Newgrange and Hill of Tara

I took a tour to County Meath today and I was blessed with some of the finest weather that I've experienced so far.  The sun was shining (I think that's a first), the sky was clear, and the air was brisk.  The tour attracted a mostly older crowd, but I still met some awesome people, including a few Americans. 

One really fun couple were retired and in the process of "spending their kids' inheritance." They were from Nashville, and although I have never visited Tennessee and they never visited New Jersey, we were able to reminisce about familiar things.  I call this the "No Place Like Home" Phenomenon.  When you meet another American abroad, it's like reuniting with an old friend, even if you would have never spoken back home.

The tour focused on ancient Irish prehistory; I was finally able to contextualize some of the exhibits from the museum.  It all started to click together after seeing the actual excavation sites.  The first stop was the Hill of Tara--the seat of the old kings.  Quite a few cremated remains were found buried in the mounds as sacrifices to the pre-Christian gods.  The earth was completely remodeled by neolithic people so that the ground rolled like a sea of grass.  There were hills atop hills which all encircled the highest point---this was where the king would be crowned and thus tied to the land.  On a clear day, you can see 1/4 of Ireland as the view stretches for miles and miles.  It's clear why this would be the coronation site. 

I found out later that this giant stone was erected as a phallic symbol to demonstrate the power of the ancient kings of Tara.  I guess this picture takes on a whole new meaning that I definitely did not intend!!!!

On our way to the next archaeological site, we passed the River Boyne.  An epic battle (the Battle of the Boyne...very creative name) took place here which pushed Catholics out as a ruling power and fully entrenched the Anglican Church.  The outcome changed the whole course of Irish history....but that is another story to save for another date.  Let's get back to prehistory.

Finally, we arrived at Newgrange.  I had never heard of the site until I started working at the museum, but it is actually one of the oldest monuments ever built.  It predates the pyramids in Egypt and Stonehenge in England.  The front facade has been rebuilt to replicate what archaeologists believe it to have looked like (although there is some controversy).  Quartz stones are piled on top of each other to illuminate the sun and huge kurbstones (which are not replicas) surround the mound in perfect mathematical symmetry. 

The front entrance is also original (over 9000 years old--which means that it is actually pre-Celtic).  No one knows how these Neolithic peoples were able to carve such perfect concentric circles into the massive stone.  You enter through the small doorway.  The whole atop the entrance is known as the roof box.  After you step inside and travel along the narrow corridor, the roof box actually becmes level with your feet. 

Twice a year --- on the longest and shortest days in order to coincide with the changing seasons --- the sun hits the roofbox opening at a perfect angle and a small ray of light slices through the darkness and shines in a razor sharp line along on the floor.  As the sun rises, the thin beam continues to get brighter and wider until the whole inner area is illuminated.  This lasts for exactly 17 minutes.  Normally, without the aid of the modern lamps set inside, the passage would be black as death. 

This is fitting since the structure is also known as a Passage Tomb.  The remains of many high ranking individuals were found inside placed on small basins in antechambers.  Grave goods like pendants, beads, flint tools, and other artefacts were found scattered alongside them when archaeologists originally opened the tomb. 

Walking in a single file line, we made our way to the entrance.  You have to turn sideways, duck, and force yourself in between massive stone walls just to fit through the corridor leading to the main chamber.  As long as your claustrophobia doesn't get too high, the journey is worth the squeeze.  The ceiling is a corballed vault which means that the giant slabs of slate were layered upon each other at continuously smaller angles until eventually they form a magnificent steppe dome.  Smaller mortar stones are put in between the cracks to solidify it.  The top piece is estimated to weigh 7 tons. 

The builders of the tomb may have been from the Stone Age but they sure weren't neanderthals.  The construction definitely took some serious engineering skill.  The knowledge was actually lost for a while for unknown reasons after the tombs were eventually abadoned.  This is where Irish mythological tales of leprechauns and fairy folk have the origins since the people had no other explanation for the mounds until archaeologists came along.

An overwhelming sense of awe comes over you when you see first-hand the inner chamber's carefully constructed walls with their intricate carving desings.  I stood in the center for a while gazing open-mouthed with the beauty of what people can create....and then I wrinkled my nose, sniffed hesitantly, and curled my lip.  In the tiny space within the chamber, someone had decided that it would be a perfect place to lay a big juicy fart. 

It was the epic kind of fart that you can taste in your mouth and you can't escape the smell no matter how shallow you breathe.  Milk could be curdeled with that maliferous odor which quickly permeated the windowless encolusure. 

The peace and serentity associated with the tomb quickly turned into disgust and nausea.  The solemn trance of the tomb's mystery was gone with the wind. We all made a mad dash to the exit, squeezed through the corridor, and gasped for fresh air outside. 

Time may pass, but some things never change.