Exploring Ireland’s Ancient East

Nestled amongst the rolling hills of Boyne Valley lies Newgrange, a passage tomb constructed by Stone Age farmers over 5,000 years ago. Historians celebrate the Neolithic tomb as the archaeological jewel of Ireland’s Ancient East, but debate surrounds its mysterious origins. ConnollyCove delves into the inner passages of Newgrange, shining a light on its heritage of myth and mystery.

North of the Boyne, west of Drogheda and central to County Meath, Newgrange stands defiantly in the Irish landscape. The ancient structure represents a victory of human ingenuity, with its walls placed initially around 3200 BC.

Indeed, the passage tomb is yet more remarkable when it is considered that it was constructed over 500 years before the Great Pyramids of Giza and a millennium before Stonehenge. Notably, Newgrange long predates the Mycenaean culture of ancient Greece. Now, it is recognised as one of the first advanced civilisations in Europe.

Geological analysis has offered valuable insights into its construction. Research has suggested that the pebbles forming the Newgrange cairn came from the Boyne River terraces, where a large pond is believed to have been quarried for building materials.

Meanwhile, the slabs, kerbstones and rocky facades lining the site have been traced to locations across Ireland, from greywacke sandstone sourced from Clogherhead, County Lough, to white quartz cobblestones from the Wicklow Mountains, granodiorite cobbles from the Mourne Mountains; gabbro cobbles from the Cooley Mountains and banded siltstone from Carlingford Lough. It is believed that the majority of these materials were transported uphill to Newgrange via boats at low tide.

Whilst scientific advancement has revealed much about the construction of Newgrange, little is known about the tomb’s purpose nor the lives of those who conceived and built it. However, it is generally accepted that its builders were native agriculturalists raising cattle and growing various crops surrounding the site.

The effort behind building the structure has itself been disputed. The late geologist and naturalist Frank Mitchell claimed that building would have been achieved within five years. Meanwhile, archaeologist Michael O’Kelly insisted that such a structure would have taken at least thirty years to build.

A Cult of the Dead

Archaeological excavations of the Neolithic tomb continue to yield valuable remains and artefacts, which shed further light on its uncertain history and purpose. Burnt and unburnt deposits of human bones have been discovered in the passage, with much of the remaining skeletal remains scattered across the tomb.

Further exploration in the 1960s and 1970s yielded several ‘grave goods’ alongside the remains of the dead. Marbles, pendants, beads, flint flakes, bone chisels, and many more artefacts were uncovered. The remains of several animals, including mountain hares, bats, rabbits, and frogs, have also been found inside Newgrange. However, it is accepted that many of these creatures may have entered and died in the chamber centuries, or even millennia, after its construction.

Whilst the exact purpose of Newgrange continues to attract debates, it is generally accepted that it was a site of ceremonial or religious significance throughout various stages of human advancement in Ireland. This was the case for much of the Neolithic period, where the site appeared to be the focus of much ceremonial activity (a claim supported by the range of artefacts uncovered from this period).

By 2000 BC, the site had already reached a state of decay and disrepair, by which point squatters were inhabiting the tomb’s collapsing edge. It is claimed that such settlers were of the Beaker culture imported from mainland Europe and recognised for their unique style of pottery. Indeed, numerous examples of Beaker-era artefacts have been excavated at Newgrange and its surrounding areas.

Roman-era jewellery, including bracelets, rings, and necklaces, shows examples of later human advancement. These pieces are now on display at the National Museum of Ireland.

Various indications have led historians and archaeologists to frame Newgrange as a gathering site of a ‘cult of the dead’. Michael O’Kelly, who led excavations of Newgrange in the 60s and 70s, claimed that the passage tombs at the site reflected a veneration of the dead – a core principle of many early European Neolithic religions.

This claim is supported by the various grave goods uncovered alongside the bodies of the Newgrange dead. However, the concept of Newgrange as a site for ancestral veneration only has been challenged by the structure’s solar-oriented features (for example, the famous ‘light box’ on the roof of the tomb). These features indicate that its architects adhered instead to an astronomically based faith.

Shining a Light on History

Indeed, the Newgrange architects’ fascination with light is reflected in the chambers, boxes, and carvings that adorn the entire structure. Sunlight illuminates the passage through the roof box, aligning so that the light strikes the ground of the inner chamber. Scientific research has determined that the light would have filled the chamber at the precise moment of sunrise, an astonishing level of accuracy.

This is accentuated once a year at the Winter Solstice, when the rising sun illuminates the inner chamber, highlighting the carvings inside for approximately 17 minutes. Nowadays, visitors to witness the Winter Solstice at Newgrange are determined by a free lottery, where seven lucky visitors are selected randomly to observe the illumination.

A prevailing theory of Newgrange’s purpose has centred around the Winter Solstice. It has been suggested that the inner chamber was specifically designed for a ceremonial capture of the sun’s rays on the shortest day of the year, potentially signalling a move towards longer days and darker nights. Similar calendrical and astronomical devices at monuments across the valleys of the Boyne, including Dowth, Knowth, and the Lough View Cairns, support this argument.

Indeed, Newgrange is one of the few structures in Europe to exhibit a roof box feature, alongside Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetary and Bryn Celli Ddu. Michael O’Kelly insisted that Newgrange should be observed about the nearby sites of Knowth and Dowth, which similarly stand as monuments to what are now understood as early Neolithic religions.

A Resting Place of Kings

Whilst the historical and religious roots of Newgrange remain a source of debate, the site has contributed much to mythology and folklore across Ireland. Many tales of the site and the wider Brú na Bóinne Neolithic were borne out of the medieval period when the monuments of Boyne Valley were said to be the residence of the Tuatha De Danann, a supernatural race in Irish mythology that represented the principal deities of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland.

