The people who built Newgrange were not the typical "cavemen" that you think of. They were the first farmers of Ireland, which back then was covered in forest. Because of all the trees and forests, it is likely that the people only cleared small patches of land to farm. They built Newgrange, along with 36 other passage-tombs as part of their religion. The three largest tombs are Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, Newgrange being the largest of all. It is estimated that it took between 5-50 years to complete Newgrange, proving that the people of this time period were very dedicated because their life expectancy was only 25-30 years. That means many worked most of their life working on Newgrange, knowing they may not be alive to see the final product. The civilization was also much more advanced than most would expect, they had artists, astronomers, and architects! Evolutionists can shed no light on how this structure was erected because, according to their unrealistic view, people of that time labored under primitive and backward conditions. But it's impossible for such an enormous monument to have been built by anyone lacking a sophisticated knowledge of engineering and construction.
One of the most fascinating features of Newgrange is the Roof-Box right above the entrance to the tomb. During the 6 shortest days of the year (the winter solstice) the sun would shine directly into the tomb in the very early morning, marking a new year for the farmers. This is also when the Sun God would come into the tomb and take away all the spirits of the dead that had been placed inside the tomb throughout the year. The sun-box is far too advanced to be a coincidence, proving that the people back then were very intelligent! You can see, therefore, that the builders of this giant structure not only had a knowledge of engineering, but also possessed a knowledge of astronomy that let them calculate the length of days and the movements of the Sun.Another amazing feature of Newgrange is the entrance stone that is directly in front of the pathway to enter the tomb. It is one of the most photographed stones in the world! This stone has ancient carvings that no one knows the exact meaning of.
This stone is engraved with the popular "Triple Spiral" which some believe represents life, death, and rebirth. This would make sense to be in front of a tomb. Others believe it is simply a map of the land and the spirals represent Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. This would also make sense. No one really knows, either way, this is where the symbol originated 5000 years ago!Looking at the back of Newgrange, one might think it is simply a dirt mound surrounded by stones.
The stones used to construct Newgrange cannot be found anywhere in the area! It is made of 3 stones: glossy white ones & perfectly circular ones make up the main wall, while huge dark slabs of stone surround the base. The closest area that naturally contains the white stones is the Wicklow Mountains, which are about 50 miles away from Newgrange. The round stones were brought from 75 miles from Dundalk Bay. The large slabs of stones, which could weigh up to ten tons, were brought from 40 miles away. It would have been very improbable and dangerous to try to transport these stones by land, considering Ireland was covered in forests that had wolves, bears and wild boars living in them!
It is believed that they used the Boyne river to transport the stones and then carried them to the sight. They may have log rolled the huge slabs, because this was before the wheel was invented!The 93 slabs of rock surrounding the base of Newgrange are beautiful, many of them with decorative engravings. I was absolutely taken away with the beauty of the 5000 year old art.
The view from the front of Newgrange shows beautiful hills and green land. All of this once was inhabited by the people who built this amazing tomb!
Of course, it was a lot of learning, but it was also a lot of fun, which we did not forget! Colleen, our wonderful friend/photographer in training took a picture of Allie, Hannah, me, Tara and Colleens French friend, Emaline playing in front of Newgrange!
As I mentioned before, Newgrange is one of 37 tombs. The smaller surrounding tombs are known as satellite tombs.
They can be found in the middle of farms just about anywhere in the area! This is just one of them!To get to the site of Newgrange, we had to cross over this beautiful river, which had sheep on the other side. This really excited me because I have come to absolutely LOVE sheep since I have come to Ireland.
Little did I know that right behind Newgrange was a sheep farm!! I was quite excited!
When we had all finished the tour of Newgrange, we took a bus back to the town of Draghada and went to a pub and to a couple shops because we had some time before the next train to Dublin would be in. However, we still had plenty of time to kill when we got to the train station!
We were definitely all tired from a long day! 
However, with six girls it is hard not to have fun, so we definitely made the best of our train station wait!
When the train finally arrived, we were given first class seats on the train because that is the only place my chair would fit! All six of us could not get over the plush seats that moved back and forth! We ended up singing songs together on the train ride back to Dublin. By the time we were back in Dublin it was just about 8:30pm and we were dying of hunger! We stopped at a small pizza shop where I met an old man and spoke Italian with him! Apparently I was quite charming because he ended up paying for my dinner! He was definitely a very fun old man and I never thought I would get to use my Italian skills here in Ireland!!
After dinner at the pizza shop, we took a bus back to DCU and some of us went back to my room to use the new coffee mugs I bought for really cheap in Draghada! I was so excited when I opened the package and found that the 4 mugs I bought for 5euro had fun different colored insides!
So Allie, Tara and I enjoyed a nice cup of tea in my new fun mugs as a soothing end to a long, exciting, day!Who new education could be so much fun!?
I hope you all are having as much fun at home as I am having here! And, as always, I hope you are all doing well!
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