Newgrange is an ancient tomb on the Boyne River in Ireland. It lies about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Dublin in County Meath. Newgrange is a passage grave, a passageway and burial chamber built of large stones covered with an earthen mound. The site functioned as a tomb and a site for religious rituals. The tomb was built between about 3370 and 2920 B.C. by Neolithic (New Stone Age) farmers. Newgrange is a megalithic (large stone) monument, in the same category as Stonehenge in the United Kingdom (see Megalithic monuments ).
Michael J. O’Kelly, an Irish archaeologist, excavated and reconstructed Newgrange from 1962 to 1975. The site today appears as an earthen mound 280 feet (85 meters) in diameter at its widest point and over 43 feet (13 meters) high at the tallest point. A gleaming wall of white stones covers its front. O’Kelly reconstructed the wall from thousands of quartz and granite stones found in piles around the mound. He believed that the stones had been part of a wall that slid off the mound over time. However, other archaeologists disagree. They believe that the stones may have been used as pavement around the site. Others have suggested that the stones were brought to the site as offerings.
The mound is built of layers of smaller stones and grass sod. These layers are surrounded by 97 large stones, which form a base called the kerb. The kerbstones each weigh from about 2 to 5 tons (1.8 to 4.5 metric tons). They are partially buried or lifted to form an even base about 4 feet (1.2 meters) above the ground. The builders decorated many kerbstones by picking and carving the outer surface with stone tools. Spirals are the most prominently featured design. But many other designs are found, including wavy lines, rayed circles, and checkerboard patterns. Archaeologists do not know what the symbols meant to the artists who produced them. Some decorations would have been completely hidden once the tomb was built.
A long entrance passage leads into the mound. It measures about 3 feet (1 meter) wide and averages about 5 feet (1.5 meters) high. Two parallel rows of large upright stones form its sides, with stones laid across the top to form a roof. Most of the decorated kerbstones stand on either side of the entrance. The passage extends about 62 feet (19 meters) into the mound.
At its end, the entrance passage opens to a large round chamber. The roof of this chamber was built with layers of overlapping stones. A large, flat stone sealed an opening at the top of the chamber. The main chamber connects to three smaller chambers that held cremated remains, representing five people, in large stone basins. Most believe that many other burials were scattered and lost over time.
A famous feature of Newgrange is called the roof box or the light box. It is a small, rectangular opening built across the top of the entrance passage roof. On the winter solstice, the day when the sun reaches its southernmost position, the rising sun shines down the light box. It first lights up the passage and then, as it continues to rise, the chamber itself. This feature shows that the people who built Newgrange had a good understanding of astronomy and engineering.
Today, an arc of 12 large stones stands outside the entrance to Newgrange. Archaeologists have determined that this arc is the remains of a larger circle of upright stones. Prehistoric builders added the circle to Newgrange around 2000 B.C. Archaeologists have also discovered remains of a large circle of wooden posts near the mound, built some time before the large stone circle. The fields surrounding the site hold smaller tombs and the remains of houses.
Newgrange was largely abandoned some time after 2000 B.C. However, Roman coins and other objects found at the site show that people continued to visit the tomb. In 1993, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared Newgrange a World Heritage Site. UNESCO gives this designation to sites considered to be of unique natural or cultural importance.
