Newgrange, County Meath, Ireland

-
Newgrange is located in  the Boyne Valley in County Meath. It's one of the most famous ancient monuments in Ireland, and is the largest and one of the most important in Europe.


The very beautiful Boyne River

Newgrange is a large passage tomb located in the Boyne Valley in County Meath. It dates from the Neolithic period, pre-dates the Pyramids in Egypt. It's just one of the monuments in the Br煤 na B贸inne complex. Br煤 na B贸inne (or the Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne) has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.
Newgrange was restored to its current state in the 1970s. It should be noted that this is an interpretation of how it may have appeared in the Neolithic period, and not necessarily how it actually looked. 


The purpose of Newgrange is still a mystery, but it's believed to have had some religious significance. The opening of the tomb is aligned with the rising sun of the winter solstice. The light of the rising sun enters the tomb via the lightbox (below) and illuminates the inside of the tomb. This happens at approximately 09:00 on the Winter Solstice, and access to the tomb at this site is limited to a few lucky lottery winners. I've never been one of these fortunate individuals. Maybe this year...

The decorated kerbstone 

Close up of the decorated kerbstone at the entrance

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Japan, Oct 2006

-
Image
Imperial Palace, Kyoto. The day started off nice enough, but halfway through the tour, the skies opened up and doused us in a shower that rivaled anything I've experienced in Ireland or Wales (I'm an expert in these matters, it rains in these places constantly). Everyone was diving for cover but we didn't mind because being Irish we 1. are tough and 2. we're well used to water falling from the sky! It was strange though - it was really warm.  Kinkaju-ji (The Golden Pavilion) Kyoto. The day we visited, it was really dull and grey and overcast. After we got off the bus, we had to walk up a hill for what seemed like forever. I was getting a bit tired and grumpy until we finally reached the top and turned the corner and saw this sight. It was so beautiful, and all of a sudden the day didn't seem to grey and depressing. This is so beautiful -it was so radiant it was like sunshine, and was totally worth the uphill trek. It's a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto. It's ...
Read more

Aachen, Germany. December 2011

-
Image
The OH and I went for a short visit to Maastricht to visit a friend of mine. While we were there, we made the 1 hour bus journey to Aachen. What a wonderful city! It's dominated by the huge cathedral (like a lot of cities) and  there was a Christmas Market in full swing. My new boyfriend. He's sweet, he's silent and if he gives me any attitude I can bite his head off This meant - Gl眉hwein, yay! Also, it seems that very other shop is a bakery selling the Aachen speciality - Aachener Printen. These are a type of lebkuchen (a kind of ginger bread) that is particular to Aachen. The window displays were amazing: Gingerbread reindeer - how cute is that? It seems that I am as distracted by nicely-presented baked goods as I am by shiny baubles - I had to stop at each and every window and ogle the goodies.  I want live in Aachen! However, maybe it's just as well I don't. I'd be as big as a house with all that gingerbread. Here are some more sights from the ...
Read more