Behind the Newgrange Stone Age Passage Tomb
Newgrange is one of Ireland’s most important cultural and historical monuments. It represents a structure which was built in the Neolithic period, meaning the new stone age, and it is at an age which was before the pyramids of Egypt were built. It is also older than Stonehenge. This makes Newgrange the oldest man made structure I have ever visited. The oldest structures I have been to only date 2000 years old, this one surpasses that by a long shot. The scale of the monument is also impressive giving the impression that it took a lot of planning to complete this. Newgrange was estimated to have been constructed over the course of a few decades.
Looking Back at the Newgrange Stone Age Passage Tomb
It is still debated on what the true purpose of Newgrange was, there were theories on how it also have some kind of religious significance with its alignment with the sun during the winter solstice. Perhaps it also functioned as a calendar to tell the people that the cold winter is finally turning a corner and that spring is coming. Artifacts such as coins were found in the passage tomb. But it was remarkable how few bodies were found here considering how large it was. Was it a tomb meant only for the royalty? It is hard to say. There are also questions on how the early peoples of Ireland were able to build such a complex structure, some suggesting that Vikings or early visiting cultures were responsible for this.
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