage-found-at-newgrange-29568097.html
Newgrange may have a second passage, and it too could be aligned with a solstice event.
Check out link below for more info:
independent.ie/national-news/search-on-for-a-second-passage-in-newgrange-2908492.html
CONSTRUCTION OF the proposed Slane bypass in Co Meath could have implications for the world heritage status of Brú na Bóinne, the site that is home to the megalithic tombs of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, a planning hearing was told yesterday.
An international expert on heritage sites said construction of the bypass was likely to result in Unesco “monitoring” the impact on the world heritage site.
Dr Douglas Comer told the An Bord Pleanála hearing that “failure to maintain the outstanding universal value of a world heritage site can threaten its status as such”.
Meath County Council is seeking permission from the board to build the road and the oral hearing is expected to continue until early next month.
Dr Comer, an archaeologist and international expert on culture sites, said there could be “a very large adverse impact” on the site because of the proposed route of the road. He was asked by the council to prepare a heritage impact assessment of the road plan. He said “one might reasonably expect that the bypass will be seen as a further, incremental intrusion on the landscape”.
Dr Comer’s report said that if assurances are given that the bypass will not stimulate new construction in the vicinity of the heritage site and if it is only visible from the top of Knowth, then it would represent a minor change with a moderate/large adverse effect.
However, without such assurances and if the road can be seen from several locations in the Brú na Bóinne site, then it would have a “large/very large adverse impact”, he concluded.
The 3.5km dual carriageway would bypass Slane to the east of the village at a cost of €46 million and divert traffic from the village and Slane bridge where 22 people have died in traffic accidents in recent years.
Archaeologist Finola O’Carroll, who assessed the scheme for the council, said the new road would be visible from Knowth and Newgrange but the long-term impact of this was “in the visual and landscape assessment deemed respectively to be ‘medium and neutral’ and ‘low and neutral’.”
She said that the design of the bridge and the road seeks to minimise the visual disturbance in accordance with the principles of cultural heritage management.
Landscape architect Declan O’Leary said that to reduce the impact of the 200m long bridge, it is designed to sit within the existing topography. It will be 21m above the valley floor and made from a steel/concrete composite. Its crossing is set at a level to reduce the cutting into the valley sides, “limiting the impact on the Boyne valley”, he added.
irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0222/1224290514228.html
On the morning of 21 December, a select group of people made their way through a dark, narrow passage and gathered in a small cross-shaped chamber at Newgrange in Co Meath, Irish Republic, to celebrate the winter solstice. Why?
Newgrange, located 40km north of Dublin and perched high above a bend of the River Boyne, is a prehistoric passage tomb, covered on the outside by a large grassy mound.
At over 5,000 years old it is the older cousin of Stonehenge and it predates the pyramids by about 500 years.
It is difficult to estimate how long it would have taken to build it.
“They were a very sophisticated society with a sound economic base as they were able to divert a large number of people to the building of passage tombs,” says archaeologist Professor George Eogan.
“The ritual of the dead was very important in their lives and the site combines engineering, architectural and artistic skills.”
Shaft of light
Newgrange is unique because the builders aligned it with the rising sun.
Just after sunrise, at 0858GMT, on the shortest day of the year, the inner chamber will flood with sunlight, which enters through a 25cm (9.9ins) high “roof box” above the passage entrance.
The phenomenon was discovered by archaeologist, Professor Michael J O’Kelly on 21 December 1967 during research on the site.
“He found the roof box when uncovering the roof chamber but wondered about its purpose,” says his daughter Helen Watanabe O’Kelly.
Local people always said it was aligned to the sun but the measurements did not fit the summer solstice.
“My mother, who worked closely with him, suggested that it might be connected with the winter solstice. And that was how he discovered it in 1967.”
Ms O’Kelly recalls how she experienced it with him the following year.
“There were just the two of us. It was cold and dark – no razzmatazz, like you have now. I still remember sitting in the cold and we just waited.
“Suddenly this shaft of light came into the chamber and hit the back wall. I remember being quietly moved – it was like someone was speaking to you from thousands of years before. I still see it like a picture before my inner eye – it was a golden light.”
