Dublin Part Two: Newgrange and Knowth

So after rejuvenating night of sleep at the Marina Hostel, my roommate and I went to go see the Neolithic monuments of Newgrange and Knowth. This wasn't originally in our plans, but it was suggested to us by the friendly, gap toothed Serbian hostel manager.

"You study archaeology then?" he asked in his thick accent as he blew cigarette smoke out the kitchen window. "You must go see Newgrange. It will*$#&#$@ blow your mind."

Ahhh. That ringing endorsement was enough to convince me. So at 8:30 Friday morning, my roommate and I headed into Dublin to catch a bus to Donone, the tiny town that was next to the monuments.

It was about an hour and a half bus ride north, and we passed the time by either sleeping or gazing out at the Irish countryside. My roommate in particular was enthralled by all the sheep; she took a thousand pictures of them.

We finally got to the Newgrange tourist center, and we embarked on tours of Newgrange and Knowth. Knowth was the site we looked at first; it was a Neolithic gathering of seventeen grave mounds. There was a gigantic grave mound in the middle, surrounded by over 100 large stones at the bottom, most of them decorated with Neolithic artwork.

Basically, these Neolithic grave mounds were constructed about 5,000 years ago by an unknown group of people. These constructions predate Stonehenge (by about 500 years) and even the pyramids at Giza. The grave mounds were used to house the dead. The grave mounds had openings at the base, and there would be a tunnel that would lead into the center of the mound. At the center there would be a small chamber, where the ashes of the deceased were placed. The grave mounds at Knowth were all closed up, but we got to walk unto the top of the highest mound. From there we could see for miles; we could even see the hill of Tara in the distance.

Newgrange is where we went next. Newgrange is a giant grave mound situated up on a hill. It is special because it has a window box above the entrance for the sun to shine through and illuminate the inner chamber. The interesting part is that the sun only shines through during sunrise on the winter solstice. It's amazing to think that these ancient people had the astronomical and engineering know-how to construct such an opening.

We actually got to go inside Newgrange and into the inner sacred chamber. Inside, there were Neolithic engravings on the stone, including spirals, diamonds, and zigzags. The ceiling of the inner chamber was dome-shaped and absolutely watertight. It was also strong enough to support over 250,000 tons of earth situated on top. All of this was still standing and perfect after 5,000 years!

Standing in that sacred chamber (we were not allowed to take pictures) it was amazing to think that ancient peoples stood in that very same space and conducted rituals and paid respect for their dead. The amount of care that went into the construction of Newgrange demonstrates that this was a very important, probably religious site for those people. Personally, I thought it was very humbling to be inside such an ancient, important place.

Although the exact purpose of Newgrange (and the meaning of artwork) is unknown, it is theorized that these people were sun worshippers. Perhaps they thought that the rays of light illuminating the sacred chamber once a year was a promise of renewal for their dead. Maybe the spiral engravings symbolized eternity. Unfortunately, one can only make theories.

The visits to Newgrange and Knowth certainly were mind-blowing. For a student of archaeology, it was an experience that I'll never forget. My roommate and I headed back to good old Dun Laogohaire that night and had a pint of Guinness at the local pub (although I had to help her finish hers-she's a lightweight). All in all, an excellent way to end an excellent day.

p.s. if you want to know more about Newgrange and Knowth that I didn't cover here, feel free to email me.