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<\/a>Our original plans called for us to visit Newgrange on the Spring Equinox.\u00a0 While Newgrange is famously aligned to sunrise on the Winter Solstice, nearby Knowth (which is aligned to the Equinoxes \u2013 maybe) doesn\u2019t open to the public till April, and just being in the Br\u00fa Na B\u00f3inne<\/em> area seemed special enough.\u00a0 Unfortunately, mechanical problems with a rental car forced us to change our plans, and we ended up visiting Newgrange on a bus tour as the last major stop of our trip.<\/p>\n That was a disappointment for our Equinox observations, but neither the rescheduled date nor the rain and wind on the day of our visit could dampen the wonder and awe of Newgrange.<\/p>\n Br\u00fa Na B\u00f3inne<\/em> (the name means \u201cpalace of the Boyne\u201d) dates to about 3200 BCE \u2013 older than both Stonehenge and the pyramids of Egypt.\u00a0 There are about 40 burial mounds in the area, of which Newgrange is the largest and best explored.\u00a0 Many of the smaller mounds haven\u2019t been excavated.\u00a0 The name Newgrange means \u201cnew farm\u201d \u2013 the name was given to the area by Cistercian monks in the Middle Ages to differentiate it from their old farms.<\/p>\n Newgrange was built in the Neolithic period, without metal tools.\u00a0 Some of the stones came from a beach 12 miles away, while others were brought from more distant locations.\u00a0 No mortar was used in the construction \u2013 after over 5000 years it still doesn\u2019t leak.<\/p>\n Newgrange is a passage tomb laid out in cruciform shape.\u00a0 The long entranceway climbs about two meters, though I wouldn\u2019t have noticed it if the guide hadn\u2019t pointed it out \u2013 the elevation change is what allows the sunlight entering the roofbox to illuminate the floor on the Winter Solstice.\u00a0 The entrance passage opens onto a main chamber with three side chambers to the left, center, and right.\u00a0 Each chamber has a basin stone that was likely used to hold the remains of the dead.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t know with certainty why Newgrange was built or how it was used, and the Newgrange guide did an excellent job of differentiating between what we know and what we think is likely.\u00a0 My favorite explanation is that those who died during the year were placed in the tomb.\u00a0 On the Winter Solstice, the sunlight illuminated the remains, sending the dead on to the Otherworld.\u00a0 Then the remains were removed and buried elsewhere.<\/p>\n And then one year, people simply stopped coming. Again, we don\u2019t know why. What we do know is that no living human entered the tomb for around 3500 years, until it was rediscovered in 1699. The roof box wasn\u2019t rediscovered until 1967.<\/p>\n Today, access to Newgrange is allowed only via the Br\u00fa Na B\u00f3inne<\/em> Visitor Centre.\u00a0 Tickets are sold for timed access, to limit the number of people in the tomb and the impact victors can have on the site.\u00a0 The tour takes about an hour, of which perhaps 15 minutes is actually inside the mound.<\/p>\n As you walk up a fairly steep hill to the entrance, the size and beauty of the mound is overwhelming.\u00a0 The white quartz stones on the front are a reconstruction by Professor Michael O\u2019Kelly in the 1970s.\u00a0 The stones were found at the site \u2013 the ancient people obviously used them for something.\u00a0 What we have is O\u2019Kelly\u2019s best guess \u2013 others have speculated the quartz stones formed a paved walkway.\u00a0 I like O\u2019Kelly\u2019s reconstruction \u2013 it may not be authentic, but it makes the mound look more like a temple.<\/p>\n The famous kerbstone with spirals and lozenges guards the entrance.\u00a0 In ancient times the only way to get in was by climbing over the kerbstone \u2013 now there\u2019s a nice set of wooden stairs.\u00a0 What do the carvings mean?\u00a0 Again, we don\u2019t know.\u00a0 Perhaps it\u2019s just a pretty design.\u00a0 Perhaps it\u2019s a map of the area.\u00a0 Perhaps it\u2019s a representation of the cosmos.\u00a0 My favorite speculation is that it\u2019s a representation of what is seen during certain altered states of consciousness.<\/p>\n Photography is strictly forbidden inside the tomb.\u00a0 The passage is low and tight, but not excessively so.\u00a0 The carvings on the inside are fascinating, if not as impressive as the spirals of the main kerbstone.\u00a0 After everyone got in, the guide pointed out some of the highlights and talked about what we do and don\u2019t know about Newgrange.\u00a0 Her speculation (clearly labeled as such) on the possible religious aspects of the tomb struck me as honest, informed, and most of all, respectful.<\/p>\n Electric lights have been installed inside the tomb, to allow safe entry and to illuminate the main chambers.\u00a0 For a brief moment, the lights were turned off, allowing everyone to experience the total darkness.\u00a0 Then a light representing the Sun was turned on, giving an approximation of what it\u2019s like to be inside Newgrange on the morning of the Winter Solstice.<\/p>\n My strongest experience of Newgrange wasn\u2019t the recreation of the Sun illuminating the passage \u2013 that was too brief and there were too many people inside the chamber.\u00a0 My strongest experience was the mound itself.\u00a0 While touching the artwork is forbidden (and with good reason), it\u2019s almost impossible to not<\/em> touch the stone walls \u2013 there were too many people in too small a space.<\/p>\n The stones felt soft and permeable, like I could sink into them and fall straight into the Otherworld.\u00a0 They were inviting and welcoming.\u00a0 This is a place of my ancestors: perhaps my ancestors of blood, certainly my ancestors of spirit.\u00a0 It calls me to remember them, to connect to them, to honor them\u2026 and to remember that some day, I will join them.<\/p>\n I had a similar experience at two tombs on Anglesey, though not at some of the others.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to remember \u2013 at least, it\u2019s important to me \u2013 that while Newgrange may have been a temple, it was not used for daily or weekly worship.\u00a0 It was a special place entered only at special times\u2026 and likely, only by special people.\u00a0 I\u2019m joyously thankful I got to visit Newgrange, but my work is here, in this world, among the living.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>