Newgrange

Rather than take a tour bus from Dublin, an all day affair, I decided to spend a few days in the  Irish countryside. Donore is a few miles north of the capital and within easy walking distance to both the Battle of the Boyne historical site and the UNESCO World Heritage site of Newgrange.

The day could not have been better for  a country walk.  1.5 miles from my Inn to the Newgrange Visitor Center where a bus takes you to the site of one of the world’s oldest manmade structures.

My first glimpse of Newgrange:

 

Dating from 3200 B.C. it is older than Stonehenge and the Pyramid of Gaza.  With a diameter of 80m/263′ it houses a very small central chamber of about 7-8m/20-25′ accessed by a very narrow passageway. The purpose seems to be a burial chamber for ash remains.  But although the fact that people could build such a structure so long ago. A feat that required the larger stones to be moved from about 50km/30 miles distant and the collection of thousands of smaller stones from both near and far.  But the thing that attracts people and so strains the mind is that during the period of the winter solstice the sunrise shines directly into the heart of the chamber!  This means those planners had to have a pretty advanced concept of time and astronomy.

 

This is the only entry way

And this small opening above the door is where the first light of morning enters the crypt.  Note the runes above it.

A close up of the carvings that some feel depict the heavens before the door

The varied stones were gathered from different areas so the stunning result was intentional. With the base stones weighing several tons.

As I walked around I was very grateful for such a day as one could only hope for.

The interior supporting stones are layered in such a way for water to run off the mound not in and then into the drainage ditches

The view looking out from the door with standing stones all about.  These were added about 2000 years later

One good time about the off season i that you can take photos without any people mucking up the tranquility.

There is a no photography policy which, I of course honor even though I could have snuck some. The entrance way is indeed tiny.  At one point I was glad I had lost the 2 1/2 stone/36# I did over the past couple of years as I may not have been able to squeeze though otherwise.

Looking up at the layered ceiling of the inner chamber. Such a big structure to house so small a room!

There are many theories about this stone.  Notice the two carved bits on the left.  Was it a birthing place? The dead were left on raised tables for animals, birds and weather to pick the bones clean and then they were cremated.  That tis was done outside is confirmed by the lack of smoke residue inside.

As I mentioned no interior photos so all the inside photos were downloaded from the internet. All exterior ones are mine. And no I didn’t take a selfie to prove I was there.  No one needs to see this mug ruining an otherwise good photo.  And I care not if anyone thinks I made it up.

The best photo from the visitor center depicts the way stones are moved.  Most of the transit was done by carrach an ancient boat where the stones were strapped at low tide and then lifted and floated to the site.  But then human power was all they had to move the tonnage.

 

5.47 miles