Newgrange is one of Ireland’s most popular tourist spots. Less than an hour from Dublin, this incredible UNESCO World Heritage Site is well worth a visit.
It’s one of Europe’s most imposing prehistoric sites, along with Stonehenge in England (but Newgrange is even older). Imagine a gigantic tumulus structured by immense blocks of stone, concentrated around a covered corridor leading to a Neolithic burial chamber… The location is sure to impress!
Here’s a preview of your future visit to this site, built in 3200 BC.
Aerial view of Newgrange – © Irish Drone Photography
It doesn’t matter if you’re not an expert in prehistory. The Newgrange site is one of Ireland’s most important national tourist attractions!
And the place has everything to amaze you! You’ll discover a prehistoric tomb over 5,200 years old, older than the Pyramid of Giza or the English site of Stonehenge!
Located in the Boyne Valley in Eastern Ireland, the site is believed to have been built by Stone Age farmers and is also known as the“New-farm of Mellifont”.
It once served as a temple and burial ground. According to legend, it is also the burial place of great divinities of Irish mythology, such as Dagda and her son Aengus.
According to the researchers, this is an exceptional site, concentrating infinite information on the prehistoric period in Ireland! You’ll learn a great deal about everything from daily life and building methods to art, beliefs and our relationship with death… In short: Newgrange is one of Ireland’s must-see gems!
Newgrange – © LucileB
As you can see, Newgrange is one of the oldest archaeological sites ever recorded in the world!
But the latter fell into disuse after prehistoric times, and was completely overgrown by vegetation. It’s a phenomenon that has led the local Irish population to dismiss the grave as a mere hill!
The cairn remained completely sealed for several centuries before being discovered almost accidentally in 1699 by Edward Llwyd. Since then, Newgrange has never ceased to fascinate and to reveal its secrets in dribs and drabs, maintaining a certain air of mystery to this day…
Newgrange – Brian Morrison – © Tourism Ireland
Today, the Irish cairn is open to visitors.
Please note, however, that we strongly recommend that you reserve your place in advance on the Newgrange website. (The current sanitary protocol, as well as the high popularity of the venue, means you can’t be sure of a place without a reservation).
Visitors can only access Newgrange via a guided tour from the Brú na Bóinne visitor center, located on the south bank of the River Boyne.
You’ll need to park in advance on the south bank, cross the river on a pedestrian bridge and take a shuttle bus to the site.
Important: there is no direct public access to Newgrange by road, except on mornings around the winter solstice. If you’re using a GPS satellite navigation system, you’ll need to point to the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre… otherwise you’ll never reach the official entrance to the site.
Once there, you’ll discover a fascinating exhibition on the building, as well as on the research carried out by renowned archaeologists and historians.
Among other things, you’ll discover that Newgrange is now considered a “prehistoric temple”. An appellation that goes far beyond the simple status of funerary tomb it was originally given.
For the specialists, Newgrange is of far greater importance. It has a historical and religious dimension, but also provides information on the local way of life at the time. Indeed, the imposing size of the building suggests that the society of the time that built the monument was well organized, with specialized trades.
Entrance to Newgrange – © UnaPhoto
Then it’s time for a hands-on tour of the monument. And what you learn when you get there is simply fascinating!
Newgrange has gigantic proportions: the mound has a diameter of 85 metres and a height of 13 metres! A 19-meter-long open corridor runs through it, leading to a cruciform burial chamber. This room has a corbelled roof and access to 3 alcoves. The whole thing is intact, and was of course built by hand in an era when tools were far more rudimentary than they are today!
The peripheral structure of the building is also reinforced by 97 large megaliths (known as “kerbstones”), some of which still bear prehistoric engravings. The most notable of these is the entrance, where the decorations are clear-cut, with radial and circular engravings.
Over 200,000 tonnes of stone were transported to build the mound (which protects the chamber and corridor). The roof, on the other hand, is made up of small, smooth stones which, thanks to their meticulous layout, have protected the monument from rain and wind: everything is watertight, even today!
The tour is fascinating, and you’ll be accompanied by guides who have a lot to say on the subject, and who are full of humor and kindness. (Foreign visitors are not left out: there are even multilingual translated supports if you’re allergic to the language of Shakespeare).
Note that at the end of your visit, you can discover other cairns similar to Newgrange (but much smaller), such as Knowth or Dowth. Both sites are part of the same Newgrange archaeological complex, known as Brú na Bóinne.
Newgrange at winter solstice – Brian Morrison – © Tourism Ireland
For the record, there’s an incredible phenomenon that takes place every year in Newgrange.
This takes place at the winter solstice: as the sun rises, it passes through a notch above the lintel of the building’s main door. Sunlight shines through the color, hitting the bottom of the tomb 19 meters away!
A phenomenon that lasts an average of 17 minutes over 3 days… It’s the only time of year when this happens!
According to the researchers, this phenomenon is no accident. The builders of the time would have deliberately built Newgrange taking into account astronomical factors. They would have used the sun and the stars to design their monument, allowing him to see his tomb lit up on the solstice!
The phenomenon is now so fascinating that Ireland organizes an annual “lottery” to select a lucky few who can crawl into the grave and witness the event from the inside. The whole thing is filmed in partnership withOPW, who then broadcast the event live on their YouTube channel!
It should be noted that some years are disappointing: when the weather is overcast, the sun doesn’t always manage to break through the cloud cover and light up the site. But when the weather’s right, the show is worth the detour!
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If you don’t like crowds or mass tourism, we advise you to visit Newgrange during the off-peak season (autumn or winter): the site is often besieged by tourists, and this can sometimes prevent you from completing your visit properly… So avoid the summer period or public holidays: you risk having your visit ruined by a steady stream of tourists!
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