Back in the day at dawn on the winter solstice a narrow beam of light penetrates the roof-box and reaches the floor of the chamber, gradually extending to the rear of the chamber.wear it illuminates a massive bag of cans for the lads
Well hate to burst your bubble I really do buuuut.....the Irish today are descended from the Celts who fled the Romans and ended up in Ireland wasn't originally their homeland soooo the Irish today don't descend from those who built it I really am sorry but facts are facts😒
I was scrolling through the comments looking for one about the annunnaki or whatever they were. Aren't they responsible for all the earth's ancient megalyths 🤣
Not aliens, but fun fact the reason it wasnt destroyed is because our ancestors thought the Good People (fairies) built them. The Good People are not to be crossed so people were afraid of entering them
"I'm a RUclipsr not an archaeologist" it's astonishing how many RUclipsrs think they know everything about a historical site that they have never even been to. Thanks for this refreshing statement!
Worth mentioning, you can't just go there during the winter solstice. There's a yearly lottery for slots on the days where the light naturally gets to the central chamber, the tickets can't be bought or transferred. If you visit at other times they run a simulation of it
I live 5 minutes away from Newgrange in a nearby village on the boyne! I hold great appreciation for the history here and I encourage anyone who visits Ireland to definitely visit Newgrange!
They say an Englishman laughs three times at a joke. The first time when everybody gets it, the second a week later when he thinks he gets it, the third time a month later when somebody explains it to him
I am extremely jealous! I’m fascinated by all things Neolithic but Newgrange is beyond amazing. I get the feeling it’s even older then they think & if I lived there I’d be investigating constantly.
As an Irish archaeologist I apprehensively clicked on this, but I have to hand it to Simon, this was well done. One thing though, Romans in Ireland is a HOT topic here. The only evidence we have is trade with Roman Britain, otherwise there’s no supportive evidence of romans actually visiting us. Apparently they were told we were even more savage and lawless than the Scotts so they just ignored us...
Lol the Romans never took over Scotland either they tried to they were losing there empire and pulled out of Britain they used the Catholic Church to control other countries
As someone who’s tempted every day to get in the car and just drive a random direction forever, it doesn’t surprise me at all that there would be ancient humans who wound up in unexpected places.
Im an Irishman who lives in the US but visited Newgrange a few year back and can hands down say it blew my mind! It is unbelievably amazing. I cant recommend it enough!
@K C Excuse him, we're a bit too used to some Americans who identify as Irish because their great grandfather knew a guy who owned a pub. If you grew up learning Irish culture from your family of course you can claim Irishness. It's just the ones that brag about how Irish they are while being completely ignorant of our actual culture yhat get on our nerves a bit.
@@roonilwazlib3089 yeah of course if they don't actually live there. I mean the actual everyday cultural nuance you can only pick up if you've been around the people long enough.
@@lizardlegend42 maybe I didn't make it clear enough but I did say "Im an Irishman". I was born and raised in Waterford to Irish parents, of Irish parents, of Irish parents. My blood lineage to Ireland goes back to the 1600s I believe. So I am absolutely Irish.
Douglas Billington makes me think of family guy showing Ireland was Atlantis with flying cars and stuff while everyone else was in the dark ages. Then they discovered whiskey. That still would have been their best invention if family guy was right. But I’d never heard of this but it is incredible!
You should have mentioned Knowth. It's a similar, more complicated, structure to Newgrange and it's less than a mile away. Must be part of the same community.
Newgrange really does deserve to be better known. Great work, Simon, hopefully now more people will take an interest in this masterpiece of prehistoric engineering.
What deserves to be better known is Loughcrew, which is older than Newgrange. It has been vandalised by the Irish state heritage commission and left to fall in on itself. It is aligned with the Equinox so not as "sexy" as new grange and so very much smaller but still a key piece of Ireland's history that the government is ignoring.
One of the reasons Newgrange was built, at that time, was climate. It has been estimated that the temperature back then was as much as 4 degrees warmer than today. Farming yields would have been very good so the farmers, for the first time, would have had lots of spare time. The same pattern of great advances being made in good climate times can be seen all over. Gobleki Tepe is a great example. The first time I remember visiting would have been in the mid 50s. My father borrowed the key to the padlock from the farmer who owned the land so we could open the gate and go up the passage. I will never forget it.
Thank you for covering this amazing place in our lovely country, you're all welcome to visit us once this whole lockdown ends and we'll be glad to see you all, stay safe!!
1:35 - Chapter 1 - The miracle of light 5:30 - Chapter 2 - Into the past 8:55 - Mid roll ads 9:45 - Chapter 3 - Building a piece of history 12:45 - Chapter 4 - Controversy & decline 16:15 - Chapter 5 - Lost past 19:10 - Chapter 6 - Past regained
@@Dziki_z_Lasu Krzemionki Opatawskie while being extremely impressive is really just a mine in the ground (and not unique as there were similar mines in Belgium and England) which developed over time rather than a deliberate construction which also incorporated astrological events. Not really comparable to Newgrange.
Newgrange was one of my favorite places I have ever visited. We were able to go in and see what it looked like on the solstice. It was awesome. Thanks for the video! Brought back some fun memories.
I find this more fascinating than just something being the tallest or biggest building. The fact they made something of this size and precision pre-Bronze Age is far more incredible.
@@solidus784 Happy to report it's open to the public for a small fee - about €7 I think. The tour guides are great, and they do a lights out recreation of the solstice on every tour. The museum attached to the visit just got an overhaul in 2020 too. I don't work for them, but I have no shame in promoting my countries wondrous history.
@Jeremy Walker agree, with both your comments. When the lights go out and the light creeps along the floor hard not to think of the people who stood there so long ago. What did they look like? How did their language sound? So atmospheric. You're correct, a super job at the site, its been very well done.
I visited Ireland a few years ago and my route from The Giant's Causeway to Dublin took me to Newgrange. I was blown away by it - if you can visit it, it is a must. Older than Stonehenge & the pyramids. Knowth is nearby and also *well* worth visiting.
An uncle of mine (an American) was convinced the Giant's Causeway was a man made tourist attraction. I wonder what he would have made of Newgrange. Thankfully, he went back to America before he coulld annoy us further with his wisdom.
