I spent the second day (September 12th) of the trip on a tour of some of the historical sites of County Meath. The first stop was Bru na Boinne, the site of many neolithic passage tombs. The first tomb we visited is called Knowth.
The tomb was constructed somewhere around the year 3200 BC. Per the tour guide, the builders constructed it in thirteen phases, using stone imported from various locations all over Ireland. It was pointed out that this was done before the invention of the wheel and the domestication of horses.
The dead interred at these tombs were cremated outside. DNA extracted from unburned bone found in the tomb pointed to the builders likely originating in Malta.
When their culture developed, Malta was much cooler. As the ice age ended and the glaciers that covered much of the earth receded, Malta became too warm for the farming methods they were accustomed to. They headed North to the newly uncovered and fertile soil that was now available.
The tour guide also stated that the tomb was important to these people for reasons beyond a place to inter their dead. On the Spring and Fall equinoxes, the standing stone located in front of the tomb’s entrance casts a shadow into the notch above the entryway.
The tour guide pointed out that based on this and the numerous votive offerings found inside, it is very likely that religious ceremonies and possibly festivals took place near and in the tomb. The general population was probably not allowed inside.
As time moved on, the significance of the tomb was forgotten. At one point it was the site of a hill fort, but the area was generally used for agriculture. Some of the kerb stones were moved for reuse, others were lost or damaged. People entered the tomb and left graffiti on the walls. At one in the 17th century someone built a house and included one of the kerb stones for part of the foundation.
A brief excavation was performed on the site in the 1940s, and serious work began in the ’60s. The kerb stones were moved back into place, and the height of the mound was increased to its current 12 meters. A concrete lip was installed above the kerb stones to protect them, and a staircase was installed to allow easier access to the top. The passage has been deemed unsafe and access is no longer allowed.
Here are some of the kerb stones that I found to be the most interesting:
A second tomb on the site is called Newgrange. It was built by the same culture at roughly the same point in time. When it was restored the team doing the work placed the quartz that they found on the site on the front of the mound. The tour guide said that people aren’t truly sure that the quartz was on the front of the mound. It may have actually been placed in front of it.
The rest of Newgrange also features the carved kerbstones seen at Knowth.
Like Knowth, Newgrange is oriented toward the seasons, but in a more extreme way. The tomb is built so that on the Winter solstice the sun shines through the portal above the entrance and illuminates the interior.
Unlike Knowth, you are actually able to enter Newgrange. When you are inside, they do a simulation of the Solstice sunrise. Space is very constricted, and because of this, photography isn’t allowed. To date, this is the only truly ancient place I have ever been in. The walls are decorated in the same manner as the kerb stones (along with some unfortunate Victorian graffiti). It created feelings of awe that I haven’t had anywhere else.
The tour included a stop at the Battle of the Boyne Visitor’s Center, but it was closed for renovations and ended up being a lunch break. We moved on to Monasterboice, a Cistercian monastery that was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Although the monastery itself was destroyed, two high crosses were left intact.
Even though this monastery was destroyed nearly 500 years ago, it is still being used as a cemetery today, so it is important to remember that you might encounter the friends or family of a person who died recently if you visit.
On the way out of the monastery there is a plaque on a wall memorializing the people who died in what we call the Potato Famine, or as the locals call it the Great Hunger. It overlooks a nice, tranquil field where cattle graze.
The tour guide said that there are 20,000 nameless people buried in that field who died during that time. Although I never met them, I know the names of some of my ancestors who were alive then. This is disturbing and really brings the Lord Acton quote about great men usually being bad men to mind.