Bru
na Boinne —
Newgrange Visitor Centre
BRÚ NA BÓINNE -
THE BOYNE VALLEY
VISITOR CENTRE
Donore, Co. Meath
Tel. 041-988-0300
www.knowth.com
www.heritageireland.ie
If you have ever visited Newgrange before, be prepared for big changes on your next visit.
And if you haven't visited before, look forward to a dazzling experience — a
spectacular new circular rock-trimmed museum built to harmonize with the surroundings.
Even the huge parking area is tastefully laid out with trellises and arbors, and stone
walkways. The new centre is located two miles off the main N 51 (Slane-Drogheda) road and
all traffic for Newgrange is directed here, eliminating any direct access.
All visitors must register with the desk personnel for guided tours of Newgrange and in the busy summer months, the wait can be up to three hours for a tour (maximum of 25 persons). However, there is plenty to do at the centre, and some visitors will be satisfied to get their experience of Newgrange indoors and forego the on-site tour (which takes a full hour). The exhibits at the centre, which also take one hour to complete, range from a 7-minute introductory audio-visual to a walk-through replica of Newgrange that includes a simulation of the winter solstice and a thorough explanation of why Newgrange is Ireland's best-known prehistoric monument.
Built between 3500 B.C. and 2700 B.C., it was used as a tomb in which Stone Age men buried the cremated remains of their dead. It is estimated that it took at least 40 years to build, the equivalent of the life's work of a whole generation. To illustrate its place in world history, scholars point out that Newgrange is 500 years older than the Pyramids, and 1,500 years older than Stonehenge.
If you choose to tour the Newgrange site itself, you will be transported there from the visitor centre by minibus. As you approach, you will see a huge mound made of quartz and granite - 36 feet tall, with over 200,000 tons of stone including a 6-ton capstone, and other stones weighing up to 16 tons each. It covers almost one full acre of ground. The guide will take you down into the site itself, to see remnants of stone implements and fine examples of primitive carved stone artwork such as tri-spiral designs as well as chevrons, arcs, radials, and diamonds. Two other prehistoric passage graves are nearby, Knowth and Dowth. Knowth is also open for tours but Dowth is still under excavation.
Allow at least a half-day here, if you want "to do it all."
Newgrange is open all year; Knowth from May to October.
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