Since the discovery of the winter solstice alignment, Newgrange has been developed as a major tourist attraction and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.
Demand to attend the midwinter solstice is high and since 2000 it has been regulated by a lottery system. This year, more than 25,000 people applied but only 10 were selected to attend on 21 December. Each can bring one guest.
The lucky winners – drawn by primary school children from three local schools – include people from Ireland, the US, England, Scotland, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
In addition, 40 other winners and guests can attend on the days around the solstice, when some light enters the chamber.
Clare Tuffy, the visitor centre’s manager who has worked at Newgrange since the early 1980s, says that guests are kept outside for as long possible on the solstice morning.
Even though the passage way and chamber are only 24m (78ft) long, once you enter you are cut off from the outside world and lose a sense of time passing.
“When the sun clears the horizon you can hear a big cheer from those gathered outside.
“We have to wait four minutes after sunrise to experience the light entering the chamber because the earth’s angle has changed since it was constructed 5,000 years ago. The light remains in the chamber for 17 minutes before retreating.”
The centre’s staff do not orchestrate what happens in the chamber. Sometimes people ask to sing a song, say a poem or chant, but any activity is done with the agreement of the group.
Those not lucky enough to get a place in the draw are welcome to gather outside.
People are motivated to come by the symbolism of the light and dark and the turning of the year. Some have made it a tradition and come year after year. Druids also assemble outside, chanting and singing.
Even though she is a veteran of the experience, Clare Tuffy is still moved by it and she is keen to make it special for the lottery winners.
“I get very excited and anxious every year that it will all go well. My husband calls it ‘solstice fever’. It starts in early December and doesn’t finish until Christmas.”
Lunar eclipse
Irish weather is frequently inclement, but there will not be any drips inside Newgrange to dampen the enthusiasm of the solstice watchers.
The ancient engineers designed it to be waterproof, packing sand and burnt soil among the roof stones and even cutting channels into them to direct water away from the passage and chamber.
But the privileged few who will come to marvel at this masterpiece of human creativity are counting on “third time lucky”.
The past two years have been cloudy and overcast on 21 December, which means the chamber remains in darkness. This year they hope for clear skies and a bright solstice sunrise.
To add extra excitement to this year’s experience there will also be a lunar eclipse on the morning of the 21st.
The moon will start to brighten again just as the sun starts to enter the inner chamber.
It is the first time in over 450 years that a lunar eclipse and the winter solstice have coincided.
It’s painful to watch Ireland’s troubles; their future looked so bright when they joined the EU; now the N2 Slane By-pass has been shelved as part of the 4-year cost cutting plan.
As reported in the Irish Independent:
” ... there will be no major schemes starting in 2012 or 2013. This means the N5 Ballaghadreen bypass, N4 Downes upgrade, N2 Slane Bypass, N22 Macroom to Ballyvourney, N8/N25 Dunkettle Roundabout and Enniscorthy/New Ross bypass are shelved.”
However, the report continues:
....“high priority schemes will proceed as funding becomes available and planning permission is granted”.
New round of public consultations ordered for proposed Slane bypass
savenewgrange.org /2010/09/20/the-irish-times-new-round-of-public-consultations-ordered-for-proposed-slane-bypass/">savenewgrange.org/2010/09/20/the-irish-times-new-round-of-public-consultations-ordered-for-proposed-slane-bypass/
The Irish Times – Monday, September 20, 2010
FRANK McDONALD Environment Editor
A NEW round of public consultations on controversial plans for a dual-carriageway bypass of Slane, Co Meath, has been ordered by An Bord Pleanála, with October 15th set as the closing date. A public notice advertising the new round of consultations was published recently in national newspapers. The original consultation period closed on February 25th last.
An Bord Pleanála had sought additional information from Meath County Council on the road scheme, including whether an alternative route running to the west of Slane had been examined. The current proposal, which is being advanced on behalf of the National Roads Authority (NRA), would run to the east of Slane, some 500 metres from the boundary of Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site.