@@stephenmonaghan6030 the Giant's Causeway was man made, though admittedly it was giant-man made and Fionn mac Cumhaill didn't create it as a tourist attraction. Unless of course you consider Benandonner a tourist.
My 4th grade history teacher (1972) passed around pictures from her vacation the previous summer to Machu Pichu, The Colisseum (under reconstruction) The Vatican, Hadrian's Wall and the reconstruction work New Grange, which she was the most excited about.
Never knew New Grange ever existed! Amazing! Simon Whistler and team are amazing! My wife thinks I have a bromance since I watch so many of Simon's channels . . . Amazing, well- produced videos. Thank you!
@@kevinlynch5981 It takes a large amount of cognitive dissonance to be the inheritors of Newgrange, despite not being descended from the people who created it, yet at the same time feel unnatural amounts of anger towards the naming of the British Isles.
Thats nice to know about that! The first Portuguese Sailors had the Celtic heritage. It was when the Celtic Tribes expanded from Ireland to all Europe.
@@tonyhart97 There is a link, as explained in the video, between Ireland and northwest Portugal, what the Romans called Galecia. Romans found here an organized empire, and they took 2 centuries to conquer. They never tried that in Ireland. :) Of course history is told by the winners, and Romans had writing to keep record of stuff, so people knows best their view on it.
Simon, you forgot to mention the amazing acoustics inside the soltice chamber. It's beautiful to imagine the first light of the shortest day met with amazing music playing at the same time.
@@aaroncooke5818 It was a wonderful little village and I hadn't heard of it before going to Ireland. I was looking for a place to stay that would be on a bus or train line and within walking distance of Newgrange and discovered everything else about it. Hill of Slane was much more interesting to me than Hill of Tara. I missed a Springsteen concert at the castle by 1 day. I even learned about Francis Ledwidge there.
Hector's Mommy it truly is a wonderful village, the estate if live in is called Ledwidge Hall after the man himself. Although Slane is not that well known it’s always nice to see tourists appreciating our rich heritage :)
Subject: Mount Rushmore Geographics: It's a mountain and a monument. Visualpolitik: Its construction was controversial. Megaprojects: ... but impressive. Biographics: It represents noteworthy presidents. TopTenz: ... who are covered in trivia. TIFO: ... that could do with some explaining. Business Blaze: ... and Danny wrote the script from within Lincoln's nostril.
Idk why, but hearing about the irish make a huge monument like this, and having it still 'work' makes me feel really proud of being irish. One day, I'd love to see it on the winter solstice, as it truly seems magical
It's magical at any time. The henge around it (the ditch, lol) & smaller stones even feel magical. But go when there are fewer tourists, not mid-afternoon or on a holiday! You'll be able to see how the sun hits inside anyway not just at solstice. The crowd makes it less amazing though.
Accidentally stumbled across Newgrange a few years ago when we had an extra day in Ireland on a trip. Was lucky enough to be there with Knowth was open as well. What an amazing experience. Highly recommend a visit!
This particular video is an excellent example of something I love about this channel. When the answer is not known, you come right out and say it. You clearly define speculation as speculation. I really like that.
I'm constantly impressed with the quality of content and depth of research put into every video, year after year, for hundreds of videos. Truly laudable work!
The first time I visited Newgrange and entered the passage would have been around 1953. I have been back dozens of times and never cease to be impressed by it.
Great video! Two comments. The first is that I've been to and inside Newgrange. It was about 20 years ago on a visit to Ireland to visit relatives. The thing that sticks in my head the most was how claustrophobic that passage from the entrance to the interior chamber was. They had it lit up some, but even still... Also, obviously its not tall enough to where you can stand up in it (unless you're fairly short for modern average heights) and so you either have to be on your hands and knees or more likely walking sort of hunched over (I can't remember exactly, but that seems to be right). The interior chamber was a little higher, but still wasn't that big. It was roughly circular with these niches going off to various sides that once held bones and such. The niches weren't tiny either, they were fairly large, and so not like the niches you'd see in a Roman catacomb of later years. Something else I'll point out is that there are cool designs in the stone on the outside as well. Actually, in the video here you can see some of the circular designs about 14:00 in to this video. Part 2: There is another site, that's even older site that you should do a video on if you've not already. I can't spell it correctly, but the (english) phonetic spelling would be Go-beck-lee Tep-ee. It's in Anatolia (modern Turkey) and was built potentially as far back as 10,000 BCE (and maybe even older, I'm going off the top of my memory here) - which is just plain nuts. It dates to the time before agriculture - when the people in area were hunter gatherers. And the site isn't small. Its a pretty huge site, though it was built over a long period of time and used in parts - they actually constructed and then intentionally covered/filled in the various temples over the years the site was active. I don't want to give too many details, so that you can do it justice with a video if you choose to. There are some videos on YT about it as well, but you could still do a good summary and overview I think. (as always - if you've already done a video on that location on this channel or another, then I apologize. I think you would understand that its hard to keep track of what all has been covered given the number of channels and videos..)
I mean the location of the doorway is still aligned with the equinox... The restoration project might of made assumptions with what the original layout of the window above it looked like but the alignment still checks, and considering how many sights have the same type of alignment, if it was an accident it was an accident that happened all across the world.
@@marialiyubman newgrange - 5000+ years old Viking period - 790-1166 ad Only 4000 years between newgrange and Vikings, but yes it makes more sense........
@@marialiyubman probably Celts or Fenians actually. Or the older group of people who were thought to exist as the first people to settle on the island (though they're already a legend in the old Seanachaí stories so nobody actually know about them)
I really like your approach to the subjects you cover, the detailed context you give leaves a tangible impression of the subject in time, space and the minds involved. You are one of only a handful of really good history/science creators whose enjoyment of their work is palpable. Respect, sir......and thank you.
Well done Simon, brilliant! If ancient monuments are the cake, the pyramids the Icing then Newgrange is the Cherry on Top. An excellent video, thank you so much for creating it.
fantastic video. I love history and your video about Newgrange was very informative, funny and unbiased. I am from Ireland and naturally I love Irish history as well as the history of the people and culturally diverse kingdoms of Ireland and Britain. I think you should do a series on British and Irish castles and or castles around Europe also. Keep up the good work.
