The Megaliths of Newgrange, an Outstanding Site in Ireland

Newgrange, a monumental site lying some 50 km north of Dublin, precedes the monoliths of Stonehenge and the great pyramids of Egypt by several centuries. Though it is less sharply angular and blends seamlessly into the landscape, the huge cairn’s silhouette is no less impressive. Its primitive beauty is due to the combination of a dry-stone mineral belt and a large turfed earth dome, suggesting both a sense of rising weightlessness and a descent into the depths of the earth. Although linked with a considerable mass, its circular shape evokes cosmic and planetary images. One of the oldest megalithic sites in Europe dating back to 3200 BCE—though more recent than Barnenez and Gavrinis in Brittany—, it is considered one of Ireland's outstanding national monuments. Newgrange lies in the Brú na Bóinne (Boyne Manor) park with two other sites: Knowth and Dowth. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the complex contains a network of various-sized tumuli and over 600 stones engraved with beautiful, fascinating non-figurative symbols.…