There are three well known passage tombs within proximity to each other: Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. These tombs are about 5000 years old. The builders understood astronomy to the point that they build Newgrange so that at the Winter Solstice, the start of their new year, the sun's rays shine down the passages. These tombs have wonderful examples of designs on many of the stones which I hadn't seen on other tombs. Experts still do not know what the designs mean. Unfortunately, we were not able to walk into the tombs (Covid). This meant we missed the fabulous corbelled roof which is still waterproof.
Later people - The Beaker People - built a nearby religious center, they did not use the passage tomb. This center can be seen as a double circle of wooden posts (pit circle).
The Celts (~500 BC) thought that Newgrange was where their gods lived. Newgrange was also revered by the Romans. Next to Newgrange, built from many of its stones, is a folly which was built in the 1700s
It was wonderful to meet Claire Tuffy, Nancy Olin's cousin, who works at the Visitor Center!
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