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the reconstructed facade of quartz has drawn sharp critique from some scolars
then it is our turn to enter the passageway. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures inside the mound
nicely decorated kerbstone slabs
from the visitor center there is a short trail to the waiting bus. In between you cross the Boyne River
one of the many other mounds nearby. This one has not yet been investigated
postholes from Beaker Culture timber constructions
decorated menhirs like this one were added around 2000 BC
the restored entrance with the decorated stone and roofbox
Newgrange
Newgrange is the best known Megalithic monument in the Bru na Boinne complex that is home to dozens of prehistoric sites, many still unopened and some only very recently discovered.
The site consists of a large mound of earth and stone with inside a passageway that leads to three small chambers.
The passageway is precisely aligned with the Winter Solstice and from December19 through 23 the light of the rising sun falls through a roofbox above the entrance and magically illuminates the passage and the chambers in the back.
Materials for the huge construction were hauled from several places, some 50 km away. Many kerbstones are decorated with intricate spirals, lozenges and chevrons. 

Newgrange was built around 3200 BC by Neolithic farmers with Middle East roots who came to Ireland by 4000 BC. They cleared large swaths of wooded lands and introduced cattle, sheep, goats and even red deer.

The Bronze Age Beaker people with roots from Central Europe arrived in 2500 BC, brought their own culture and gods and built wooden henges at Newgrange.
 
We visited Newgrange in June 2018.
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on our way to the Bru na Boinne visitor center
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inside there are pictures of the WInter Solstice light show
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the first glimpse of Newgrange
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after the inside tour we walk around the mound. The stone circles were constructed by the Beaker Folk
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the next group is waiting
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