The appeals board also sought alternative designs for a new bridge over the river Boyne, noting that the cable-stayed bridge originally proposed would be visible from the World Heritage Site. It also wanted the council to produce more detailed archaeological and geophysical reports on investigations of 44 archaeological sites that would be affected by the original scheme.
The information was sought “in order to clarify certain points in the environmental impact statement [EIS] and assist the board’s assessment of the likely effects on the environment” of the road. This followed complaints to An Bord Pleanála by the Save Newgrange group, former attorney general John Rogers SC and leading archaeologist Prof George Eogan that the EIS was flawed.
Save Newgrange spokesman Vincent Salafia said: “We will be waging an international campaign over the next month, particularly in Northern Ireland, to get as many objections as possible filed with An Bord Pleanála.”
FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO MAKE A SUBMISSION PLEASE VISIT
savenewgrange.org
The battle begins.....
The ancient Bru na Boinne site around Newgrange may lose its World Heritage status if the proposed M2 motorway goes ahead, it was claimed today.
The National Monuments Forum warned if changes are not made to the new motorway plans, the area near the Boyne in Co Meath is likely to lose recognition from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).
Dr George Eogan, Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at University College Dublin (UCD), said the new motorway is too close to the monuments and will have a considerable impact on the surrounding landscape.
“Five hundred metres is simply too close, and it is conceivable that Newgrange could lose its World Heritage Status,” he said.
The site can be saved if Environment Minister John Gormley fast-tracks the new National Monuments Bill 2009 according to the National Monuments Forum.
Vincent Salafia, National Monuments Forum spokesman, claimed the minister created unnecessary delays which place Ireland’s heritage at risk.
“We urge Minister Gormley to deliver this long overdue legislation and to ensure it is strong enough to protect Newgrange from this outlandish proposal,” Mr Salafia said.
The National Roads Authority has given details of plans for the new Slane bypass, which would be built 500m from the World Heritage Site at Newgrange.
While the plan has been welcomed locally, it is expected that there will be controversy.
The bridge and the road through the village of Slane, Co Meath, is one of the most dangerous stretches of roads in Ireland.
Over 20 people have been killed in accidents and locals have long campaigned for a bypass around the village.
The NRA is proposing to build the route down river of the present bridge and to the east of the village.
The proposed bypass will be 500m away from the buffer-zone around the World Heritage Site at Brú na Bóinne, which comprises the ancient megalithic tombs at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth.
It will also impact on the museum dedicated to Ireland’s most famous World War I poet, Francis Ledwidge, who came from Slane.
The Environmental Impact Statement for the project acknowledges that 44 archaeological sites will be within 500m of the roadway and that the potential to uncover much more during work is high.
While there will be a visual impact from the river, the Environmental Impact Statement says there will be negligible impact on the Site.
Wednesdays in
Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre
September 3rd 7.30pm
A Room with a View:
The Earlier Prehistoric Landscape of Brú na Bóinne
by Dr Conor Brady
Dundalk Institute of Technology
September 17th 7.30pm
Meath’s Landscape: what the Builders
of Loughcrew and Newgrange found.
By Dr Robert Meehan
Consultant Geologist
October 8th 8.00pm
Of Meat and Men:
Animals and Humans in Ancient Co Meath
By Dr Finbar McCormick
Queens University, Belfast
October 22nd 8.00pm
Newgrange Passage tomb and the Cursus:
There’s more to see than meets the eye
By Kevin Barton
Earthsound Associates
Free of Charge- All welcome!
Two Short Lectures
by
Robert Hensey
NUI Galway
When Space and Time Collided:
A Ritualistic Perspective on the Beginnings of Astronomical Alignment in Passage Tomb Tradition
Between Salmon and Ceremony:
Seasonal Ritual in the Boyne Valley
Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre
Wednesday June 11th 2008
7.00pm
Free of Charge
The Office of Public Works
Celebrates the 40th Anniversary
of the
Winter Solstice
at
Newgrange
____________________
Lectures at Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre at 8pm
Wednesday November 7th 2007
What the Builder Saw:
The Prehistoric Astronomy of Newgrange
By Terry Moseley, President of the Irish Astronomical Association
Wednesday November 14th 2007
Tombs with a View:
New Thoughts on an Old Puzzle
By Frank Prendergast, Dublin Institute of Technology
Nearly 24,000 people applied for the Winter Solstice draw in the hope of being in Newgrange on the shortest day of the year. However, just 50 names were selected at the “Winter Solstice Lottery” at the Brú na Bóinne Visitors’ Centre last Friday.
