Newgrange

Newgrange is a Stone Age passage tomb in Boyne Valley, Co. Louth that dates back to c.3200 BC. This makes it 600 years older than the pyramids and 1000 years older than Stone Henge.  Attracting up to 200,000 people every year, it remains the most visited archaeological monument in Ireland.[1]

Questions such as who built it and who it was built for have not been answered and it is unlikely that they ever will. Another mystery is the meaning of the abstract pictures that are carved into some of the rocks found here. A range of theories have been debated that are described in more detail in this piece, along with how the tomb was built, reconstruction that has been carried out and its’ modern day importance as a world heritage site.

Newgrange is known in Irish as Sí an Bhrú or, the Fairy Mound of Brú na Bóinne (Palace of the Boyne). Brú na Bóinne is the collective name for the Neolithic Boyne Valley tombs of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. A lot of people may not have heard of the other two tombs and one of the main reasons for this is the fact that Newgrange has been fully restored.  

The Chosen Location

During the Neolithic period Boyne Valley was home to extensive woodlands, an indicator of fertile land. At this time, wood would have been needed to build houses and furniture, as well as everyday objects such as cooking utensils and farming tools.

Boats were also an important form of transportation. The River Boyne is 70 miles long, running from Newberry Hall, Co. Kildare through Co. Meath, reaching the Irish Sea between Mornington, Co. Meath and Baltray, Co. Louth. Many of the stones and huge boulders involved in the construction of Newgrange would have been transported along this river. Rivers were still popularly used for fishing purposes.

This location was already recognized as a sacred place. It is said to be the place where the mythical Irish hero Cúchulainn was conceived. He is one of the most celebrated heroes in Irish mythology and is best celebrated for his single-handed defence of the Irish province of Ulster or Northern Ireland.  

Reasons for Construction

The fragments of human remains that were found at this site and the features of the monument, indicate that Newgrange was used primarily for burial purposes. Only a few people were buried at this site and it is still unknown why they were chosen.

This site also needs to be appreciated as a place of astrological, ceremonial, and religious significance.  The Neolithic civilisation had strong religious beliefs regarding the sun. Each night they believed it passed through the ‘dark region’ of their ancestors and back into the world of the living during the day. The fact that the entrance was positioned so that the light shines through it during the Winter Solstice, indicates that this was a place of worship. One idea, suggests that this room was used as a ritualistic capturing of the sun, causing the days to get longer again.

Apart from religious theories and mythical stories, there is a simple theory that these kinds of monuments were built as territorial markers to display the wealth of the local community. It was most likely used for a number of these reasons which cannot be agreed upon.

The People Who Built Newgrange

We know that this monument was built by members of a Neolithic farming community but, there is little known about the people who lived there. Their ability to plan the structure and carve out these images that were significant to their beliefs, indicates that they were an intelligent culture.  

Professor Frank Mitchell, author of Reading the Irish Landscape, estimates that a workforce of approximately 400 would have been available for the construction of this tomb, out of a local population of 1200. During Spring, there was a two-month lull in farm operations and laborers could have cleared out the site, carrying over materials such as quarrying stones.

Style and Construction

The tomb reaches 12m (36ft) high and 75m (249ft) across. Most of the 97 huge kerbstones or ‘building blocks’ are made of rough sandstone, known as greywacke. Many of these are carved with abstract patterns and motifs. The smaller stones which make up the bulk of the mound, would have been gathered from nearby river terraces. The outside of the tomb is decorated with white quartz and small granite stones which have been replaced today after they were found underground during excavation.

The passage into the main chamber is aligned with standing stones and today, low but electric lights are placed inside. The chamber inside is quite small when it is compared to the rest of the mound, covered in large slabs of rock, some beautifully decorated. The roof of this chamber is dome-shaped and made up of interlacing slabs. This has kept it watertight for the last 5000 years.

Archaeologists have discovered that there was a building already on this site that was taken apart and the people who built Newgrange reused these rocks to build the tomb. Some of the other stones were carried from distant locations and then taken up the river by boat. For example, the white quartz, had to be transported from Co. Wicklow, approximately 80km (50 miles) south of the site. Since construction took place during the Neolithic period the only tools used were made entirely of stone.

The roof box above the entrance is aligned so that light penetrates the chamber around the time of the winter solstice. Many of the burial tombs built during this time were aligned with solar, lunar, or sometimes stellar events in mind.  Before the time of calendars, farmers needed to pay careful attention to the changing seasons. Architects would have been responsible for confirming the date that the sun would shine through the roof box.

The decorated stone in front of the entrance spot is world famous, carved with a spiral design. Other patterns that are commonly found on these rocks include lozenges, arcs, circles, cup marks and different kinds of swirls. The meaning of these symbols continues to be debated. Did they have religious or even astronomical significance? There is a common belief that the spiral shapes represent the sun, displaying the Neolithic interest in the changing seasons. Others suggest that they represent mounds. Curved lines are another common style, thought by some to represent rivers. Perhaps, the lozenge-shaped designs represented field systems.

