We'd managed to get two (very hard to get) tickets for a guided tour (today) of the UNESCO listed Brú na Bóinne, the ancient monument complex located in a bend of the River Boyne in County Meath about an hour's drive north of Dublin city. We'd even managed to pick up our hire car a day early from Dublin Airport so we could drive up to join our 11.00 tour this morning.
So with all our plans in place we got up early this morning and caught the first airport bus of the day from near Trinity College - catching the early morning light on the River Liffey in the process - and our first glimpse of blue sky since we'd arrived in Dublin three days ago.
It took us over an hour and a half to sort that one out, thanks to the diligence of Emmanuel from Sixt and a lot of fast talking from Rob with Car Flexi. We did come out of it eventually with a brand new Yaris and all the paper work in place but no time at all to get to Brú na Bóinne by the appointed time for our tour.
We drove there anyway, with a few more dramas along the way at the toll station (and getting the car into reverse gear!). Miraculously we did get there in the end BUT over half an hour late! But lucky for us these tours start with an introductory talk and quite a long walk to pick up the small bus transport to the various tomb sites. Rob and I went into turbo run, walk mode, over two bridges across the river and up a small hill track - and made it on to the bus, panting, stressed and disheveled, with no water and no toilet stop, but WE MADE IT!! Not a bad effort for a pair of septuagenarians like us.
Our first stop was at the awesome Knowth Passage Tombs which have been unearthed, gradually, since the 1950s (UNESCO listed in 1993.) These extraordinary monuments are nearly 6000 years old - older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Giza.
None of the rocks used in the construction are found in this area - they were all transported here during construction. The quartz stones were thought to have a sacred purpose.
The rock at the entry to Newgrange is engraved with the very distinctive triple spiral design thought to represent birth, death and rebirth.
The views down the valley from Newgrange were spectacular too.
The mounds (passage tombs) are surrounded at their base by large curb stones decorated with engravings, the most extensive collection of Magalithic art in all of Western Europe.
The creators of these tombs (and places of ritual worship) had a highly developed knowledge of astronomy and science. Each of the tombs in Brú na Bóinne locations align markers of the winter equinox and solstice to illuminate art works and tomb interiors at specified times of the year..
There are 19 small passage tombs surrounding the largest tomb at the Knowth complex. The tombs were for the rulers and significant families of these early settlements (people who came from Anatolia, apparently).
The view from the top of the largest mound was pretty amazing - no wonder later settlers used the mounds as fortifications.
The next stop on our guided tour was at the beautiful Newgrange passage tomb. As part of this tour we were able to enter the circular rock cairn (the cruciform burial chamber) at the centre interior of the mound - a remarkably small space considering the mound is so large, yet it was still quite intact in its original form - and intricately constructed.
Our tour finished by around 2.30pm We'd been racing since we'd left our hotel just after 7.00am - no coffees, no breakfast, no WATER, racing at full speed and making our way on very unfamiliar roads in tight timeframes. Luckily there was food (and water) available at the Brú na Bóinne Vistor Centre and we attacked it with gusto.
We felt so happy we'd got to see the extraordinary Brú na Bóinne, with all the challenges we'd overcome in the process, that we rewarded ourselves with another stop at a village cafe on the way back to Dublin for more coffee and cake - what an amazing day!
1 comment:
How amazing historically but so beautiful as well. Gorgeous countryside. Well done for making it in time. Xx
Post a Comment