The Bru na Boinne Neolithic complex at the “Bend in the Boyne”, including Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, as well as about 90 other mounds and standing stones, represents one of the greatest concentrations of Neolithic remains in Europe. Containing 60 percent of Europe’s Neolithic art, no wonder that Bru na Boinne holds a prominent place among UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

5200 years ago, well before the Pyramids or Stonehenge were undertaken, a complex society organized and coordinated a system of transportation, engineering and construction that defies belief – many of the gigantic stones, some weighing 4-5 tonnes (4.5-5.5 tons), came from as far away as the Wicklow Mountains. The earthworks and stone that make up the mound are estimated to weigh 180,000 tonnes (200,000 tons). Like the Pyramids and Stonehenge, the undertaking almost defies belief.

The gigantic kerbstones surrounding and supporting the structure are incised with fantastic, enigmatic designs, described by archaeologists as lozenges, concentric circles, spirals, radial lines, zigzags, and chevrons. Most striking is the tri-spiral or triskelion, one of the many figures echoed throughout Neolithic cultures globally. The fact that these are associated with a place of burial suggest they served not only as artistic expression, but had deep ceremonial or spiritual significance. Similarly to the later Christian cathedral (whose orientation was also astronomically determined), the site probably served mortuary, spiritual, priestly and astronomical functions, as well as demonstrating social order and authority.

At its most obvious, Newgrange is a passage tomb, a 19 metre (62 foot) tunnel leading to the interior of the 85 metre (279 foot) mound, where three burial chambers in a cruciform arrangement form the heart of the mound – still completely watertight due to the ingenious corbelled construction and tight capstone, a method still used by Irish farmers to construct clochain, or beehive huts. But to its creators, Newgrange was much more than a burial chamber. Incredibly, the east-west orientation of the passage admits light into a burial chamber at 8:58 a.m., for 17 minutes each year on the Winter Solstice. The builders created a sophisticated astronomical calculator, where 5200 years ago, skywatchers tracked lunar activity and its effect on the tides, creating a cosmic calendar in stone. The magnificent Calendar Stone at Knowth interweaves the solar and lunar calendars. These “primitive people” were explorers of deep time, observers of the cosmos, perhaps attempting to link its workings to the passage of souls from this life to the next. We will never know for certain.

Newgrange is about 52 kilometres or 32 miles northwest of Dublin following the M1 motorway, then following the local signs, and 8 kilometres (5 miles) west of Drogheda. Visitation of the site is by guided tour only, with bus transportation from the Visitors Centre.