It is a fascinating place and an amazing structure. Photos and video can struggle to convey the scale, both in the large size, the very narrow low passageway, and the complexity of the inner chamber. I was fortunate to visit there in '99 while working in Drogheda, and staying in Bettystown, and would recommend having it on your list of places to visit.
Nice video. I live around 40 km from Newgrange and visited it last year. It's impressive and it's a must visit for County Meath along with places like Trim castle where a lot of Braveheart was filmed and Slane castle for those more musically inclined.
Visited when I was kid and again last summer, it is spectacular, standing in the chamber looking up at the huge stones perched above your head is a little unnerving. They simulate the light flooding it which is cool, as the waiting list for the real thing is decades long.
I've been lucky enough to be part of an organised tour that gave us access to the inner chamber, when most don't, and having studied the monument as part of Art History in School and in College I am honored to have been allowed into such a monumental site. There is definitely something awe inspiring about the place when you approach it and to be inside was a dream come true for me. Inside you feel cocooned and connected somehow to the earth around you. As soon as the world gets back to "normal"you should consider a trip to Ireland to see this and many other sites
We went there on our first trip to Ireland. It was really interesting, but the lack of facts as to “why” and “what was it used for” left us just curious and wondering. There are something like 30 or 40 other smaller mounds all over the surrounding countryside that they recently discovered via drone.
there are similar small kairns/cairns and small burial mounds scattered in groups and singularly across most of the Islands of Britain & Ireland, many are long forgotten or unrecognised, long grave robbed & ploughed over or filled in; they IMHO, TTBOMU were of chieftains, minor kings & respected/important persons to their own communities of back then - and there are mounds around Oldbury, Atherstone & Sutton Hoo (or there was in the long past).
I first went there on a school trip in the late 1970's after it opened to the public, it was fabulous. So much history packed into such a small area. At that time school tours had to be educational, unlike today when school trips to adventure parks and cinemas are the norm. There's a lot to be said for the old educational type school trips! I've been many times since...and have seen many other new sites like Knowth and Dowth too. So much history packed into such a small area!
I wouldn't say I'm really a history nerd ... I'm more of a "Simon Whistler's content" nerd. You have a knack for picking out the most interesting things from various subjects that regardless of said subject are very intriguing.
I used to live right beside there. If you go into the museum you find out a little more than what he says here such as they found evidence of that they had done certain operations on on one another that were thought to be completely ahead of their time.
"The Irish Origins of Civilization" by Michael Tsarion is a 1,000+ page two volume book on the esoteric/occult history of the world; the very greatest.
that lad is a complete and utter fool who spreads misinformation on purpose, ive been practicing occultism for 10 years now and read a ton of micheals work. hes a shill.
The greatest educational channels I’ve ever seen on the internet have all been made by this man 🔥 his voice makes me feel like I’m in some fancy cigar shops in the early 1900’s getting told stories lmaoo 🔥🔥🔥🔥 to awesome
I remember going to Newgrange as a child in 99, on the winter solstice. We obviously weren't allowed in when the light hit, but it wasn't long after. One of the coolest experiences and partially kicked off my interest in history. A video of the Blarney castle would be cool, my hungover sister threw up in the carpark and it was a frozen spew puddle by the time we got back. I also remember eating Y2K bug shaped nuggets in the U.K at a petrol station, on the way to Stonehenge. Silly stories! Stay safe cunts, from Australia❤
aw I was hungover at Blarney too. I went and had a wee nap in the garden rather than go up to kiss the stone. Great gardens, great nap. Weird location for a castle.
SO happy about this video, about one of the places that's fascinated me for years. And a lovely early b-day present too XD Thank you for another exceptional video!
Imagine having to first be aware of a winter solitice and then actually mark it before any building commenced thousands of years ago. That blows my mind.
You have most of the well know points in here. There are venus and moon alignments also, Knowth and Dowth are just as rich too, however.. Gobekli Tepe in turkey predates it by 5000+ years. So it isn't the oldest at all. But as an Irishman I'm so proud and in awe of our ancient monuments which are in abundance throughout the island The iberian link is huge also, I've been to gaelica and the similarities in many of the cultural practises seem to be ubiquitous.. Thanks for the vid, keep it up buck
@@brianbreen1026 haha. I am starting to see that these prehistoric builders certainly arrived from the protocultures of Egypt or Mesopetamia.. Although the cairn is a more crude representation of thr pyramkd lets say, the solar and lunar worshipping, the bovine and celestial myths are all the same. I certainly believe hallucinagenic cerwmony is central to all of these druidic, shamanic people
Love this stuff, thank you for this video! I feel i need to tell you that we have many smaller tombs like this called Anta(s) and stone circles, most in southern Portugal, older ( c.5000 to 3000 bc ) and way more primitive and rudimentary. Most, if not all, are aligned with solstices or other solar calendar events. One thing to note, do not understimate mankind's ability to travel in the late stone age, the moved long distances, just slower. And by the end of the last ice age im sure some of the humans that where in ice free iberia moved north following the coastlines and by boat.
Thank you Simon and crew. My quarantine days have been filled with biographics, geographics, toptenz, today I found out, business blaze and megaprojects. I watch them all to the very end, still contemplating what merch to get though :).
So happy you touched on ireland, there is a lot of Neolithic Unknown wide spread moments here. Ardara’s doon fort, in Co Donegal is a good explain, many many more all over the country
It's called oral history, A civilization capable of making such a monumment would also have dedicated people who kept careful records of such things and passing them down.
the only thing I'm confused about is the insistence on calling them all farmers. to be clear I attribute that insistence on the sources, not on Simon or the writer (afterall, as Simon says, they're RUclipsrs, not trained archaeologists), and this is why I take issue with it. but I feel it should be obvious to anyone, particularly experts who would have provided the source material, that there are multiple industries and skilled professions at play here, and as such it's almost certainly the case that they were not all farmers.
I don't think you watched the video, at least not with comprehension. He continually marveled at the fact that farmers built this. As such, your comment doesn't convey any relevant information. It'd be like if I replied with, 'Tuesday is the second day of the week'. Yeah, it's arguably true, but it doesn't contribute to this discussion in any way.