From BBCi, 22 Dec 2003
A cross-border heritage group has been protesting against plans to build a rubbish incinerator near the site of Newgrange and the Battle of the Boyne in County Louth.
The demonstrators called on the Irish Government to stop what they described as “cultural vandalism”.
31/03/2023 – Newgrange. Last stop of a lovely day out looking at stones and the main reason we had made the trip. Great to finally make it here after our cancelled trip 3 years back. We took a tour bus from Dublin. Mary Gibbons tour of Hill of Tara, Knowth & Newgrange. Can’t recommend it enough. She’s excellent. I know tours ain’t everyone’s thing, but you don’t get any less or more time there than if you made your own way to Newgrange and it just takes all the hassle out of getting there from the city. Only small groups too which was a really nice bonus as it was peaceful.
Allowed time there is short but again like Knowth, not overcrowded. The entrance of Newgrange passage tomb is pretty in your face but I liked it. White quartz covers the front, the just fantastic entrance stone guards the way in, with its spiral motifs. A wonderful stone. The inside chamber is wow. To look up and see that wonderful corbelled roof, very special. The light demo is very well done. Too soon it was time to leave. We had a quick walk round the outside of the mound, looking at the rock art on the kerbstones then headed back to the bus, a bit soggy from the rain but very happy.
Just magic to have finally made it to the Boyne Valley. Guess we all spend most of our time at sites that get seldom visited and it’s just us and the stones. Always a bit of a worry going to the big sites like Newgrange, Stonehenge and Skara Brae that the people/noise/rush with spoil the vibe. Newgrange/Knowth tour turned out great though, really enjoyed it. Should mention the visitor’s centre too, it’s excellent, I got myself a Newgrange tea towel to add to my collection!
Visited 23.5.11
At last, I get to visit the famous Newgrange – and what a fab place it is!
Now, I know a lot has been said about the reconstruction, restrictions on visiting times etc but despite all this I thoroughly enjoyed my (brief) visit.
Following out bus ride to Knowth, myself and Dafydd jumped on our allotted bus to Newgrange. There were 4 of us on the bus to Knowth – there were 60 of us on two buses going to Newgrange!! As we wound our way through the country lanes I caught my first glimpse of the famous white façade through the trees – I was getting excited! We disembarked and waited for our guide to lead us to the site.
I won’t talk about the site itself as I doubt there is anything else I can add.
What I will talk about are the visitor arrangements.
I thought the visitor centre was excellent; housing a very good museum, shop and restaurant.
(Far, far better than what Stonehenge has to offer!)
The organisation of the site bookings/buses was slick and the staff friendly and helpful.
I also thought the entry fee was very reasonable (free for Dafydd)
The only down side for me was the lack of time you had actually at the site to have a good look around and try to get a ‘feel’ for the place. In saying that I guess with so many people wishing to visit, it is understandable that time is kept to a minimum?
I can’t finish without mentioning the chamber – wow! fantastic!
The ‘light show’ they do is very well done and adds to the occasion.
All in all a most definite ‘must see’ site.
We were luckier at Newgrange with our guide than we had been at Knowth. He was far more interested and interesting, even though he had such a short amount of time to “talk the talk”.
I had been so thoroughly warned about the commercialism of this site that I turned up expecting to be disappointed; a great idea, as it turns out, because it was actually less Disneyfied than I had imagined and I had a great time!
We really didn’t have enough time to walk around the outside of the site though and our photos felt rushed rather than thought out – I think we just pointed and clicked, hoping we could get it all in! That evening, when I read about the site I realised that we had missed loads of interesting stuff. Ah well, good excuse for a return visit.
