Newgrange
Newgrange is possibly the finest example of a passage grave in Western Europe and is Ireland's most famous pre-historic site. The passgae grave dates to 3000 B.C. according to the most reliable Carbon 14 dates available meaning it predates both Stonghenge and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

Newgrange is one of three passage tombs in The Boyne Valley, the others being Knowth and Dowth. The tomb lay lost for over 4,000 years due to mound slippage, until the late 17th century when it was by men looking for building stone. It was frequently dismissed as “a barbaric structure” and therefore suffered severe damage and over time with the front section of the structure collapsing.

In 1962, restoration work on the tomb began under the supervision of Professor Michael J O'Kelly. The structure was taken apart piece by piece and then reconstructed. This work continued until 1975.

The tomb covers an area of one acre and consists of a man-made stone and turf mound within a circle consisting of 97 large kerbstones. The face around the perimiter of the tomb is faced with sparkling white quartz possibly sourced from the Wicklow ountains, a whole 80km away. The granite on the permiter wall was most probably sourced from Dundalk Bay.

The interior of the mound consists of a long passage leading to a cross-shaped chamber. This burial chamber has a corballed roof which rises steeply to a high-point of close to 20 feet. The recesses in chamber contain large stone basins which would have held the cremated remains of those being laid to rest. During excavation of the tomb, the remains of five people were found.

Over the entrance to the tomb is a roofbox. On the winter solstice each year, the sun shines through the roofbox and along the internal passage lighting the burial chamber fotr about 17 minutes as it rises illuminating the carvings within the chamber. At all other times of the year the tomb is shrouded in darkness. While solar alignments are not uncommon in other passage graves, Newgrange is essentially the only one to incorporate a roofbox.

At the entrance to Newgrange stands a highly-decorated stone. The carvings on the stone include a tripal spiral motif which is found only at Newgrange and is repeated along the passage and again inside the chamber. It is unknown what the meaning of these carvings are.

Entrance to Newgrange is by guided tour only. All tours begin at the Bru na Boinne Visitor Centre located near the village of Donore on the opposite (Southside) of the river to the monument itself - this can be a source of confusion to tourists.

For a family day out, why not combine a visit to Newgrange with a visit to the nearby Newgrange Farm - a great day out for children.

Visitors cross the river via a footbridge and are brought by shuttle bus to the monuments. Visitors who arrive directly at the monuments will be redirected to the Visitor centre.The centre is open all year round with the opening hours and bus service varying depending on season.

The waiting-list for the solstice event is years long but the event is recreated at the visitor centre every day of the year.


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