Tara and Bru na Boinne

On Friday we had a field trip to see the Hills of Tara, the site of the High Kings of Ireland and Bru na Boinne, a 800bc Neolithic site with a stone passage tomb.   Both places were south of Dublin in the very green and beautiful Boyne Valley.   The Boyne Valley is important in Irish history as the sight of one of the battles between the British soldiers and Irish freedom fighters in the 1870's.   

The Stone of Destiny

 Tara was the home of the High King, selected by the Kings and chieftains.   142 Kings were crowned at Tara and the coronation stone is known as the stone of destiny.  It is said to sing out when a royal touches it.  Alas, it was silent for me.    From Tara on a clear day you can see over half of Ireland.  It is on a hill top.  There are earthen rings around the hill top that form ripples much like ripples on a pond.   At one time a group of Israelites were certain that the ark of the covenant was buried there and spent a great deal of time digging up the place in the 1800's.  They never found anything. 

No singing stone, guess I'm not royalty.

<>

The old Church at Tara

   There is also an old church on site and cemetery dating back to the 1700's.    A statue of St.  Patrick is near the church.  St. Patrick explained the Trinity to the Irish here at Tara using the clover.  Walking the path back down to the bus I thought about all the generations of people who had walked this hill before me.

Next we travelled a short way to Bru na Boinne (in Irish) or the Newgrange site.   This site is over 5000 years old.   It was a Neolithic site of spiritual importance to the people who lived here.   They created a passage tomb, which is a large stone building, faced in rock from 70 kilometers to the west and 50 kilometers to the south.   The exterior facade sites on huge foundation stones quarried from somewhere down the river.  These stones were brought in by boat and then log rolled up the mountain.   It is estimated that the site took 50 years to build which would have been over 3 generations.   The tomb has a center room, with a spiral roof of overlapping stones.  The roof has never leaked in over 5000 years.  (The same can not be said for the visitor center built 10 years ago.)  There are about 50 of these sites in Ireland.  A few more are under excavation.   On the winter solstice, the sun rises and fills the chamber at the farthest point, illuminating a basin used to hold cremains.   There are 3 basins inside. The tomb passage has been known and visited since 1622.   Exactly what the purpose was they don't know and they only found about the winter solstice is 1967 almost by accident during the exterior reconstruction.

Exterior View.  Large grey stones at foundation are also carved

Inside the tomb is very narrow and short.  Not a place to be if you are at all claustrophobic!.  They let 24 people in at a time and it is quite overwhelming.   Being inside was one of the more humbling experiences I have had.  To touch the stone walls where people walked so long ago was deeply moving.   I also had a whole new appreciation for light and air when I exited..