At Loughcrew I felt quite emotional, seeing inside the passage and into the chamber. A similar thing happened here but it was the roof which took my breath away. I just kept staring up at it, unable to comprehend the incredible feat of engineering I was witnessing. I’m not sure about the facade of the tomb, whether the quartz was indeed used as a covering, although it seems as plausible as using gypsum to cover sites. I liked the idea of it being used as a ceremonial walkway though.
All in all, I was mightily impressed with Newgrange and I have to say that, if you have to have a visitor centre, then have one like this! It was very sympathetically designed and the interpretative centre was pretty good.
Just to echo others here; as we were leaving around 2pm, they were turning people away as all of the tours were fully booked. I would recommend you get there by lunchtime at the latest (oh and the food was great too....I now have a bottle of Bru Na Boinne springwater on my shelf with Newgrange on the label; great souvenir!!)
Newgrange looks amazing from the outside, but is blatantly too good to be true. The chamber is beyond belief. I just wish I could spend some time in there without an official guide’s voice as accompaniment.
As a small contribution to the winter solstice celebrations, I’ve posted some images of the inside of Newgrange taken during a visit in the late 80s when you were taken round the tomb at a much more leisurely pace than today and photography was permitted.
Also posted are images from roughly the same time of some art on the kerbstones. Most of these stones already appear here but the new ones are from the days before the lichen started to grow.
The identification system in the images (K for kerb, C for chamber, L and R for left and right hand sides of the passage) are those used by O’Kelly.
Myself and my girlfriend visited this site in the summer of 2001. The visitors centre was very busy and we were told there was a limited number of trips to Newgrange. Luckily we managed to get on the last-but-one bus out to the tomb. The lesson is go early especially if you want to see the other sites in the valley. It is sad that this place has been so commercialised but it is inevitable with the level of interest.
They had rigged a spotlight up to simulate the sun shining through the lintel above the doorframe which was cool, this was accompanied by a knowledgeable commentary by the guide. I can’t remember if there was a ban on taking photos inside, I certainly took some pictures (sneakily mibbe). My only gripe is that the time alloted to see inside the tomb and take pictures of the artwork is only _just_ enough if you are a very quick worker. Don’t expect any time to take in the ‘vibes’. Still, it is worth a visit. The carvings are absolutely stunning (as you can see from the photos here) and the tomb itself is a must-see.
Our visit to Newgrange came after Dowth and Knowth. The contrast between these three sites is incredible. The white facade, is as the tour guides themselves admit pure conjecture, and was most likely chosen because it was the prettiest use imaginable. The truth is it looks way too modern in style. Too angular, too twee. Looking beyond this the decorated stones are wonderful, as is the large circle.
Our guide for Newgrange was like a slightly toned down holiday rep. She insisted on cracking jokes about Neolithic people, and at one point started making drumming sounds in order to get people to move clockwise round the chamber. I felt completely ridiculous being a part of the whole sham. Once the bored and claustrophobic tourists had left, I asked the girl a few questions. She had told us when we entered that it was possible to see the light coming through the box at the entrance if you lay on the floor. I did just that, and it turned out she’d never actually tried it herself. She didn’t try it this time either. She became impatient and kind of started moving us out. Along the passage way I stopped a couple of times to look at the carvings. She let out a sigh, and said something along the lines of “come on, there’s more people to come through yet”. Outrageous. We were probably the only people genuinely interested in the site, and yet we were treat with contempt. We were being processed and that’s for sure. It’s a real shame, because this place must once have been amazing.
One more thing – You cannot take photographs in the main chamber because, as our lovely guide said, some people still respect the dead you know. There are however a series of ten postcards for sale in the security hut/gift shop which have been taken within the chamber. Did a ghost perhaps take these shots?
We went on a family holiday in about 1978 or ‘79 in Tulliallan, near Drogheda, and during the holiday we visited Newgrange.
I remember thinking that day that the surrounding wall looked a bit like the Battle of Bannockburn memorial rotunda which is an odd modernist, 60’s stylised thing which is a few hundred yards from where we lived at the time.
I definitely remember squatting down with my Dad who was trying to explain something about the sunlight coming through a passage on a certain special day.
I want to come back here and try to see past all the touristy stuff.