I visited the site in Jan 2019. My traveling companion is the one who researched going to Newgrange. Otherwise, I would have never known it existed. We got lost trying to find the visitor's center and ended up actually driving up to it. Seeing it glowing in the distance across the fields was an unforgettable sight. :) We eventually realized that we needed to backtrack a ways to the visitor's center. There you can buy your ticket for the bus that takes you to your tour of Newgrange. The passage is narrow... very much so in spots. If you have a fear of enclosed or tight spaces, overcome your fear, it will be worth it. Looking up at the rock of the ceiling is awe inspiring and humbling. It is amazing that Newgrange isn't better known. But if you ever find yourself north of Dublin, it is well worth visiting. It is simply one of the most amazing expirences you'll ever have. :)
8:55 Simon is a mega project, trying to personally takeover RUclips and we are approaching the final battle, Ragnarok where Simon will cast down Hank Green to ensure his domination will never be challenged.
We did it for the craic, lads!!!
Back in the day at dawn on the winter solstice a narrow beam of light penetrates the roof-box and reaches the floor of the chamber, gradually extending to the rear of the chamber.wear it illuminates a massive bag of cans for the lads
Hahahahahaha. And the craic was mighty.
Brilliant!
Well hate to burst your bubble I really do buuuut.....the Irish today are descended from the Celts who fled the Romans and ended up in Ireland wasn't originally their homeland soooo the Irish today don't descend from those who built it I really am sorry but facts are facts😒
@@davidhobbs3178 . Facts maybe facts but what about punctuation?
You should visit the Holy Stone of Clonrichert too, it's being upgraded to a Class Two Relic
Nice one Father!! Anything to be said for a cup of tea, ya will ya will ya will
that would be an ecumenical matter
@@No1JediJesus Is there anything to be said for saying another mass? :)
😂😭😂😭😭😂😭😂😭😂😂😂
...of course, they ALL have lovely bottoms
Easily one of the most amazing places I’ve ever visited. The whole of Ireland is a wonderful place.
@Jason Bouphasavanh Get out of Dublin and they are very friendly and a bit less fake.
Sure t'was der dat oi met da luv of moi loife
Cheers devon
@@archstanton6102 Stfu!
@Jason Bouphasavanh I mean, by definition average is average.
Newgrange is so relatively unknown that Aliens haven't even gotten credit for it. I'd still love to visit it.
😂
I was scrolling through the comments looking for one about the annunnaki or whatever they were. Aren't they responsible for all the earth's ancient megalyths 🤣
Don't worry, I'm sure the history channel will pickup on it.
Not aliens, but fun fact the reason it wasnt destroyed is because our ancestors thought the Good People (fairies) built them. The Good People are not to be crossed so people were afraid of entering them
It's beautiful and well worth visiting!
"I'm a RUclipsr not an archaeologist" it's astonishing how many RUclipsrs think they know everything about a historical site that they have never even been to. Thanks for this refreshing statement!
Fortnite
@@ggaiakiei Call of Duty
@@wntd4132 Skyrim
@@TheWoodsman661 pong
I have been to Newgrange and still it is baffling
Worth mentioning, you can't just go there during the winter solstice. There's a yearly lottery for slots on the days where the light naturally gets to the central chamber, the tickets can't be bought or transferred.
If you visit at other times they run a simulation of it
I live 5 minutes away from Newgrange in a nearby village on the boyne! I hold great appreciation for the history here and I encourage anyone who visits Ireland to definitely visit Newgrange!
That wouldn’t be Baile Shláine by any chance? If so, that’s a lovely village
Question - Why are Irish jokes so simple?
Answer - So the English can understand them.
Never ask a foreigner where he is from. If he is not english he will tell you within a few minutes, and if he is English, why embarrass him?
What's the best thing that ever happened between England and Ireland?
the Irish Sea!
They say an Englishman laughs three times at a joke. The first time when everybody gets it, the second a week later when he thinks he gets it, the third time a month later when somebody explains it to him
I could go on with the English jokes but I don't think u would get them.
@@shrek_has_swag2344 And like the attacks from the loyalist at that time was good?
i literally live less than 10 minute’s drive from Newgrange, an amazing place, great video as always Simon + team!
It's nice to see a piece of Ireland on Simons channel, isnt it? :D
I am extremely jealous! I’m fascinated by all things Neolithic but Newgrange is beyond amazing. I get the feeling it’s even older then they think & if I lived there I’d be investigating constantly.
Its Ireland. Everything's ten minutes from new range (messing)
Its a good feeling when they do a local site. I live 30 min from Gettysburg and it was a near and dear episode to my heart.
I can see it from my kitchen in fennor the place of the first recorded gaa match
As an Irish archaeologist I apprehensively clicked on this, but I have to hand it to Simon, this was well done.
One thing though, Romans in Ireland is a HOT topic here. The only evidence we have is trade with Roman Britain, otherwise there’s no supportive evidence of romans actually visiting us. Apparently they were told we were even more savage and lawless than the Scotts so they just ignored us...
Correct. No Romans ever conquered Ireland
Surely that was a wise decision by the Romans .
They were told they'd better not even try it. People see savage as an insult. It means badass & brave af.
Lol the Romans never took over Scotland either they tried to they were losing there empire and pulled out of Britain they used the Catholic Church to control other countries
It's argued that the Irish WERE of course the Scots.
As someone who’s tempted every day to get in the car and just drive a random direction forever, it doesn’t surprise me at all that there would be ancient humans who wound up in unexpected places.
HOW MANY CHANNELS CAN ONE GUY PRESENT?! Simon Whistler is slowly becoming a legend we never knew we needed
Im an Irishman who lives in the US but visited Newgrange a few year back and can hands down say it blew my mind! It is unbelievably amazing. I cant recommend it enough!
@K C Excuse him, we're a bit too used to some Americans who identify as Irish because their great grandfather knew a guy who owned a pub. If you grew up learning Irish culture from your family of course you can claim Irishness. It's just the ones that brag about how Irish they are while being completely ignorant of our actual culture yhat get on our nerves a bit.
@@lizardlegend42 I’m teaching my children Norse culture and mythology... doesn’t make them Norse
@@roonilwazlib3089 yeah of course if they don't actually live there. I mean the actual everyday cultural nuance you can only pick up if you've been around the people long enough.
