I visited Newgrange on a school trip when I was 7 years old in 1960. It looked much like it does in this video. There was an archaeological dig going on near the tumulus at the time and we were told that if we found anything, we should bring it to the team. Well I found this small, smooth, flat piece of white stone with the head of a celtic cross incised on it. I was very excited and showed it to the man in charge of the work. He took it from me, had a quick look, and told me it wasn't important. Naturally, I thought he'd give it back, but to my surprise, he threw it away where I couldn't retrieve it. I was so disappointed and of course, I've never forgotten about it. Needless to say, I had no further interest in helping after that.
@comingupforeire7050 I wouldn't think it was particularly old, but remember I was only 7 years old and I had it in my hands for a couple of minutes at most before I took it to the man. I'm more inclined to wonder what it was doing at an ancient, pre-Christian site. I wish he hadn't thrown it away or I'd still have it.
@@bahooniesMaybe the gobshite had an anti-Christian attitude, he probably didn't realise that the Celtic Cross could possibly have been an original pre-Christian artifact.
@WWG1WWGA I couldn't agree more. It was unkind and unnecessary. And as you can see, I've never forgotten his awful behaviour to the little boy I was then.
I won the lottery!!! The opportunity to witness the sun rise, on the shortest day, from inside the oldest megalith, Newgrange, thro' the wonderful lightbox opening and illuminate us all along the passageway. I travelled from Canada to Ireland, climbed the hill in the middle of the night, and waited, ..............and waited, ............and waited..............and............ nothing happened! The sun never rose, never penetrated the passageway. It pissed rain, the clouds of our wonderful Irish weather obscured the original invented celestial experience. I won an opportunity, not a guarantee. So grateful to witness cool construction.
I remember visiting Newgrange from primary school every year. I also remember my shock when it suddenly turned from a mysterious green, slightly spooky green mound to a glaring white wall!
I’ve visited many of the ancient sites in Ireland and Britain, the only place I felt anything very strongly was inside Newgrange. Despite all the reconditioning the place is still alive, unlike many other ancient sites. Thank you for showing us the film, Thomas.
I visited many years ago with an Irish relative. She gave me a piece of quartz to take home from a chunk she had picked up From the site in her youth. I still have it in my jewelry box.
Our heritage is very important, I've noticed in Ireland they have people without any background in heritage managing site's and trying to run these places like hotels... Trying to do a tidy town's job on what should have been in keeping with the time's... The national trust in the UK have been great for preservation and in keeping with the time these places originated..... Living museums they should be
I've seen lots of talk that the quartz vertical structure was in fact a circular pavement, if you will. Does this look like a reconstructed Newgrange?. It looks "tidied", but not rebuilt as some would have it?. Went inside 20 odd years ago. Magnificent
I have heard that too, recently Thomas did an interview with Maria Wheatley in which she talks at length about Stonehenge and how it seems that originally the chalk bedrock around the site was cleared of grass and earth so the stones stood in a white bowl like base. Sounds like a similar situation and would make sense if these places were built as generators or focus points of some sort in order to focus the sunlight or hold the light.
I know this will be news to you Thomas but When I visited Newgrange around 10 years ago the tour guide did actually say that maybe it was something to do with fertility, that it's name was very close to the Irish for "womb" which is "broinn". That was the first time I ever heard such a theory. Interestingly "broinne" is the Irish word for "breast/bosom".
still you Irish are miles ahead of us here in Germany, having the old stones at least acknowledged. The 'official' acknowledgement by itself is worthless too imo, but it would at least help to protect cairns and burial mounds in our forests from senseless destruction. I'll have to visit the sites across the canal one time
ooh that music was perfect! I'm sorry but visiting bru na boinne nowadays feels like visiting a new house constructed out of stones from Hadrians wall. There's no soul to it and it looks completely ridiculous! The other structures in the Boyne valley send tingles down the spine, but that reconstructed monstrosity brings a tear to the eye with cultural vandalism.
These are sacred monuments that hold the true core of the country's heart. Time to stand up and make it so but will the government and society do so in this day and age?
