Our last major attraction in Ireland before going to Dublin was Bru na Boinne, a place 'within the bend' of the River Boyne that contains one of the world's most important prehistoric sites. The archaeological landscape within the area of Bru na Boinne is dominated by three large passage tombs - Knoth, Newgrange and Dowth built some 5000 years ago in the Neolithic or Late Stone Age. An additional 90 monuments have been recorded in the area and these tombs contain the largest assemblage of megalithic art in Western Europe. We visited Knoth and Newgrange, amazed by the vastness of this Neolithic necropolis that is a 1000 years older than Stonehenge. The River Boyne flows through here where the Battle of the Boyne, a major battle in Irish history, took place near Drogheda in 1690. Bru na Boinne is a real testament to the achievements of prehistoric man and again shows how little acknowledgment we have given him. This complex was built to to house the remains of those who were at the top of the social heap and it's tombs were the largest in Ireland until the construction of the Anglo-Norman castles 4000 years later! We learned through two efficient and friendly tour guides how that over the centuries the tombs decayed, were covered by grass and trees, and plundered by everybody from Vikings to Victorian treasure hunters. We could see initials and names from the 1800s inscribed on the walls of the main burial chamber at Newgrange. Here within the centre of the tomb the guide turned off the lights and showed us it's precise alignment with the sun at the time of the winter solstice using a beam of light place to mimic the sun. It is then the sun's rays shine through the roof-top above the entrance, creep slowly down the long passage and illuminate the chamber for 17 minutes. Quite a humbling and personal experience to be there and relive, trying to put our selves in the place of those humans 500 centuries ago. The rain came down steadily while we were there, the first time on our trip, but cleared up as we left for our Airbnb in Dublin, our last stop before flying home.
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| timeline comparing Newgrange and Stonehenge |
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| the River Boyne at Newgrange |
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| Knoth, Bru na Boinne |
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| a spiral engraved curb stone, Newgrange, Bru na Boinne |