You didn't visit before you emigrated?
@@lizardlegend42 maybe I didn't make it clear enough but I did say "Im an Irishman". I was born and raised in Waterford to Irish parents, of Irish parents, of Irish parents. My blood lineage to Ireland goes back to the 1600s I believe. So I am absolutely Irish.
Much appreciate your deep dive on something ancient and Irish. The world truly undervalues what they have done 👍
Douglas Billington makes me think of family guy showing Ireland was Atlantis with flying cars and stuff while everyone else was in the dark ages. Then they discovered whiskey. That still would have been their best invention if family guy was right.
But I’d never heard of this but it is incredible!
It wasn’t built by the Irish even though it is located in Ireland.
You should have mentioned Knowth. It's a similar, more complicated, structure to Newgrange and it's less than a mile away. Must be part of the same community.
Maybe he knoweth not Knowth.
Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange are geographically located in a way that mimics Orion's Belt. Same as the pyramids of Giza.
@@rickc2102 Very good 🤣
@@stoneymoloney they were built by aliens
And then there's Mayes Howe. And Skye. Living & Breathing Rocks. Big Rocks.
Anyone who has visited Carrowkeel in Sligo (older than Newgrange by 1500 years) would know the roof box is an original feature.
Cheers, never heard about Carrowkeel. Definitely on my must visit list.
It's only, possibly, 200 to 300 hundred years older..
wow, tkx sham :)
Yup. You want ancient rocks? Come to Sligo. We have them just lying around all over the place.
@@Dreyno most noticeably the giant nipple mountain, I mean Knocknarea
Newgrange really does deserve to be better known. Great work, Simon, hopefully now more people will take an interest in this masterpiece of prehistoric engineering.
What deserves to be better known is Loughcrew, which is older than Newgrange. It has been vandalised by the Irish state heritage commission and left to fall in on itself. It is aligned with the Equinox so not as "sexy" as new grange and so very much smaller but still a key piece of Ireland's history that the government is ignoring.
One of the reasons Newgrange was built, at that time, was climate. It has been estimated that the temperature back then was as much as 4 degrees warmer than today. Farming yields would have been very good so the farmers, for the first time, would have had lots of spare time.
The same pattern of great advances being made in good climate times can be seen all over. Gobleki Tepe is a great example.
The first time I remember visiting would have been in the mid 50s. My father borrowed the key to the padlock from the farmer who owned the land so we could open the gate and go up the passage. I will never forget it.
Thank you for covering this amazing place in our lovely country, you're all welcome to visit us once this whole lockdown ends and we'll be glad to see you all, stay safe!!
1:35 - Chapter 1 - The miracle of light
5:30 - Chapter 2 - Into the past
8:55 - Mid roll ads
9:45 - Chapter 3 - Building a piece of history
12:45 - Chapter 4 - Controversy & decline
16:15 - Chapter 5 - Lost past
19:10 - Chapter 6 - Past regained
China: "we are the oldest civilisation in the world"
Ireland: "hold my beer"
"Hold my Guinness" *
Amatores... There is 300 years older neolithic mine in Poland in Krzemionki Opatowskie.
@@Dziki_z_Lasu Krzemionki Opatawskie while being extremely impressive is really just a mine in the ground (and not unique as there were similar mines in Belgium and England) which developed over time rather than a deliberate construction which also incorporated astrological events. Not really comparable to Newgrange.
harappa India
Unless every one in Ireland is still a druid that civilisation died I'm afraid
Newgrange was one of my favorite places I have ever visited. We were able to go in and see what it looked like on the solstice. It was awesome. Thanks for the video! Brought back some fun memories.
I find this more fascinating than just something being the tallest or biggest building. The fact they made something of this size and precision pre-Bronze Age is far more incredible.
I'm not the superstitious type, but man it gives me chills being inside that building.
@@jokersgiddygrin how did you get inside I thought it's closed to the public
@@solidus784 Happy to report it's open to the public for a small fee - about €7 I think. The tour guides are great, and they do a lights out recreation of the solstice on every tour. The museum attached to the visit just got an overhaul in 2020 too.
I don't work for them, but I have no shame in promoting my countries wondrous history.
@Jeremy Walker agree, with both your comments. When the lights go out and the light creeps along the floor hard not to think of the people who stood there so long ago. What did they look like? How did their language sound? So atmospheric. You're correct, a super job at the site, its been very well done.
I proposed to my gf in newgrange
I visited Ireland a few years ago and my route from The Giant's Causeway to Dublin took me to Newgrange. I was blown away by it - if you can visit it, it is a must. Older than Stonehenge & the pyramids. Knowth is nearby and also *well* worth visiting.
An uncle of mine (an American) was convinced the Giant's Causeway was a man made tourist attraction. I wonder what he would have made of Newgrange. Thankfully, he went back to America before he coulld annoy us further with his wisdom.
@@stephenmonaghan6030 the Giant's Causeway was man made, though admittedly it was giant-man made and Fionn mac Cumhaill didn't create it as a tourist attraction. Unless of course you consider Benandonner a tourist.
Fresh video today, no commercials, Simon whistler today must be my lucky day. Happy Quarantine People.
My 4th grade history teacher (1972) passed around pictures from her vacation the previous summer to Machu Pichu, The Colisseum (under reconstruction) The Vatican, Hadrian's Wall and the reconstruction work New Grange, which she was the most excited about.
Simon Whistler dude I find you everywhere. And everywhere I find you I like the show. Cheers mate, from a Texan history lover
Never knew New Grange ever existed! Amazing! Simon Whistler and team are amazing! My wife thinks I have a bromance since I watch so many of Simon's channels . . . Amazing, well- produced videos. Thank you!
In 2016, I fulfilled a lifelong dream by visiting
Newgrange. It did not disappoint. Absolutely magnificent.
I love Ireland.
“Unless you were talking to an Irishman” the tans are at it again lads!
never not at it!
Id love to hit slap forever time he said the british isles
@@kevinlynch5981 It takes a large amount of cognitive dissonance to be the inheritors of Newgrange, despite not being descended from the people who created it, yet at the same time feel unnatural amounts of anger towards the naming of the British Isles.
