5000 Years of History in Ireland

19 April 2009

5000 Years of History in Ireland

The sun was shining brightly on Sunday morning as Ryan and I walked to Connolly Station. We were headed on a morning train up to the town of Dogheda where we would take another bus to Brú na Bóinne in County Meath. Brú na Bóinne, which means Palace of the Boyne, contains some famous 5000 year old tombs called Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth. Famous as they were, I have to admit I had never heard of these before reading about the in my travel guide. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site containing prehistoric Neolithic tombs from somewhere between the 35th and 32nd Century BC. Now that is ridiculously old!! It pre-dates the pyramids or Stonehenge even.

Once we arrived at the Brú na Bóinne visitor center and bought our tickets, we were instructed to cross a bridge and wait for the appropriate buses. This area of County Meath is very rural, as much of Ireland is. There were no large mountains as in some places we visited, but lots of rolling green pastures. We passed over a lazy river with cows grazing beside it on the way to the bus stop. It is clear that they try to regulate the number of people visiting the tombs at any given time because each person is given a sticker which says the time at which their tour will begin. First we visited one of the smaller tomb sites, Knowth. We were given a 30 minute tour before being left to explore it. Knowth is pretty much in the middle of an open field. There is one central tomb, which really looks like a large hill or mound of land that might be 2-3 stories tall and very symmetric. Then clustered around this large mound are smaller green grassy mounds. It is perched on one of the higher hills in the area so the views of the surrounding land are unobstructed; this is one of the reasons why it was probably inhabited by people even before the 35th Century.

They don’t know very much about the Neolithic people who lived in and cultivated this area as there was no written language as we know it. They did, however, make loads of rock carvings. Around the base of the main tomb at Knowth are large slabs of rocks which would have been very heavy. They are carved with all kinds of geometric patterns; some are swirls, some groups of lines, triangles, circles and so on. There is thought that perhaps this was some kind of language but no one has yet to decipher it. Other people like to think that the carvings and the site itself were left by some alien visitors. There are all kinds of theories. Ryan astutely asked the tour guide how can that these rocks were carved all that time ago and not more recently. The guide explained that by looking at the manner in which they were carved, which was basically by chipping out little bits of stone at a time, we know it was before they had metal tools which would have left a different mark.

The grave sites at Brú na Bóinne were not discovered until contemporary times when they were accidentally found. Since human remains have been found here, it is believed that the ancient people created this land as a burial ground for their inhabitants, with perhaps special burial areas for the rulers or chiefs. For unknown reasons, they left the area but centuries later this land was used again and again. Since it was elevated above the surrounding fields, later societies were also keen on using it as a living spot and a protected watch point. Excavators have found remains from other villages during medieval times and later who also lived there. They actually built a ditch, or a moat of sorts, around the base of the main mound and this led to the collapse of many of the supporting rocks and structures. Over time, the burial mounds basically were built over and all but covered up and eventually rediscovered by a local in the 1600s when they were looking for building rocks.

The central mound is really the most interesting and we actually got to go inside of it. There is a long thin corridor that leads from the outside into the center of the mound underground. Inside of these passageways they found bodies and some other artifacts suggesting that the most important people in their tribe were buried here and then others were found in smaller, mass graves around the central one. We were allowed to go part way into this tomb and peek down the long corridor but wasn’t deemed safe enough for visitors to go all the way. There was a display on how the mounds were structurally built. They used alternating layers of earth, small rocks, and turf. This was to ensure that when it rained, the mound would not disintegrate or slide off. The corridor also has solar alignment so they know there was significance for these people and the sun. We were also able to go on top of the mound which offered great views of the country and of the other larger site, Newgrange, in the distance. They are not sure exactly what the top of the mound would have been used for, perhaps for rituals or festivals, or perhaps just to offer views and therefore protection from attack.

Our next visit was to the main and more famous site called Newgrange. The mound here is much larger, grander, and well preserved. It was also built in the same time period. The base of the mound is also surrounded by rocks but different than Knowth. They used white sparkly quartz which was dotted with darker stones and this basically tiles the whole circumference of the mound. It of course was not discovered in perfect order but has been reconstructed from the rocks found surrounding it. The entrance to the corridor to the inside of Newgrange is also much grander. There are huge rock slabs covered in carvings. One is probably 10 feet long and covered in spirals and is the “welcoming” entrance stone. They are not sure how these ancient people transported such huge rocks to the site. The rocks that they did use were not local to the area and were in fact traced back to the Wicklow Mountains a few hundred miles south and others from good distance north. At this time, Ireland was a forest full of densely packed trees and savage wild animals. They know that it would not have been possible for these people to transport things by land over a large distance and plus, this was before the invention of the wheel! So they theorize that it must have been done by sea. They found remains of these tiny little boats made of animal hides and wood and believe that they managed to carry thousands of pounds of rocks via the rough Irish Sea to build these tombs.

