England has its Stonehenge. Ireland has Newgrange. Built 1000 years or so before Stonehenge (based on carbon dating), or around 3200 BCE, Newgrange is completely different in design. It is a passage tomb, with underground burial chambers and a central stone passageway. The remains of five bodies were found inside, but there is no way to know who these people were. The tribe that built Newgrange had no written language or other means to record their thoughts or ideas. One thing is for certain, however: around 9:00 in the morning on and around the winter solstice, the sun’s rays come streaming through the window box over the entrance to Newgrange and fill a carved stone receptacle at the far end of the central passageway, today as it has for millennia. So perhaps this tomb was used for rituals, as well as burials.

Newgrange was discovered in the 1690s by His Majesty’s (King William of Orange) troops who were digging into the plush green earth along the River Boyne looking for stone to quarry. They found stone, alright, but unusual patterns of black and white stones that caused the men to alert their commanding officer. He halted the digging until they had a chance to excavate more carefully. Over the centuries, Newgrange has been excavated and reconstructed to archeologists’ best guesses at what the original design would have looked like. Can you imagine their delight when they discovered the winter sun shining through the window box?

There are other passage tombs throughout Ireland that have been discovered by farmers tilling soil or digging peat in bogland. At one time these structures were above ground, like Newgrange is today, but over time they have gradually been buried by accumulating detritus. The Irish government to date has not set a priority (i.e. funding) for excavating more than a few. Newgrange is their pride and joy, and it draws thousands of tourists every year. 

In a way, I like the mystery of not knowing what may be lurking beneath the turf of these subterranean discoveries. Like in the undisturbed fairy rings (ringforts) in Ireland, there could be entire communities of little people living under there—a veritable hornet’s nest of mischief—whom it’s probably best not to disturb. 🧚‍♀️