Yes father :D
@@mrs5190u mean the irish Isles lol only the English think they own everything that's not theres
Proud to say my aunt worked with Professor O'Ceallaigh (O'Kelly) in the 60s and 70s. Thanks for the video. Go raibh maith agat.
Does anyone else feel like a great education could just be listening to all of this guy's channels as a curriculum?
Thank you 😊 From a heavily pregnant Irish lady living in Porto and missing home
Best of luck Bernie, hope all goes well! from home 🤗 xx
Currently reading this from Braga and immediately though, "theres another Irish person in Portugal??" 😂
Thats nice to know about that! The first Portuguese Sailors had the Celtic heritage. It was when the Celtic Tribes expanded from Ireland to all Europe.
Dead ass, when I read “Porto” i misread it as “potato”... my initial thought was if your living in potato then your pretty much home as it is🤣🤣🤣
@@tonyhart97 There is a link, as explained in the video, between Ireland and northwest Portugal, what the Romans called Galecia. Romans found here an organized empire, and they took 2 centuries to conquer. They never tried that in Ireland. :) Of course history is told by the winners, and Romans had writing to keep record of stuff, so people knows best their view on it.
Newgrange has been a place to see on my bucket list for decades. Thank you, Team. Wonderfully informative as always.
This is one of the places I wanted to visit on my bucket list....simply amazing!
Simon, you forgot to mention the amazing acoustics inside the soltice chamber. It's beautiful to imagine the first light of the shortest day met with amazing music playing at the same time.
I was there when I visited Ireland. Incredible place. Other things to see in the area of Slane is Slane Castle and the Hill of Slane
Hector's Mommy coming from a guy who was born and raised in Slane, respect
You mean the Hill of Tara?
Your mention of Slane Castle makes me need to listen to Unforgettable Fire again.
@@aaroncooke5818 It was a wonderful little village and I hadn't heard of it before going to Ireland. I was looking for a place to stay that would be on a bus or train line and within walking distance of Newgrange and discovered everything else about it. Hill of Slane was much more interesting to me than Hill of Tara. I missed a Springsteen concert at the castle by 1 day. I even learned about Francis Ledwidge there.
Hector's Mommy it truly is a wonderful village, the estate if live in is called Ledwidge Hall after the man himself. Although Slane is not that well known it’s always nice to see tourists appreciating our rich heritage :)
Subject: Mount Rushmore
Geographics: It's a mountain and a monument.
Visualpolitik: Its construction was controversial.
Megaprojects: ... but impressive.
Biographics: It represents noteworthy presidents.
TopTenz: ... who are covered in trivia.
TIFO: ... that could do with some explaining.
Business Blaze: ... and Danny wrote the script from within Lincoln's nostril.
I see you're a man of Simon as well
Perfectly summed up
that is the most legit thing on the internet. Thank you.
@Alex Damian W.t.f. is "the fi r people"? And w.t.f. does "heading a great complaint" mean?
@Alex Damian Are you having a stroke?
I see a video about my country, I click!
I see videos about your country (to which I’m addicted) - I click.
I miss Ireland 😭
Fantastic knowledge given out here. brilliant narration. really educational. thank you so much for this. Absolutely brilliant. Thanks Simon.
Ozymandias: "Look on my works, ye mighty and despair"
Newgrange: "Hold my Guinness"
Idk why, but hearing about the irish make a huge monument like this, and having it still 'work' makes me feel really proud of being irish. One day, I'd love to see it on the winter solstice, as it truly seems magical
As an Englishman, sorry our stupid government cut your country in half instead of minding their buisness.
At least we hate the English government too
It's magical at any time. The henge around it (the ditch, lol) & smaller stones even feel magical. But go when there are fewer tourists, not mid-afternoon or on a holiday! You'll be able to see how the sun hits inside anyway not just at solstice. The crowd makes it less amazing though.
Accidentally stumbled across Newgrange a few years ago when we had an extra day in Ireland on a trip. Was lucky enough to be there with Knowth was open as well. What an amazing experience. Highly recommend a visit!
This particular video is an excellent example of something I love about this channel. When the answer is not known, you come right out and say it. You clearly define speculation as speculation. I really like that.
The Boyne valley is possibly the most important in Ireland in terms of historical significance
Mount sandel
@@Offgridkayaking nope
Add the heartlands and especially Uisneach to that race!
Carrowmore every day of the week
I'm constantly impressed with the quality of content and depth of research put into every video, year after year, for hundreds of videos. Truly laudable work!
The first time I visited Newgrange and entered the passage would have been around 1953. I have been back dozens of times and never cease to be impressed by it.
Great video! Two comments. The first is that I've been to and inside Newgrange. It was about 20 years ago on a visit to Ireland to visit relatives. The thing that sticks in my head the most was how claustrophobic that passage from the entrance to the interior chamber was. They had it lit up some, but even still... Also, obviously its not tall enough to where you can stand up in it (unless you're fairly short for modern average heights) and so you either have to be on your hands and knees or more likely walking sort of hunched over (I can't remember exactly, but that seems to be right). The interior chamber was a little higher, but still wasn't that big. It was roughly circular with these niches going off to various sides that once held bones and such. The niches weren't tiny either, they were fairly large, and so not like the niches you'd see in a Roman catacomb of later years. Something else I'll point out is that there are cool designs in the stone on the outside as well. Actually, in the video here you can see some of the circular designs about 14:00 in to this video.
Part 2: There is another site, that's even older site that you should do a video on if you've not already. I can't spell it correctly, but the (english) phonetic spelling would be Go-beck-lee Tep-ee. It's in Anatolia (modern Turkey) and was built potentially as far back as 10,000 BCE (and maybe even older, I'm going off the top of my memory here) - which is just plain nuts. It dates to the time before agriculture - when the people in area were hunter gatherers. And the site isn't small. Its a pretty huge site, though it was built over a long period of time and used in parts - they actually constructed and then intentionally covered/filled in the various temples over the years the site was active. I don't want to give too many details, so that you can do it justice with a video if you choose to. There are some videos on YT about it as well, but you could still do a good summary and overview I think. (as always - if you've already done a video on that location on this channel or another, then I apologize. I think you would understand that its hard to keep track of what all has been covered given the number of channels and videos..)
The Mourne Mountains are not 'nearly as far away' as County Down from New Grange. They're in County Down...
