NEWGRANGE By Jane Hillery

 Newgrange is one of the best examples in Ireland and in Western Europe, of a type of monument know to archaeologists as a passage- grave or passage-tomb.  It was constructed around 3200BC, this makes it more than 600 years older than the Pyramids in Egypt, and 1000 years more ancient than Stonehenge.

 Newgrange sits on top of an elongated ridge within a large bend in the Boyne River about five miles west of the town of Drogheda. Two miles or so down stream in Oldbridge is where the Battle of the Boyne took place in  Access to Newgrange is through Bru na Boinne Visitors Centre, there have been as many as 200,000 visitors to Newgrange each year, making it the most visited archaeological monument in Ireland.

 The entire mound contains an estimated 200,00 tones of material, and it has been estimated construction would have taken about 30 years using a workforce of about 300.  Because Newgrange sits atop a ridge, many of the large slabs would have needed to be brought uphill, again suggesting a highly organised community was behind its construction.

 Estimates of the original height of Newgrange have been guessed at in recent centuries. Some explorers giving estimates as high as 47.5 meters. Archaeologists believe the height would not have been more than 11 to 13 meters.  The total length of the passage and chamber together is 24 meters which means they only occupy one third the diameter of the mound.

 The bones of three dogs were found in the chamber of Newgrange during excavations, one each from the east and west chamber and one from just outside the end chamber. It is not known for sure whether these bones are ancient or more modern. It is thought they may have belonged to stray dogs who got into the passage but could not get out.

 Gold objects have been found at Newgrange, including gold chains and rings which were discovered by a labourer digging near the entrance in the 1800.

 A number of pendants and beads were found, something which is common to Irish passage-graves in general.  A chisel made from bone was found and was similar to one which had been found in the chamber of one of the satellite mounds beside New grange.  About seven-tenths of the kerbstones uncovered during archaeological work at Newgrange are decorated with megalithic art.

MEGALITHIC ART

 On the winter solstice, the light of the rising sun enters the roofbox at Newgrange and penetrates the passage, shining onto the floor of the inner chamber. The sunbeam illuminates the chamber of Newgrange for just 17 minutes.

 It is believed by some researchers that the colour of the sunrise on the morning of Winter Solstice was the original inspiration for the name of the hill over which that sunrise occurs when viewed for Newgrange. The hill is called Red Mountain.

WINTER SOLSTICE

 An interesting fact to finish on. What happens when you take a picture of kerbstone 1, the famous entrance stone, and mirror it. Different people see different things, some can see the female reproductive system, which makes sense in light of the fact that Bru means “womb”. Some people even see a face.