Bru Na Boinne

Sorry for the delay in getting this post up, but from September 3rd until the 13th, we were very busy as our nephew David visited us. We enjoyed showing him San Sebastian including the beaches, old city and local hiking, along with visits to Zumaia to take a flysch tour, and Biarritz just to enjoy the beautiful scenery (and eat French food). In addition, he spent a week studying Spanish at Lacunza (our old Spanish school). Overall a very busy trip and another satisfied visitor. Now, however, we want to return to Ireland, and one of the coolest places we visited there: Bru Na Boinne. 

Bru Na Boinne is a site north of Dublin where there are approximately 40 burial mounds built over 5000 years ago. To give some perspective, these mounds are older than the pyramids at Giza. Like the pyramids, these sites are archaeological marvels. With bases of stones that weigh five tons, no one is quite sure how the ancient people who built these sites did so, but they are fantastic.

Since these sites are obviously quite fragile, you can't just drive to them yourself. You start at the visitors center where you can learn a bit about the mounds, including their discovery and excavation, as well as some speculation about the people who built them. Interestingly, it appears that these people lived in wooden buildings, which means they built much stronger and longer-lasting places for their dead than for the living. I am sure that means something.

From the visitors center, you take a bus to the first site, Knowth (rhymes with south), which contains several burial mounds, the largest of which is 220 feet wide and 40 feet high.

Although the mound is now supported by a concrete shelf, you can see the large stones on which it rested when built. Amazingly, many of these large stones contain carvings, mostly of geometric designs such as spirals.

After a bit of time to wander around the Knowth site, where Shana interrogated one of the docents who passed the test with flying colors, the bus brings you on to Newgrange, where there is only a single, albeit quite impressive burial mound:

Unfortunately, due to Covid, one of the coolest parts of the tour is not available right now. That part allows people to enter the main chamber of the burial mound at Newgrange down this narrow corridor of large stones, and stand in the main burial chamber. Another knowledgeable docent noted that keeping people out for the past 18 months has allowed some small nesting birds to return to the site. 

Perhaps the most interesting and amazing part of the entire site is the fact that the above opening to the main burial chamber is aligned to the rising sun on the winter solstice such that at dawn (assuming no clouds) the sun shines directly down the narrow passageway and lights up the chamber. It is the only time of year that the chamber is touched by the sun, and archaeologists who have studied the site do not believe it is a coincidence that this occurs on the solstice as ancient people viewed that day as a kind of rebirth as days would start getting longer thereafter. This affect was discovered in 1967 by an archaeologist who had been working on the Newgrange site and who was likely the first person in over 5000 years to experience it.

On our return to the visitors center, Shana and I learned that there is a drawing every year for the opportunity to be in the main burial chamber at Newgrange on one of the days around the solstice when this affect can be seen! So, when we returned to Spain, we signed up for this year's drawing. We would love to experience this amazing effect created by an unknown people over 5000 years ago. But, even if we don't win the lottery, it was a great place to visit and we highly recommend a trip to Bru Na Boinne if you are ever in Dublin.

Hasta pronto,

Jeff and Shana