🤣
Yup firmly in down
I love the humorous asides. It makes the presentation more interesting! Following in the footsteps of James Burke.
I mean the location of the doorway is still aligned with the equinox... The restoration project might of made assumptions with what the original layout of the window above it looked like but the alignment still checks, and considering how many sights have the same type of alignment, if it was an accident it was an accident that happened all across the world.
There are also older examples in Ireland of the window box.
Thanks a lot for doing this, Simon.
"a bunch of Irish farmers managed to get it together.." aighhhtt
More like a bunch of Vikings...
that makes more sense.
@@marialiyubman newgrange - 5000+ years old
Viking period - 790-1166 ad
Only 4000 years between newgrange and Vikings, but yes it makes more sense........
@ Grham Hancock is that you????
@@marialiyubman probably Celts or Fenians actually. Or the older group of people who were thought to exist as the first people to settle on the island (though they're already a legend in the old Seanachaí stories so nobody actually know about them)
@@LannasMissingLink The Celts arrived about 2'000yrs later..
I really like your approach to the subjects you cover, the detailed context you give leaves a tangible impression of the subject in time, space and the minds involved. You are one of only a handful of really good history/science creators whose enjoyment of their work is palpable. Respect, sir......and thank you.
I loved visiting this place. There's old old old carvings on it from when it was unearthed again and even says
Name was here then the year
Thank you for this video! I needed information for an essay/project on newgrange and I got tons of notes from this!
Simon: "What we in Britain call a joke."
Also Simon: Laughing in British Empire.
Meh. Guinness and spuds. Not like we can argue with facts is it!
I would definitely agree still good vid tho
pOtAtO
At least he finally talked about it. I'd unsubbed a while back because he hadn't
Brilliant, love to see more vids on Ireland
Well done Simon, brilliant!
If ancient monuments are the cake, the pyramids the Icing then Newgrange is the Cherry on Top.
An excellent video, thank you so much for creating it.
fantastic video. I love history and your video about Newgrange was very informative, funny and unbiased. I am from Ireland and naturally I love Irish history as well as the history of the people and culturally diverse kingdoms of Ireland and Britain. I think you should do a series on British and Irish castles and or castles around Europe also. Keep up the good work.
It is a fascinating place and an amazing structure. Photos and video can struggle to convey the scale, both in the large size, the very narrow low passageway, and the complexity of the inner chamber. I was fortunate to visit there in '99 while working in Drogheda, and staying in Bettystown, and would recommend having it on your list of places to visit.
I went there on a coach tour from Dublin. The Hill of Tara has its charms as well.
Nice video. I live around 40 km from Newgrange and visited it last year. It's impressive and it's a must visit for County Meath along with places like Trim castle where a lot of Braveheart was filmed and Slane castle for those more musically inclined.
Newgrange is interesting site to visit . Was there in 06 and it give me a lot to think about
Visited when I was kid and again last summer, it is spectacular, standing in the chamber looking up at the huge stones perched above your head is a little unnerving. They simulate the light flooding it which is cool, as the waiting list for the real thing is decades long.
Thank you for the video. As a history nerd I was aware of the site. But not its age. Humans can be simply amazing when we want to be.
I've been lucky enough to be part of an organised tour that gave us access to the inner chamber, when most don't, and having studied the monument as part of Art History in School and in College I am honored to have been allowed into such a monumental site. There is definitely something awe inspiring about the place when you approach it and to be inside was a dream come true for me. Inside you feel cocooned and connected somehow to the earth around you. As soon as the world gets back to "normal"you should consider a trip to Ireland to see this and many other sites
All visitors can access the inner chamber.
We went there on our first trip to Ireland. It was really interesting, but the lack of facts as to “why” and “what was it used for” left us just curious and wondering. There are something like 30 or 40 other smaller mounds all over the surrounding countryside that they recently discovered via drone.
there are similar small kairns/cairns and small burial mounds scattered in groups and singularly across most of the Islands of Britain & Ireland, many are long forgotten or unrecognised, long grave robbed & ploughed over or filled in; they IMHO, TTBOMU were of chieftains, minor kings & respected/important persons to their own communities of back then - and there are mounds around Oldbury, Atherstone & Sutton Hoo (or there was in the long past).
Yes during the really hot summer the grass burned at different shades and drones were uses to discover dozens of ancient sites!
I first went there on a school trip in the late 1970's after it opened to the public, it was fabulous. So much history packed into such a small area. At that time school tours had to be educational, unlike today when school trips to adventure parks and cinemas are the norm.
There's a lot to be said for the old educational type school trips!
I've been many times since...and have seen many other new sites like Knowth and Dowth too.
So much history packed into such a small area!
I promise to go there... As soon as "going there" is a thing again 😅
You'll be very welcome
I'm in Canada, so for me it might be at least another 18 months before global travel is normal
I wouldn't say I'm really a history nerd ... I'm more of a "Simon Whistler's content" nerd. You have a knack for picking out the most interesting things from various subjects that regardless of said subject are very intriguing.
I used to live right beside there. If you go into the museum you find out a little more than what he says here such as they found evidence of that they had done certain operations on on one another that were thought to be completely ahead of their time.
Thank you art history for actually teaching me something I remember. Lol. Made me appreciate this video even more
"The Irish Origins of Civilization" by Michael Tsarion is a 1,000+ page two volume book on the esoteric/occult history of the world; the very greatest.
complete bullshit
that lad is a complete and utter fool who spreads misinformation on purpose, ive been practicing occultism for 10 years now and read a ton of micheals work. hes a shill.
Tsarion is a great teacher
The greatest educational channels I’ve ever seen on the internet have all been made by this man 🔥 his voice makes me feel like I’m in some fancy cigar shops in the early 1900’s getting told stories lmaoo 🔥🔥🔥🔥 to awesome
I remember going to Newgrange as a child in 99, on the winter solstice. We obviously weren't allowed in when the light hit, but it wasn't long after. One of the coolest experiences and partially kicked off my interest in history.
A video of the Blarney castle would be cool, my hungover sister threw up in the carpark and it was a frozen spew puddle by the time we got back.
I also remember eating Y2K bug shaped nuggets in the U.K at a petrol station, on the way to Stonehenge.