Known anciently as Brugh na Boinne “Place of the Boyne” Newgrange is said to be the tomb of ‘three times fifty sons of kings’ belonging to the legendary kingdom of Tara (Illustrated guide to Newgrange by O’Kelly) It is also identified as the sidhe of Angus Mac Og, leader of the Tuatha da Danann- the children of the godess Danu/ Dana.
One legend “The Dream of Angus” relates how he fell in love with a swan-maiden after she visited him in a dream. After she agreed to marry him, they fly off to Newgrange in the form of swans, where they lived happily ever after. In Scottish folklore, Angus was married to the goddess Bride, who was herself a swan-maiden.
This is an interesting refernce as Newgrange itself may represent the layout of the constellation Cygnus- The Swan.
If the axial orientation of Newgrange’s entrance corridor were to be extended beond where the sun rises over Roughgrange Hill... it brings you at a distance of 15 kilometers to another passage grave called Fourknocks. According to work by Murphy and Moore (The Cygnus Enigma) the “window” created by the entrance at Fourknocks would have aligned with the star Deneb in the constellation Cygnus.
“On the night of the midwinter solstice, Deneb marks the location of the sun from the time the sun sets until the time the sun rises plus or minus the time it takes for Deneb to come out into the darkening sky. So observers at either mound (Fourknocks or Newgrange) could track the position of the sun below the horizon using Deneb as their guide”
Interestingly, Newgrange itself is also observed to have a layout that resembles cygnus, with Deneb falling into its northern recess, gamma cygni positioned at the centre of the stone-lined chamber and beta cygni (the beakstar) located at the mouth of the passageway.
(Reference “The Cygnus Mystery by Andrew Collins)
The plundering of megalithic tombs by vikings,
“Amlaibh, Imhar and Auisle (Audgisl) three chieftains of the gaill; and Lorcan, son of Cathal, King of Meath, plundered the land of Flann (North Brega).
The cave of Achadh-Aldai (Newgrange); the cave of Cnoghba (Knowth); the cave of the grave of Bodan over Dubadh (Dowth); and the cave of the wife of Gobhan at Drochat-atha (Drogheda) were broken and plundered by these same gaill.”
Taken from the Annals of Ulster
The viking raids on the great megalithic tombs of the Boyne valley in 863; by Olaf (Amlaibh) Ivar (Imhar) and Audgisl, probably carried out because after all the monastic raids that had been undertaken over the previous years, ‘treasure’ was by now getting hard to find.
Is it true you may ask yourself, well it was recorded, and though there is some dispute about Newgrange (according to Gordon), it is a fascinating fact. The book I found this information from goes on to speculate, that one of the ‘gaills’ Ivar might have been the son of Ragnar Lothbrok, who spent three days in Maes Knowe because of a storm raging violently outside, and left the following scrawled on the wall...
This mound was raised before Ragnar Lothbrok’s...
His sons were brave, smooth-hide men though they were...
It was long ago that a great treasure was hidden here...
Happy is he that might find the great treasure...
Be that as it may, I expect there was’nt much treasure in the great tombs of the Boyne valley either.
Information gleaned from ‘The Fury of the Northmen’ by John Marsden.
Shedding new light on the solar illumination in the burial chamber on winter solstice.
Free pdf download of the Winter 2021 article from Archaeology Ireland, Frank Prendergast, Clare Tuffy, Sinéad Gargan, John Lalor and Claire Breen
Short (almost 11 minutes) piece about Professor O’Kelly’s excavations at Newgrange. This episode of ‘Newsview’ was broadcast on 14 August 1962. The reporter is Sean Egan.
Exploring the archaeology of the World Heritage Site of Brú na Boinne
“The earliest antiquarians who visited, documented, sketched and spoke about Newgrange sometimes get a hard time from the modern academic establishment. The writings of Lhwyd and Molyneux and Pownall and Vallancey are all criticised for one reason or another (poor Charles Vallancey is largely ridiculed, perhaps because he referred to Newgrange as a Mithraic temple). All of the early antiquarian accounts of the monument are valuable for one reason or another. Some of them have captured aspects of the monument that have disappeared since they wrote. Without the tools and techniques of modern archaeology, all of them were poking around in the dark, so to speak. They couldn’t have known the true age of Newgrange, nor could they have appreciated the skills of the artists and builders who created it, those whom they all too often referred to as barbarous. .... ”
Irish Archaeology collection of images and article.
