Newgrange - Ireland's most famous monument

Following on last year's inaugural live webcast from the chamber of Newgrange, the Office of Public Works (OPW) again decided to broadcast the Winter Solstice illumination of the famous monument live on the internet. However, the sun didn't shine. See our page about the 2008 Solstice Webcast or See the archived 2008 footage

Newgrange

Newgrange is one of the best examples in Ireland and in Western Europe, of a type of monument known to archaeologists as a passage-grave or passage-tomb. It was constructed around 3200BC, according to the most reliable Carbon 14 dates available from archaeology. This makes it more than 600 years older than the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, and 1,000 years more ancient than Stonehenge.

Newgrange from the air

Newgrange sits on the top of an elongated ridge within a large bend in the Boyne River about five miles west of the town of Drogheda. This area has great eminence thoughout Irish history - legend tells us the foundations of Christianity were laid here. Two miles or so downstream is Oldbridge, where the Battle of the Boyne took place in 1690.

Newgrange was built in a time when there was only stone, not metal, used as an everyday material for tools and weapons. In 1993, Newgrange and its sister sites Knowth and Dowth were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of their outstanding cultural legacy.

The beam of sunlight on the floor of the chamber at Newgrange

On the Winter Solstice, the light of the rising sun enters the roofbox at Newgrange and penetrates the passage, shining onto the floor of the inner chamber. The sunbeam illuminates the chamber of Newgrange for just 17 minutes.

A survey of the roofbox, passage and chamber of Newgrange by Dr. Jon Patrick in 1972 found that the Winter Solstice orientation of the site was an original feature, and that they were sophisticated constructions, intended to maximise the accuracy and length of the beam entering the chamber.

Newgrange has some stunning examples of megalithic art, including the beautifully carved entrance stone, kerbstone 1, and kerbstone 52. The famous triple spiral is featured on the entrance stone and in the chamber.

Many finds have been made at Newgrange, including some curious items such as a stone phallus and an iron wedge. One type of find which arouses the interest of archaeologists are the Roman coins, many of which were reported to have been found at Newgrange.

Detail from kerbstone 52 at Newgrange. Click for larger view.

The Tuatha Dé Danann, who ruled Ireland in ancient mythology, were said to have erected Newgrange as a burial place for their chief, Dagda Mór, and his three sons. Newgrange was said to have been the place where the great mythical hero Cúchulainn was conceived by his mother Dechtine. His spiritual father, Lugh, visited Dechtine in a dream while she stayed at the Brugh.

Access to Newgrange is through the Brú na Bóinne Visitors' Centre at nearby Donore, just across the river Boyne. In recent times, there have been as many as 200,000 visitors to Newgrange each year, making it the most visited archaeological monument in Ireland.

A new book about Newgrange challenges the classification of the monument as a "passage-grave" or "passage-tomb", and says there was no evidence that Newgrange was used as any sort of dedicated repository for bodies, bones, burial artefacts or ash.

The most comprehensive collection of facts about Newgrange on the internet can be found in our "101 Facts About Newgrange" section.

Newgrange photo gallery
Click here to see exquisite photographs from Newgrange

The most comprehensive collection of information about Newgrange on the internet, 101 Facts About Newgrange is a website within a website!

Solstice light - some pictures of the sun entering the passage of Newgrange at dawn on Winter Solstice, plus spectacular images from inside the chamber!

Kerbstone 52 - beautifully decorated and possibly featuring representations of the Belt stars of Orion.

The Cygnus Enigma - a comprehensive article examining the link between Newgrange and Fourknocks, the Whooper Swan, the constellation Cygnus and the swan mythology of Newgrange.

Art inside Newgrange - see some of the beautiful carvings from inside the chamber, including the mysterious 'ship' plans stone.

Site B - a tumulus on the banks of the Boyne, aligned with Newgrange on the Summer Solstice sunset.
Site U - partially destroyed site aligned on the equinox.
Site E - small mound to east of Newgrange.
Site T - a small passage mound located north of Newgrange.
Site S - This is a large mound, unexcavated, located about a mile and a half north of Newgrange at Monknewtown.
Site A - Tumulus southeast of Newgrange, located in line with the Winter Solstice sunrise.
Sites K+L - The oldest monuments on the Newgrange ridge.
Standing Stones - Two impressive standing stones located southeast of Newgrange.

Newgrange video - see inside passage & chamber.
Sunset over Newgrange - a nice view of Brú na Bóinne.
Standing stone silhouette - Solstice sunrise shadows.
Views - Other general views of the Newgrange mound.
Pictures by Clive Ruggles
Entrance to Newgrange - the famous entrance stone.
Newgrange from the air - spectacular aerial images.