A man exercising both his legs and his imagination. Should have been left alone instead of just trying to assume it's true form. Now it looks like they had a liking for big mushrooms. Perhaps they had)
@@j.vonhogen9650 Thank you for the correction 🙏 I know decorations are important but it seems to me a Sine Wave given the site has an astrological aspect to it and to carve stone is hard and time consuming that maybe they might carve a design with a purpose and it to be decorative. Just a thought.
It was a ritual to bring a White stone to a burial site as in many sites in Scotland during a pilgrimage....is it a possibility that the stones where brought over many years after , and placed on the mound rather than part of the original construction.... I believe an interpretation of reconstruction used these stones to create a structure and facade.....but is that actually accurate.
"Reconstruction' - is this the most ghastly 'Reconstruction' ever. Newgrange today is unrecognizable - it looks like a Disney Theme Park - need a vivid imagination it's 5000 years. Has there ever been a more ghastly 'Reconstruction'. Perhaps, I'm missing something. Glad whoever sanctioned the Reconstruction didn't get near Stonehenge, Chichén Itzá.
There's nothing " reconstructed " internally. The stones forming the passageway walls, floor and roof are unchanged, and the roof box is visible here in the film clip. The facing work is reconstructed, the kerb stones are positioned to fulfill the same retaining function they were failing to fulfill here. The fundamental astronomical alignment features are unchanged, not just in the tumulus, but around the Knowth Dowth Newgrange complex as a whole.
@@genghisthegreat2034 Thanks! Yes, I am aware internal structures were not altered significantly . The box’s “elevation” during reconstruction work was due to the fact that orthostats or upright stones in the tomb’s outer passage required straightening. But what viewers encounter now is an exterior which indicates modernity not antiquity. Imagine if something similar had been done 'modernizing' Dún Aengus!
Unrecognisable? How do you know? I’m assuming (safely) that you weren’t there when it was built. And Stonehenge was restored several times including re-erecting stones and setting them in concrete. In 1993, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee said that the way Stonehenge was presented was “a national disgrace”. Now the British government is going to build a tunnel past it. Tom Holland, the president of the Stonehenge Alliance, said: “At the best of times this would be a grotesque decision, but at a time when the country is faced with so many bills, such a financial shortfall, this desecration of a world heritage site is the height of folly-an act of vandalism that shames Britain.” Save your “ghastly” for that sort of desecration.
Time. Grass and scrub growing, dying, becoming soil. It can happen surprisingly quickly in a damp climate like Ireland. I’ve seen things get covered after a few years, never mind thousands of years.
I think that the spirals on the large entrance stone represent the transit of the planet Venus as it travels across the night sky on one of its eight year cycles.......Venus used to light up the Passage, before all the modern light pollution......T
Newgrange: Academic Obliteration. But Also Fraud?
thomassheridan.substack.com/p/newgrange-academic-obliteration-but
That was fantastic Thomas, I wish that was longer.
My paternal grandmothers sister was custodian of Newgrange for 60 years .
The late Mrs Annie Hickey..
She’s in an interview from around the same time that can also be viewed on RUclips. Did you know this?
I probably met her. When we visited my Dad would send me down to the house to ask for the key, to get in.
That would have been a wonderful privilege for your great aunt.
I visited Newgrange on a school trip when I was 7 years old in 1960. It looked much like it does in this video. There was an archaeological dig going on near the tumulus at the time and we were told that if we found anything, we should bring it to the team. Well I found this small, smooth, flat piece of white stone with the head of a celtic cross incised on it. I was very excited and showed it to the man in charge of the work. He took it from me, had a quick look, and told me it wasn't important. Naturally, I thought he'd give it back, but to my surprise, he threw it away where I couldn't retrieve it. I was so disappointed and of course, I've never forgotten about it. Needless to say, I had no further interest in helping after that.
thats interesting, how old do you think it was ?
@comingupforeire7050 I wouldn't think it was particularly old, but remember I was only 7 years old and I had it in my hands for a couple of minutes at most before I took it to the man. I'm more inclined to wonder what it was doing at an ancient, pre-Christian site. I wish he hadn't thrown it away or I'd still have it.
@@bahooniesMaybe the gobshite had an anti-Christian attitude, he probably didn't realise that the Celtic Cross could possibly have been an original pre-Christian artifact.
