Visit the Residences of...
Sort by:
Name |
|
Meath's District of
Brú na Bóinne
Ceann mor:
Position is currently vacant
 WWelcome to Brú na Bóinne! I am Doirind, grand-daughter of the Dagda. It is my duty to guide anyone who comes up to these hills seeking knowledge. Follow me, but only if you have respect. We are surrounded by the Ancient Ones, so please tread lightly!
The River Bóinne is the mother of this land. We who live here in the Bend in the Bóinne have honored her for thousands of years. Look around you at the landscape, quilted with oak groves and green meadows, and you will understand why this is a sacred place. The earliest settlers were neolithic farmers who built their homes just above the reach of the tides. Looking down from these hills over the rolling fields around us, you must agree that this is a perfect resting place for the dead. Follow me and I will show you three magnificent burial mounds, as large as the surrounding hills and eternal as the Bóinne herself. Within the three square miles of Brú na Bóinne there's an amazing array of passage graves, standing stones, henges, small barrows and a few remains of houses. The oldest of these was built around 3200 BC, which makes them older than the Giza Pyramids and Stonehenge. And consider this - two-thirds of all the megalithic art in western Europe is here in the Boyne Valley!. As a whole, the Brú na Bóinne complex has the honor of being preserved as a United Nations World Heritage Site. I can see by your face that you are already enchanted, and perhaps wondering if Brú na Bóinne is perhaps more than simply an ancient cemetary. You may be wondering if these great structures were religious temples, or if they could have been astronomical observatories. At the very least, these graves must have been reserved for only the highest ranking members of megalithic society. Today they are officially designated as "passage tombs" but, yes, that description seems inadequate. Dowth The first of the three sites we'll visit is known by the locals as "the Fairy Mound of Darkness," and that name suits it well, for Dowth has suffered so much over the ages. It is about the same size as the other two main sites of Brú na Bóinne - Newgrange and Knowth - and it was built in the same period, over 5,000 years ago. Notice the beautiful cup markings and spiral inscriptions on the kerbstone here in front of the entrance. For more of Jim Dempsey's photos, go here.  This site is currently closed to the public and not a part of the Brú na Bóinne tours that come through this way. But you can take a look inside Dowth here. Its two passage tombs are less spectacular than Newgrange and Knowth, with lower roofs and shorter halls. Both of the twin passage tombs are on the west of the mound. They are called Dowth North and Dowth South. The passage of Dowth North is 14 meters long with a cruciform, corbelled chamber 3 meters high and annex in a recess to the right. Dowth South is only 3.5 meters long, with a simple circular room and one recess to the right. This passage lines up, as Newgrange does, with the sun on winter solstice, but to sunset - not sunrise. The original roof collapsed and was replaced by cement. Newgrange This was the first structure built in the Boyne Valley complex. Construction began around 3230 BC. It is unusual among passage graves because it is encircled by a ring of standing stones. The stone circle was probably built by the same people who made the barrow, either at the same time or earlier but definitely not after the barrow itself was built. It is also unusual that both the ring of stones and the tomb are flattened on the southeast side and the larger kerbstones and standing stones are also in the southeast. The entrance to the tomb is in the southeast. This stone circle, made with blocks of wacke (something like sandstone) and slate, is among the earliest and largest megalithic rings in the British Isles. When one of the stones, found toppled, was set back into place it was noted that the base had been sculpted to fit into a certain space and held upright by the surrounding layer of smaller stones. Flint tools were found beside it, possibly the same tools that shaped it.  The finishing touch was not the quartz, however, but the incising of the passage, chambers and kerbstones with the amazing array of spirals, circles, cupmarks, triangles and other fascinating symbols. It is hard to imagine the labor that went into creating these meticulous geometrical carvings, all accomplished with flint tools.  The purpose of Newgrange is continuously debated. There is no doubt that, no matter what else took place there, the tomb was definitely a sacred site whose focus was the winter solstice. The purpose of the standing stones that encircle this place remain unknown but the harmony with the main structure is nevertheless striking. Knowth  The so-called "Great Mound" of the Boyne complex was probably built after Newgrange but before Dowth. It is about the same size as Newgrange, with 18 smaller mounds scattered around it. There are two passageways leading inside from opposite sides. From the west, the passageway is 34 meters long, and from the east 50 meters long, ending in a cross-shaped chamber. Most fascinating is this engraved kerbstone at Knowth, possibly a sundial or lunar calendar. What makes Knowth unique is that, unlike Newgrange and Dowth, people actually lived on this mound. It was more or less continuously occupied for a period of 6,000 years. Originally it was a spiritual center, then it became home to several kings of North Brega, branches of the powerful O'Neill tribe, who lived on top of the main mound. With the coming of Christianity to the Boyne Valley, rectangular houses with stone foundations were added to Knowth as well as underground passages called souterrains used for storage and for safe hiding places from Viking raiders. By the time the Normans arrived at Knowth in 1175, most of the surrounding land was owned by the Cistercian monks, who were given 40,000 acres from O'Rourke after he defeated the O'Neills. The Normans, perhaps unaware that they were on an ancient sacred mound, did recognize the strategically advantageous position of the hill and proceeded to build a stone and mortar fort. They didn't stay long, however, and moved on about a year later. After that, Knowth was more or abandoned, with only a handful of stone houses built there in the 16th and 17th centuries. Thank you for visiting Brú na Bóinne!  
Sources Image Credits Neighbourhood builders:
The Articles of Brú na Bóinne:
Sort by: Featured Date | |
The Discussions of Brú na Bóinne:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
