Ancient Sites
There is so much speculation about these sites. Were Newgrange & Knowth just Passage Tombs or religious & cultural centres?
Shame about the weather. The traditional all four seasons in a day!
These three sites are in County Meath.
We took an early morning coach to three Neolithic sites: the Hill of Tara, Knowth and Newgrange. We had a great informative guide who put all three sites into context. The size of each of these sites is massive. These must have been enormous undertakings with a lot of planning as they didn’t have modern earth moving equipment 5,000 years ago. So they were built roughly at the same time as Stonehenge and are older than the Pyramids at Giza.
There are interesting parallels between these sites in the centre of Ireland and Stonehenge & the Pyramids. They all take close account of the natural seasons – for instance the dawn light on the Solstice days & their vast scale which means they really are timeless – they will most probably still exist when the human race comes to an end. They have all been sighted with great care taking into account the local environment of hills & rivers. They all include the use of massive stone blocks which must have pushed the technological boundaries of the time to the limit.
The Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara is an ancient ceremonial and burial site traditionally considered the seat of the High Kings of Ireland. Of the three sites we visited, this is the one where we most needed to use our imaginations as there is so little evidence left to see.
Knowth
The Knowth complex comprises a large Passage Tomb surrounded by 17 smaller ones. After the Bronze Age period the site became a ruin. In the Middle Ages a royal residence was built on the main mound.
Over the millennia most of these mounds had collapsed & what we see now are reconstructions. It is unclear for instance if the white quartz stones had a symbolic meaning on the ground by the entrances or if they formed part of the façade. At Knowth they are left on the ground but at Newgrange they are now incorporated in the outer walls. So who’s right?
Knowth contains more than a third of the total number of examples of megalithic art in all of Western Europe.
View from Knowth to Newgrange
Newgrange
Newgrange is the best known of the monuments we visited. It is a large mound built of alternating layers of earth & stone with an inner stone passageway leading to the main cruciform chamber. It is ringed by engraved kerbstones.
We were taken in small groups through the narrow passage into the centre of the mound to see the burial areas. Not for the claustrophobic! It was a tight squeeze as well, so really not for any large tourists either. People were obviously shorter & smaller in those days. Unfortunately no photography inside 😒. Nevertheless a very awe-inspiring experience crouching in dark mysterious passageways as they did 5,000 years ago.
Encountering these enormous constructions where the distinction blurs between the man-made & what nature makes left a lasting impression on us. The photos can’t convey this feeling – only being there will do.