#45 Friday, May 9th, 2008: Brú na Bóinne

Pronounced brew-nah-boyne-yah.
The ultimate reason why decided to have my 4th Quarter Walkabout in Ireland was because of the many Mesolithic archaeological sites still standing. More then 300 passage tombs, 2/3 of the worlds Megaliths, earthworks (mounds and other structures made from soil), dolmens, castles, abbeys, monasteries and stone/wood circles decorate the landscape.
One of the best examples of Neolithic passage tombs is in the world is the Brú na Bóinne complex in county Meath. I've known about this site for two years now and always wanted to go. Laura decided to take me to the Brú na Bóinne complex on my way back to Dunboyne. I packed up my belongings and made my way to the archaeological wonder.
Brú na Bóinne is a complex meaning there is a series of interconnected sites that are inside of the complex. Knowth, Dowth and the popular Newgrange are the complex. The sites interconnect by the fact that all three were inhabited by the Boyne Valley people. Dowth is currently under construction or excavation and cannot be accessed.
We bought are tickets and waited for the bus to take us to the complexes. Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange are not clustered in one area. First stop was the less famous but equally incredible Knowth. Knowths is a series of earthworks built 5,000 years ago and was only excavated in 1961. "Knowth has the largest collection of megalithic art in from neolithic western Europe, and accounts for some 50% of the total engraved megalithic stones in Ireland." says researcher Martin Byrne. It is remarkable that Knowth alone has nearly the greatest collection of megalithic art, overshadowing more than 13 countries.
Archaeology Terms
Passage Tombs/Graves: A passage leading through a mound to a taller and bigger chamber. Sometimes the chamber will have side chambers or a corbelled roof.
Kerbstones: Stones that outline an earthwork(s) or structure.
Megalith: A large stone used in a structure.
Our tour guide informed us that he was going to talk slow. He also said that he had a Dublin accent. I still can't differentiate a Dublin accent from suburb accent. The Belfast boys were making fun of Peter and calling him D4 (Dublin area 4). They mocked the Dublin accent.
Entering the grounds of Knowth we see the West Passage (passage inside mound) surrounded with satellites. Satellites are the smaller mounds containing tombs that encircle or are scattered around the main mound. The Western Passage has 127 kerbstones, also megaliths, around its perimeter. Only a few megaliths don't have artwork on them. There is one particular megalith that shows astroarchgaeological importance. The stone has half-moons in a variation of sizes. It is very likely that the Boyne Valley people figured out the the lunar phases and had etched it into the stone.
The Boyne Valley people were not Christian 5,000 years ago but Pagan. Paganism places utmost value on nature including the Sun, Moon and Earth. The reoccurring artwork and structures in Knowth seem to be worshiping and aligned with the Moon. The East and West Passages were aligned with the Spring and Summer equinoxes. During these equinoxes there would have been festivities, rituals and maybe feasts at Knowth. Knowth was originally a sacred and ceremonial place for the Boyne Valley people in the Neolithic archaeological period. During the Iron Age (1000 BC - 400 AD) and the Christian period (400 AD-???) the spiritual center of Knowth was abandoned by the creators for unknown reasons. Instead it became a permanent settlement and the mounds were greatly leveled to some extent. That way the houses and cattle could be on a stable land. Because the mounds were desecrated they no longer line up with the equinoxes.
The Western Passage has the longest Megalithic passage in Western Europe, being at 40 meters long. The passage is in a cruciform (almost a cross) shape meaning that it has side chambers. At the end of the passage is the chamber with the corbelled roof at 7 meters high. Around the mound is white quartz (silicone dioxide) and kerbstones. It is not prohibited to go in the passage because two orthostats (standing megaliths, lithos meaning rock in ancient Greek) have partially fallen and people would have to crawl. To fix the orthostats would mean dismantling the corbelled ceiling and unearthing part of the mound.
I have already typed too much...
Next stop Newgrange!
Newgrange is a behemoth of a mound at 80 meters across and 12 meters high. Around the base is 97 kerbstones with some decorated. Newgrange pales in comparison to Knowth when it comes to the amount and quality of megalithic art. Newgrange's claim to fame is that it is the oldest standing structure in the world (3200 BC). Older then the Pyramids of Giza and Stonehenge. Newgrange underwent a massive restoration under the direction of Micheal J. O' Kelley and because of that looks incredible. I am a little unsure on the accuracy of the structure. It looks grand and I wonder if that was Micheal's intentions.
The walls in the front of the passage tomb are lined with white quartzite. During the Winter Solstice the dawn light shines through the 'roof-box' and illuminates 20 meters into the passage. The girl tour guide splits us into two groups, the orange and yellow. The yellow group gets to go first into Newgrange and that meant me. As the group of 20 people walk through the passage they have to duck, except for me. The passage is about a meter across. As we enter the chamber we see to side chambers and a small alter like alcove at the top. Looking up there is a corbelled roof. The corbelled roof architecture is so efficient that water has never leaked through for the since constructed (5000 years ago).
To create the Winter Solstice effect the lights were shut off within Newgrange. After everyone was instructed to be packed against the stone wall and arranged by hight. It was pitch black. Winter Solstice light crept in slowly. It did not illuminate the entire chamber but just a single line from where it shone through the roof-box. I did not know the tour included this. The Boyne Valley people were very sophisticated indeed.