These decorations were created by tapping a piece of flint or a quartz point with a stone hammer and etching into the rock. The designs at Newgrange seem more formal and stylised than those found at the nearby tombs of Knowth and Dowth.

The End of an Era

It is unknown why the society that built Newgrange went into decline. This ‘classical’ period of passage tombs occurring in the Boyne Valley most likely lasted between 500 and 600 years. The early Bronze Age or ‘Beaker’ culture went on to develop in the Boyne Valley. Did these people attack the Neolithic settlers or peacefully introduce their modern skills into the local community? This is a question that remains unanswered. New ideas could even have been brought in by trading connections with the Beaker culture.

By the time this new culture had developed, Newgrange was no longer being used as a tomb and the entrance had been blocked off. It still remained a popular location for ritual gatherings. The circle of 12 standing stones seen around Newgrange today was erected sometime after 2000 BC.  The specific purpose of this circle remains undetermined although research does indicate that it was based on astronomy. This was the final structure to be built at Newgrange.

Rediscovery and Reconstruction

Over the following centuries, ownership of Newgrange and the surrounding land continued to change hands. The tomb just looked like a large mound covered in grass. In 1699, the site was finally discovered by the landowner Charles Campbell who was out collecting stones, simply for building purposes. His workers uncovered a huge stone engraved with abstract images and then the entrance to the tomb. Walking down the passage with a torch, Campbell became the first person in thousands of years to enter the tomb.

Antiquarian and keeper of the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford ‘Edward Lhuyd’ was in the area at the time but did not seem impressed. He simply described the find as:

A great flat stone like a large tombstone, placed edgeways, having on the outside barbarous carvings like snakes encircled but without heads (Mac Uistin, p79).

It was not until 1837 that the tomb was really appreciated. Noted antiquarian Sir William Wilde visited the site, stating:

This stone, so beautifully carved in spirals and volutes (Mac Uistin, p80).

After that, the site continued to change hands, until it was finally purchased by the Irish state in 1961. After excavation began, extra care was taken to ensure the mound kept its’ original shape. When the original quartz and granite stones were found, they were used to ­decorate the outside of the tomb and by 1975, restoration was complete.  

Neolithic artefacts found at this site include human bones, a bone chisel, hammers, stone marbles and some used flint flakes. Artefacts which indicate that this location was still populated during the Bronze Age include five gold ornaments that were found in 1842: two ancient gold torcs, as well as a gold chain and two finger rings. A range of Roman coins have also been found.

Knowth and Dowth

Since Newgrange has been fully restored, it is more popular and appreciated than the Neolithic tombs of Knowth and Dowth. However, Knowth is still a much more complex structure than Newgrange.

The central mound has two chambers, instead of one and there are 18 satellite tombs surrounding the central mound at Knowth, while at Newgrange there are only three. Many of the rocks are beautifully decorated and a great number of kerbstones have been found here; more than Newgrange and Dowth put together. The entrances are set to catch the light of the rising and setting sun at the equinoxes on 21^st March and 21^st September.

Dowth has remained unexcavated and sits at 15m (50ft) and 90m (295ft) in diameter. It is surrounded by kerbstones, some of which are decorated, but the designs are more primitive than those at Knowth and Newgrange.  Both entrances to this tomb are set so that the sunlight enters during the winter solstice. The debris of quartz found around the site suggests a similar style to the façade at Newgrange. When it was unprofessionally excavated in 1847, this caused much damage to the site and it was only recently purchased by the government in 1997.

Modern Day Access

In 1987, Brú na Bóinne was recognized as an archaeological park. Farming and construction in the area was restricted and by 1993 Newgrange and the other Boyne monuments became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

In 1997, the Brú na Bóinne Visitors Centre was opened, situated close to the site on the south side of the River Boyne. The exhibitions allow visitors to experience what life was like at the time and contains life size copies of the entrances to Newgrange and Knowth. From this centre, tourists have the chance to travel on a bus tour that takes them to look around the tombs of Newgrange and Knowth in small groups.

Conclusion

The exciting history of this site makes it a popular tourist attraction today. There are so many unanswered questions, that visitors might find themselves just staring at a rock and wondering what these symbols meant when they were first carved over 5000 years ago.

It is amazing to think that such a remarkable monument could be constructed during a time when workers only had stone tools and had to carry a lot of these rocks to the site by boat. It needs to be celebrated as more than just a tomb but a stunning site that used for religious, ceremonial and maybe even astrological purposes.

References

• Aalen, F. A (1997). Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape. Cork University Press. Cork
• Mac Uistin, Liam (2012). Exploring Newgrange. O’Brien Press Ltd. Dublin
• Newgrange: 20 Intriguing Facts
• https://www.irishtimes.com/news/purchase-of-dowth-completes-state-ownership-of-bru-na-boinne-area-1.124698 Purchase of Dowth Completes State Ownership of Bru na Boinne area.
• https://www.newgrange.com/index.htm Newgrange: World Heritage Site

[1] https://www.authenticvacations.com/newgrange-20-intriguing-facts/