Silly stories! Stay safe cunts, from Australia❤
aw I was hungover at Blarney too. I went and had a wee nap in the garden rather than go up to kiss the stone. Great gardens, great nap. Weird location for a castle.
Cheers!!
Fantastic. I was there in 99 a few months before you when I went to Ireland for a friend's wedding. Place is amazing.
Very good video, ta. One reason for few visitors is they are restricted to low daily numbers to reduce erosion/damage.
As someone who lives about 30 minutes away and has been multiple times it’s 100% worth the visit
SO happy about this video, about one of the places that's fascinated me for years. And a lovely early b-day present too XD Thank you for another exceptional video!
Imagine having to first be aware of a winter solitice and then actually mark it before any building commenced thousands of years ago. That blows my mind.
I've been there. It's amazing. Walking into the tomb and looking up is just astonishing. It's a top 5 moment for me to have done.
I live 15 minutes from this, so wild to see it in a video!
Newgrange is a beautiful site. I remember the area around it being stunningly beautiful. Easily the highlight of my trip to the home-country.
You have most of the well know points in here. There are venus and moon alignments also, Knowth and Dowth are just as rich too, however..
Gobekli Tepe in turkey predates it by 5000+ years. So it isn't the oldest at all. But as an Irishman I'm so proud and in awe of our ancient monuments which are in abundance throughout the island
The iberian link is huge also, I've been to gaelica and the similarities in many of the cultural practises seem to be ubiquitous..
Thanks for the vid, keep it up buck
Geoff Duke,Big Gob Tepe from Ireland was on vacation and build that to pass the time.
@@brianbreen1026 haha. I am starting to see that these prehistoric builders certainly arrived from the protocultures of Egypt or Mesopetamia.. Although the cairn is a more crude representation of thr pyramkd lets say, the solar and lunar worshipping, the bovine and celestial myths are all the same. I certainly believe hallucinagenic cerwmony is central to all of these druidic, shamanic people
I live for these presentations. Simon makes the most mundane topics very interesting.
Love this stuff, thank you for this video! I feel i need to tell you that we have many smaller tombs like this called Anta(s) and stone circles, most in southern Portugal, older ( c.5000 to 3000 bc ) and way more primitive and rudimentary. Most, if not all, are aligned with solstices or other solar calendar events. One thing to note, do not understimate mankind's ability to travel in the late stone age, the moved long distances, just slower. And by the end of the last ice age im sure some of the humans that where in ice free iberia moved north following the coastlines and by boat.
Thank you Simon and crew. My quarantine days have been filled with biographics, geographics, toptenz, today I found out, business blaze and megaprojects. I watch them all to the very end, still contemplating what merch to get though :).
If you've ever holidayed in Dublin and a drunk bearded man insisted you visit this sight, it was probably me
Just a message of appreciation for you username. 'Gavalanche' haha. Sensational stuff.
@@zeroireland Thanks man.
'a drunk bearded man' in Dublin? that really narrows it down
@@thomoose4647 *talking about Newgrange 😉
Oh that was you?
Thanks for tip, I really liked it there.
I'm adding this to my bucket list thank Simon
Simon, the one man Discovery channel 👍
Went to Ireland and Newgrange in 2016. Most wonderful time of my life.5th generation of Irish descent. I would love to return before I die.
@@ShaunaAllen-qn6lt same here!!
So happy you touched on ireland, there is a lot of Neolithic Unknown wide spread moments here. Ardara’s doon fort, in Co Donegal is a good explain, many many more all over the country
A stags head in a home used to be a common Irish tradition. To keep away the bad spirits
Eccles: 'The clever thing is Dougal, if they couldn't write it down, how did they know the Sun would be on time?'
It
It's called oral history, A civilization capable of making such a monumment would also have dedicated people who kept careful records of such things and passing them down.
'Oh look Eccles, a whoosh with a sticky starter.'
You don't need to use words to make a calendar.
@@loddude5706 Is that supposed to mean something?
Really well researched! You covered pretty much everything known about Newgrange, including the controversies in 22 minutes.
the only thing I'm confused about is the insistence on calling them all farmers. to be clear I attribute that insistence on the sources, not on Simon or the writer (afterall, as Simon says, they're RUclipsrs, not trained archaeologists), and this is why I take issue with it. but I feel it should be obvious to anyone, particularly experts who would have provided the source material, that there are multiple industries and skilled professions at play here, and as such it's almost certainly the case that they were not all farmers.
farmer civilizations were more advanced than hunter-gatherers
I don't think you watched the video, at least not with comprehension. He continually marveled at the fact that farmers built this. As such, your comment doesn't convey any relevant information. It'd be like if I replied with, 'Tuesday is the second day of the week'. Yeah, it's arguably true, but it doesn't contribute to this discussion in any way.
@@sumdumbmick Tuesday is the 3rd day of the week
@@tokein74 it's the 6th if you go by Last Thursdayism.
everyone was a farmer back then...know your history
Your videos are really keeping me going during the pandemic, I appreciate the extensive work you guys put into this! So interesting!
I live in Ireland and still haven’t visited it *lowers head in shame*
As ever a wonderful programme on an historical site that isn't a well-trodden one. Thanks
Wow, what a coincidence. The Beaker folk are _my_ favorite civilization named after a Muppets character too!
I visited the site in Jan 2019.
My traveling companion is the one who researched going to Newgrange. Otherwise, I would have never known it existed.
We got lost trying to find the visitor's center and ended up actually driving up to it. Seeing it glowing in the distance across the fields was an unforgettable sight. :)
We eventually realized that we needed to backtrack a ways to the visitor's center. There you can buy your ticket for the bus that takes you to your tour of Newgrange.
The passage is narrow... very much so in spots. If you have a fear of enclosed or tight spaces, overcome your fear, it will be worth it. Looking up at the rock of the ceiling is awe inspiring and humbling.
It is amazing that Newgrange isn't better known. But if you ever find yourself north of Dublin, it is well worth visiting. It is simply one of the most amazing expirences you'll ever have. :)
8:55 Simon is a mega project, trying to personally takeover RUclips and we are approaching the final battle, Ragnarok where Simon will cast down Hank Green to ensure his domination will never be challenged.
...Dowth is in fact a serpent eating itself!!!!