These were built about 1200 years ago and were used primarily to store food, the low temperatures inside the passages preserving it and their hidden nature keeping it safe from enemy raids, particular from Viking raiders.The least known of the three major passage tombs, Dowth is believed to be the oldest. Logistics: Brú na Bóinne is situated in the Irish countryside, and is most easily reached by automobile or other private transportation. Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre. It is astonishing how visible patterns in the landscape – mounds and folds, circular ‘structures’ and lines – clearly show the remains of a previous, and obviously extensive, civilization the lies only semi-hidden beneath the fields and farms there today.The more you look, the more you see. A visit to Brú na Bóinne is an excellent introduction to the rich history of the Emerald Isle. Brú na Bóinne can be visited as a day trip from Dublin, but I decided to spend the night nearby in Donore so I could beat the crowds and secure a spot on the first tour of the day (at the time of my visit you couldn’t buy tickets online, so … Please don't do as we did and drive here.
You must go through the visitor center to get to either tomb. Visitors are brought to the actual sites by shuttle bus.Access to the actual sites at Newgrange and Knowth is very strictly controlled. However, some of them were looted by the Vikings in the 8th century, and then fell into oblivion.In 1690, Brú na Bóinne became the scene of one of the bloodiest battles in Irish history: the Battle of the Boyne (1690), which pitted the English Orangemen against the Irish Catholics (and which ended in the failure of the Catholics). This is the only tour option available and is self-guided. It is known that at this period in Ireland cremation was common, and it may be that following cremation human remains were removed to these places where they stayed for a time, possibly until the next illumination occured.The obvious attention to these astronomical occurances means they had an important role in the people’s lives and, presumably, in their deaths. Although there is no access to the interior chambers of the mounds at Dowth, this flythough of a laser scan survey of the interior shows just how complex and extraordinary a place it is.There was a time when you could just wander up to the tombs at Newgrange and Knowth and explore at will, but the need to protect them for the future means that you must now first visit the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre at Donore and join an organised tour.The Centre has extensive information about, and exhibits relating to, the tombs, including a replica of the inner chamber at Newgrange and a model of one of the smaller tombs at Knowth. You will be turned away. These customised tours come at a higher price of course. Day tours with tour companies departing from Dublin are an alternative option for visits. Brú Na Bóinne Is a 5,000 year old burial site, that is older than the Pyramids in Giza, or Stonehedge by over a thousand years. Brú na Bóinne means “palace of the Boyne” and it was so named because it’s this area of the Boyne River where the ancient people of Ireland built these incredible structures. The building construction mimics the round tombs and the displays and video will prepare you for your visit. Newgrange – Brian Morrison. However one has been identified as the world’s earliest known lunar map, predating the next oldest one, which was created by Leonardo Da Vinci, by more than 3000 years.Another interesting feature here is the presence of a basin stone. Two thirds of all known Megalithic Art in Western Europe is found in the area of Brú na Bóinne and more than half of it is at Knowth, with more than 300 decorated stones.Most of the carvings are probably simply decorative, others may have a religious significance, but for the most part their meanings are not known.
Please do not arrive without having booked your tickets in advance as you will not gain entry. Your visit will need to start at Brú Na Bóinne Visitor Centre which is nearly 10km away.
Brú na Bóinne Tour – Outside only (no access to Newgrange chamber) Booking link There are no ‘walk-in tickets’ available, Face Covers are mandatory during your visit.