We were able to go all the way inside of Newgrange as it has been reinforced to be safe enough to allow visitors. The passage way is very narrow and the ceiling low. It is lined with more of these large stone slabs with carvings. In the central part, it opens up to a small circle which was just big enough to squeeze in about 15 visitors. There are three little tiny rooms that shoot off of the main one and those were thought to be the burial spots for the most important people. One room in particular has the most elaborate carvings in the stone which suggest it was the place where the dead chief would lay. There is a very famous carving on the opposite side of the chamber which is three spirals together making a triangular shape. If you have ever traveled around Ireland you may see this symbol in jewelry, t-shirts and so on. It is linked with the Celtics but in fact this symbol was around long before the Celts. The ceiling of the chamber is not flat but it is peaked, or corbelled as I read, lined with more stacked stones. The ceiling/roof has remained watertight since it was built 5000 years ago. It is truly a remarkable place.

One of the most interesting facts about Newgrange is that these ancient people built it in perfect alignment with the rising sun on the winter solstice. There is actually a lottery that visitors from all over the world can enter and if they win, can be at Newgrange to experience the winter solstice sunrise during the seven days or so that the sun stays in alignment. They actually do a simulate demonstration for visitors. They turn out the lights so it is literally pitch black and then a light comes on that appears to rise and fill the back of the room. The chamber of the passageway was built on an upward slope. On the way in, the tour guide points out a window, called a roofbox, far above our heads which is where the sunlight enters. As we progress further into the tunnel and walk at an upward angle, the roofbox is right at head level. When we are fully inside of the chamber at the end, the sunlight is now closer to ground level. Apparently on the solstice it just illuminates the room at the end of the chamber and it glows with light. I can only imagine what an amazing experience that must be to see it for real! Today the sunlight doesn’t enter until 4 minutes past sunrise, but they have calculated the axis and position of the earth when Newgrange was built and apparently the light would have shown in the room exactly at sunrise. It is so impressive that our ancestors could construct such a scientifically accurate structure 5000 years ago. As our tour guide said, these Neolithic people were not just hairy cavemen running around with sticks. But speaking of sticks, both sits had something called a “woodhenge” which is basically the wood version of a stonehenge. The wood was of course decomposed by the time they discovered the sites, but they found pits where these large logs were planted upright. Just as Stonehenge was, this would have been some sort of ritual or ceremonial site. The henges that were made out of stone were just much more important then the wood ones.

We spent a little time in the visitor’s center after seeing the tombs. They have some models depicting how these people would have lived including a model of the boat they would have used to transport the stones. It was like a cup made out of leather. The thought of being in that small vessel on the open sea is pretty scary. We also got to see a replica of a famous flint carving. The original carving is on display in a Dublin museum. It is a small carving about the size of the palm the hand and made of colorful polished flint. The depiction of a head is carved into it and for a mouth; it actually has a hole going through the entire piece of flint. The tour guide pointed out that flint is incredibly brittle and easy to shatter. Apparently modern artisans and scientists have tried to recreate this flint head but none have succeeded. They have tried all kinds of tools including diamond saws and still, and every time the flint inevitably shatters. It was quite a fascinating way to spend an afternoon learning about the tombs. There is something humbling and awesome about standing on a spot with so much history of humanity. Apparently there are other similar sites in Scotland, England, Wales and Italy.

When we returned to Dublin later that afternoon, the weather was still fabulous so we took a walk to the old city area. We had a stroll through Merrion Square which is a leafy park in the midst of the many Georgian style row houses in Dublin. The flowers were in full bloom: tulips, daffodils, flowering trees, and bluebells. Children were frolicking about, couples lying in the grass together. We checked out the many different statues in the park honoring famous Dubliners like Oscar Wilde. We continued our Sunday evening stroll down Grafton Street past the street performers and shoppers, past the students outside Trinity College and finally across the Liffey back to our apartment. After another busy weekend, we went home to enjoy the last few hours of the weekend before the work week began again.