Proposed Slane Bypass will skim the Edge of Brú na Bóinne!
What once was
Old Photograph of Newgrange – Look at all the trees on it!
Old Photo of Newgrange
New budget accomodation only 5mins walk from the Brú na Bóinne centre. Very nicely decorated inside with leather sofas and plasma screen in the common room, rooms are comfortable and staff are very freindly. Has both double rooms and dormer rooms for very good prices.
Great day out, picked us up from central Dublin.
Also guarantees access inside !!!
A collection of 101 facts about Ireland’s most famous monument, the megalithic passage-tomb of Newgrange, located in the Boyne Valley in County Meath, Ireland.
There is some quite intricate megalithic art inside Newgrange, including the world famous “triple spiral” on an orthostat in the end recess of the chamber.
Photographs of Newgrange from the air.
Topics
Sites within 20km of Newgrange
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Newgrange Standing Stone C
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The Great Circle
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Newgrange K & L
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Newgrange Cursus
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Newgrange Tumulus A
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Hedgerow Stone
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Newgrange Tumulus B
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Knowth
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Dowth Mound II
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Dowth Mound III
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Dowth I
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Dowth
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Monknewtown Pond
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Dowth II
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Dowth Mound I
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Rossnaree
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Monknewtown
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Monknewtown II
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Dowth Henge
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Cloghalea
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Littlegrange
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Longford
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Gallows Hill
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Townley Hall Souterrain
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Stanley Hill
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Johnstown
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Townley Hall Barrow
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Hill of Slane Souterrain
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Hill of Slane Barrow
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Mellifont
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Oldbridge
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Painestown
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Rathmaiden
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Gaulstown
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Gernonstown
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Bellewstown
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Gernonstown
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Danestown Ringfort
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Boolies Great
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Davidstown Barrow
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Kingstown & Carnuff Great
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Hilltown Little
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Bey More
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Drogheda
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Realtoge
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Kilbride (Talbotstown Lower By.)
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Mullagharoy
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The Stuck Stone
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Gerrardstown
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Stackallan
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Slieve Beagh
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Fieldstown
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Mount Oriel
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Dunmore
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Paddock
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Balgeeth
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Mullagha
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Belpatrick
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Clonardran
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Mullaghash
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Mullaghash
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Moorepark
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Piperstown
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Roadmain
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Rathbran More
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Mullahteelin
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Garlagh
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Drumshallon
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Piercetown
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Heathtown Henge I
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Rath Lugh
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Lismullin
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Greenanstown
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White Mountain
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Corracon
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Heathtown Henge II
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Heathtown Mound
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Milltown
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Rathkenny
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Blundelstown
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Herbertstown
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Collierstown
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Micknanstown
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Primatestown
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Fourknocks
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Termonfeckin
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Laytown (An Inse)
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Fourknocks
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Cabragh
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Windmill Hill
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Baltray
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Kilbrew
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Ardsallagh
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The Banqueting Hall
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The Sloping Trenches
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Grainne’s Enclosure
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Knock
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Churchyard Stones
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Knockdinnin
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Purcellstown
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The Barrows
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Rath of Synods
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Blakestown
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The Royal Enclosure
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Cormac’s House
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The Mound of Hostages
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The King’s Seat
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Lia Fail
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Newtown
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Rath Laoghaire
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Roestown
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Hodgetown
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Garristown
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Hurlstone
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South Stone
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Barnaveddoge Mound
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Tullog
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Dardisrath
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North Stone
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Rath Maeve
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Walshestown
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Arch Hall
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Mullameelan
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Westown North
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Trevet
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Skeaghmore
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Gormanston
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Gormanston Beach
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Labanstown
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Damastown
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Mallahow
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Kichenstown
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Cooljohn
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Knockbrack
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Dunsany
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Knockbrack
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