(, "mansion or palace of the Boyne"), also called the Boyne Valley tombs, is an ancient monument complex and ritual landscape in

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, located in a bend of the

River Boyne The River Boyne ( or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows north-east through County Meath to reach the ...

. It is one of the world's most important

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

landscapes, comprising at least ninety monuments including

passage tomb Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * Passage (2008 film), ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * Passage (2009 film), ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * ...

s, burial mounds,

standing stone A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright rock (geology), stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the Eur ...

s and enclosures. The site is dominated by the passage tombs of

Newgrange Newgrange () is a prehistoric monument in County Meath in Ireland, placed on a rise overlooking the River Boyne, west of the town of Drogheda. It is an exceptionally grand passage tomb built during the Neolithic Period, around 3100 BC, makin ...

(), Knowth () and Dowth (), built during the 32nd century BC. Together these have the largest assemblage of megalithic art in Europe. The associated

archaeological culture An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...

is called the "Boyne culture". ''Brú na Bóinne'' is also an important archaeoastronomical site; several of the passage tombs are aligned with the

winter solstice The winter solstice, or hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's geographical pole, poles reaches its maximum axial tilt, tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern Hemisphere, Northern and So ...

and

equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun appears directly above the equator, rather than to its north or south. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise directly east and set directly west. This occurs twice each year, arou ...

es. The area continued to be a site of ritual and ceremonial activity in the later

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. In

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

, the tombs are said to be portals to the Otherworld and dwellings of the deities, particularly The Dagda and his son

Aengus In Irish mythology, Aengus or Óengus is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably originally a god associated with youth, love,Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice-Hall Press, ...

. They began to be studied by antiquarians in the 18th century, and

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

excavations began in the 20th century, when some of the passage tombs underwent restoration. Since 1993, the site has been a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

designated by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

as "Brú na Bóinne – Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne".

Location

The area is located eight kilometers west of

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

in County Meath, Ireland, in a bend of the River Boyne. It is around 40 kilometers north of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. Brú na Bóinne is surrounded on its southern, western and eastern sides by the Boyne; additionally, a small tributary of the Boyne, the River Mattock, runs along the northern edge, almost completely surrounding Brú na Bóinne with water. All but two of the prehistoric sites are on this river peninsula.

Description

The area has been a centre of human settlement for at least 6,000 years, but the major structures date to around 5,000 years ago, from the Neolithic period. The site is a complex of Neolithic mounds,

chamber tomb A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interred than a simple grave (burial), grave. Built from Rock (geology), rock or som ...

henge A henge can be one of three related types of Neolithic Earthworks (archaeology), earthwork. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ditches ...

s and other prehistoric enclosures, some from as early as 35th century BC – 32nd century BC. The site thus predates the

Egyptian pyramids The Egyptian pyramids are ancient masonry structures located in Egypt. Most were built as tombs for the pharaohs and their consorts during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old and Middle Kingdom of Egypt, Middle Kingdom periods. At least 138 identi ...

and was built with sophistication and a knowledge of science and astronomy, which is most evident in the passage grave of Newgrange. The site is often referred to as the "Bend of the Boyne" and this is often (incorrectly) taken to be a translation of ''Brú na Bóinne''. The associated archaeological culture is often called the Boyne culture. The site covers 780 ha (1,927 acres) and contains around 40 passage graves, as well as other prehistoric sites and later features. The majority of the monuments are concentrated on the north side of the river. The most well-known sites within ''Brú na Bóinne'' are the passage graves of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, all known for their collections of megalithic art. Each stands on a ridge within the river bend and two of the tombs, Knowth and Newgrange, appear to contain stones re-used from an earlier monument at the site. Newgrange is the central mound of the Boyne Valley passage grave cemetery, the circular

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

in which the cruciform burial chamber is sited having a diameter of over 100 metres. Knowth and Dowth are of comparable size. There is no ''in situ'' evidence for earlier activity at the site, save for the spotfinds of flint tools left by

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

hunters. The passage tombs were constructed beginning around 3300 BC and work stopped around 2900 BC. The three largest tombs of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth may have been constructed to be visible from each other and from northern and southern approaches along the River Boyne, as part of a scheme to "bind the previously disparate elements of the extended passage tomb cemetery into a more clearly defined prehistoric numinous precinct". The area continued to be used for habitation and ritual purposes until the early

, during which a number of embanked, pit and wooden post circles (collectively referred to as "henges") were built. Artifacts from the later Bronze Age are comparatively inconspicuous: some cist and ring ditch burials and burnt mounds. For the

there is only evidence of sporadic activity, such as burials near Knowth and at Rosnaree. Valuable items from the Roman period such as coins and jewelry were found as votive offerings near Newgrange. Numerous other enclosure and megalith sites have been identified within the river bend and have been given simple letter designations, such as the M Enclosures. In addition to the three large tombs, several other ceremonial sites constitute the complex including: * Cloghalea Henge * Townleyhall passage grave * Monknewtown henge and ritual pond * Newgrange cursus File:Newgrange, Ireland 001.jpg, Newgrange entrance File:County Meath - Newgrange - 20220216134014.jpg, Newgrange passageway File:Ireland 2010 etc 079.jpg, Megalithic art on Newgrange kerbstone File:Knowth passage tomb 5.jpg, Knowth File:Knowth 023.jpg, Knowth File:Knowth - 48051057503.jpg, Knowth passageway File:Dowth.jpg, Dowth

Astronomical alignments

Each of the three main megalith sites have significant archaeoastronomical significance. Newgrange and Dowth have

solar alignments, while Knowth is oriented towards the

March equinox The March equinox or northward equinox is the equinox on the Earth when the subsolar point appears to leave the Southern Hemisphere and cross the celestial equator, heading northward as seen from Earth. The March equinox is known as the ver ...

(spring equinox) and the

September equinox The September equinox (or southward equinox) is the moment when the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading southward. Because of differences between the calendar year and the tropical year, the September equinox may occur from ...

(autumn equinox). In addition, the immediate environs of the main sites have been investigated for other possible alignments. The layout and design of the Brú na Bóinne complex across the valley has also been studied for astronomical significance.

Visitor centre

All access to Newgrange and Knowth is by guided tour only, with tours beginning at the

Visitor Centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center or tourist information centre is a physical location that provides information to tourists. Types A visitor center may be a Civic c ...

, opened in 1997 in Donore, County Meath. The tourist visitor centre is located on the south side of the river Boyne, and the historical site is located on the north side of the river and is accessed via a shuttle with a tour guide.

Public transport access

Bus Éireann route 163 operates between

and the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre via Donore. The nearest

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

is Drogheda railway station approximately 9 kilometres distant.

Brú na Bóinne National Park

The site will form the basis of a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

. In September 2023 the state bought Dowth Hall and 552 acres of surrounding land.

References

External links

UNESCO's World Heritage Site description

Official website

Newgrange.com

Knowth.com

Brú na Bóinne - Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne
UNESCO Collection on Google Arts and Culture
Brú na Bóinne in myth and folklore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bru Na Boinne Archaeological sites in County Meath Neolithic sites of Europe World Heritage Sites in the Republic of Ireland Megalithic monuments in Ireland Tourist attractions in County Meath Boyne culture Bronze Age sites in Europe Archaeological cultures in Ireland Buildings and structures completed in the 4th millennium BC Winter solstice Spring equinox Autumn equinox