(, "mansion or palace of the Boyne"), also called the Boyne Valley tombs, is an ancient monument complex and ritual landscape in County Meath, Ireland, located in a bend of the River Boyne. It is one of the world's most important Neolithic landscapes, comprising at least ninety monuments including passage tombs, burial mounds, standing stones and enclosures. The site is dominated by the passage tombs of Newgrange (), Knowth () and Dowth (), built during the 32nd century BC. Together these have the largest assemblage of megalithic art in Europe. The associated archaeological culture 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 and equinoxes. The area continued to be a site of ritual and ceremonial activity in the later Bronze Age and Iron Age. In Irish mythology, the tombs are said to be portals to the Otherworld and dwellings of the deities, particularly The Dagda and his son Aengus. They began to be studied by antiquarians in the 18th century, and archaeological excavations began in the 20th century, when some of the passage tombs underwent restoration.

Since 1993, the site has been a World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO as "Brú na Bóinne – Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne".

Location

The area is located eight kilometres west of Drogheda in County Meath, Ireland, in a bend of the River Boyne. It is around 40 kilometres north of Dublin.

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 covers 780 ha (1,927 acres) and contains around 40 passage graves, The area continued to be used for habitation and ritual purposes until the early Bronze Age, 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 Iron Age 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.

  • Cloghalea Henge
  • Townleyhall passage grave
  • Monknewtown henge and ritual pond
  • Newgrange cursus

<gallery>

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

</gallery>

Astronomical alignments

Each of the three main megalith sites have significant archaeoastronomical significance. Newgrange and Dowth have winter solstice solar alignments, while Knowth is oriented towards the March equinox (spring equinox) and the September equinox (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

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All access to Newgrange and Knowth is by guided tour only, with tours beginning at the Visitor Centre, opened in 1997 in Donore, County Meath.

The nearest railway station is Drogheda railway station approximately 9 kilometres distant.

Brú na Bóinne National Park

The site will form the basis of a national park. In September 2023 the state bought Dowth Hall and 552 acres of surrounding land.

See also

  • List of archaeoastronomical sites by country

References

Further reading

  • Lewis-Williams, D. and Pearce, D., Inside the Neolithic Mind, Thames and Hudson, London, 2005,
  • O'Kelly, M. J., Newgrange: archaeology, art, and legend, London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd., 1982.
  • Stout, Geraldine, Newgrange and the Bend of the Boyne, 2002, Cork University Press, , 9781859183410, google books
  • 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