Newgrange was singled out amongst the Boyne monuments as the home of The Dagda, the most powerful of the Tuatha, as well as that of his wife, Boann, and his son, Oengus.

The folklore surrounding Newgrange and the monuments of Boyne Valley can also be traced to The Great Book of Lecan, a manuscript written between 1397 and 1418 in Castle Forbes, close to Enniscrone, Country Sligo. Written in Middle Irish, the manuscript describes how the Dagda built the monuments for his family’s use.

Meanwhile, The Book of Leinster (dated 1160) describes a cunning Oengus who tricks his father into granting him the Brú until the end of time. Later in history, The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne (dated 16th century), Oengus takes his friend Diarmuid to the Brú when he again asserts his ownership over the area.

Meanwhile, other storytellers described the mounds of the Boyne as the burial mounds of the ancient kings of Tara. National kingship wasn’t a reality in early Irish history. Nonetheless, the Kings of Tara represented prehistoric and mythical ideals of sacred kingship, with future High Kings of Ireland frequently claiming the title of King of Tara.

Local folklore suggested Newgrange and the Boyne monuments as the resting place of the mythological Kings of Tara. Examples of these may have included Cormac mac Airt, Conn of the Hundred Battles and Crimthann Nia Náir.

Protecting Prehistory

Newgrange and its surrounding monuments have been celebrated as some of the best-preserved Neolithic monuments in Europe today. However, that status has come from substantive efforts to conserve and reconstruct the ancient monument.

Archaeological interest in Newgrange took off in 1699 when a local landowner ordered his farm workers to dig up a section of the structure. These farmworkers quickly discovered an entrance to the tomb that attracted the attention of Edward Lhwyd, a Welsh antiquarian who wrote the first accounts of the mound and noted the presence of bones and beads inside the tomb.

Following Edward Lhwyd’s study, Charles Campbell, the landowner responsible for Newgrange, noted the discovery of two human corpses. This attracted the attention of several notable antiquarian visitors, including Sir Thomas Molyneaux, Sir William Wilde, George Petrie, and James Ferguson.

Newgrange’s earliest antiquarian visitors were to carry out their studies and measurements of the monument, often providing incorrect theories about its origin. These intellectual visitors usually dismiss the idea that the Irish built Newgrange themselves. Invading Vikings, ancient Indians, ancient Egyptians and even the Phoenicians were proposed as structure architects. Further evidence and excavation proved all of these theories to be incorrect: the Irish were indeed the builders of Newgrange.

Conservation and Excavation

Sadly, state-led and governmental efforts to protect and preserve Newgrange were not enshrined into legislation until 1882, following the belated passage of the Ancient Monuments Protection Act, which also granted protected status for the nearby monuments of Dowth and Knowth.

Eight years later, a newly established Board of Public Works, led by Thomas Newenham Deane, began a conservation project on the monument, which had been extensively damaged over millennia. Furthermore, vandalism over the centuries saw local names engraved on the stones around the structure.

Despite the excavations and research encouraged by the project, researchers and archaeologists continued to suggest that Newgrange was built in the Bronze Age rather than the Neolithic period, which came earlier.

The following decades saw extensive site excavations, which progressed to light installations; bulbs were fitted along the structure’s inner passage, illuminating the site for visiting tourists. This was followed by the most exhaustive excavation period, led by Michael J. O’Kelly, leading to the landmark 1982 publication Newgrange: Archaeology, Art and Legend.

Whilst O’Kelly’s study disagreed with his predecessors’ findings, most of Newgrange’s antiquarian visitors agreed on the monument’s imposing appearance: P. R. Griot described the structure as looking like a “cream cheesecake with dried currants distributed about,” whilst Neil Oliver described rebuilt elements of the structure as “a bit brutal, a bit overdone, kind of like Stalin did the Stone Age.”

Visiting Ireland’s Ancient East

Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth are all located within Ireland’s ancient Boyne Valley, roughly 5.2 miles west of Drogheda, County Meath.

The site’s interpretive centre is located on the River Boyne’s south bank, with Newgrange on the north side of the river. Please remember that access to Newgrange is only possible via the interpretive centre.

Access to Newgrange is only via guided tours. Tours begin at the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, where visitors are taken to the site in groups.

Newgrange Opening Times

• February – April: Daily 9.30 am – 5.00 pm
• May: Daily 9.00 am – 6.30 pm
• June – Mid-September: Daily 9.00 am – 7.00 pm
• Mid-Late September: Daily 9.00 am – 6.30 pm
• October: Daily 9.30 am – 5.30 pm
• November – January: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm

*Entrance Gates will be closed 15 minutes after these times.

Admission Fees

A: Exhibition (1hr)

• Adult: €4.00
• Sen/Group: €3.00
• Child/Student: €3.00
• Family: €10.00

B: Exhibition and Newgrange (2hrs)

• Adult: €7.00
• Sen/Group: €6.00
• Child/Student: €4.00
• Family: €16.00

C: Exhibition and Knowth (2hrs)

• Adult: €6.00
• Sen/Group: €4.00
• Child/Student: €4.00
• Family: €14.00

D: Exhibition, Newgrange and Knowth (3hrs)

• Adult: €13.00
• Sen/Group: €10.00
• Child/Student: €8.00
• Family: €30.00

The Boyne Valley contains some of Ireland’s most treasured sites. For more stories of Ireland’s hidden history, visit ConnollyCove: Ireland’s leading travel and tourism blog.