@@bahoonies that's a terrible, sad story. That guy was a feckn rude, nasty, jerk!! ❤
@WWG1WWGA I couldn't agree more. It was unkind and unnecessary. And as you can see, I've never forgotten his awful behaviour to the little boy I was then.
I won the lottery!!!
The opportunity to witness the sun rise, on the shortest day, from inside the oldest megalith, Newgrange,
thro' the wonderful lightbox opening and illuminate us all along the passageway.
I travelled from Canada to Ireland, climbed the hill in the middle of the night,
and waited, ..............and waited, ............and waited..............and............
nothing happened! The sun never rose, never penetrated the passageway.
It pissed rain, the clouds of our wonderful Irish weather obscured the original invented celestial experience.
I won an opportunity, not a guarantee. So grateful to witness cool construction.
Brú na Bóinne is among the most fascinating and intriguing monuments in all of western Europe. Thanks you for uploading this.
I remember visiting Newgrange from primary school every year. I also remember my shock when it suddenly turned from a mysterious green, slightly spooky green mound to a glaring white wall!
Makes you tingle all over! Thanks, Thomas.
My wife visited the site in 2013, amazing. History must be preserved.
Thanks for sharing that with us Thomas; as always your fan; Matt
It was there for centuries, and despite this, it was never torn apart for stone or damaged. That says a lot.
I only saw it for the first time last week. Meath is an awesome county
I’ve visited many of the ancient sites in Ireland and Britain, the only place I felt anything very strongly was inside Newgrange. Despite all the reconditioning the place is still alive, unlike many other ancient sites. Thank you for showing us the film, Thomas.
Tara is alive.
Glendalough is a very spiritual.
@kingofcelts I was there last 60 years ago, must visit again. I remember it feeling very calm although lots of people around.
That is your imagination. Just old ruins.
@@ChrisShortyAllen Yeah, imagination is like that, opens your mind.😜
I visited many years ago with an Irish relative. She gave me a piece of quartz to take home from a chunk she had picked up From the site in her youth. I still have it in my jewelry box.
Our heritage is very important, I've noticed in Ireland they have people without any background in heritage managing site's and trying to run these places like hotels...
Trying to do a tidy town's job on what should have been in keeping with the time's...
The national trust in the UK have been great for preservation and in keeping with the time these places originated.....
Living museums they should be
This clip is a fantastic find. Thank you for sharing it.
I've seen lots of talk that the quartz vertical structure was in fact a circular pavement, if you will. Does this look like a reconstructed Newgrange?. It looks "tidied", but not rebuilt as some would have it?. Went inside 20 odd years ago. Magnificent
I have heard that too, recently Thomas did an interview with Maria Wheatley in which she talks at length about Stonehenge and how it seems that originally the chalk bedrock around the site was cleared of grass and earth so the stones stood in a white bowl like base. Sounds like a similar situation and would make sense if these places were built as generators or focus points of some sort in order to focus the sunlight or hold the light.
@@dogstar8027 great video
I know this will be news to you Thomas but When I visited Newgrange around 10 years ago the tour guide did actually say that maybe it was something to do with fertility, that it's name was very close to the Irish for "womb" which is "broinn".
That was the first time I ever heard such a theory. Interestingly "broinne" is the Irish word for "breast/bosom".
Great find and I like the music too it
Thanks Thomas
what a great bit of archive film, thanks Thomas
still you Irish are miles ahead of us here in Germany, having the old stones at least acknowledged. The 'official' acknowledgement by itself is worthless too imo, but it would at least help to protect cairns and burial mounds in our forests from senseless destruction. I'll have to visit the sites across the canal one time
But-
But-
Germans are evil if they like their own culture and history!
(Sarcasm)
The ancient future.
I was there last year, the first thing I thought was, it’s been pebble dashed
As always, thank you 😊
ooh that music was perfect! I'm sorry but visiting bru na boinne nowadays feels like visiting a new house constructed out of stones from Hadrians wall. There's no soul to it and it looks completely ridiculous! The other structures in the Boyne valley send tingles down the spine, but that reconstructed monstrosity brings a tear to the eye with cultural vandalism.
Conditioned like Stonehenge concrete slapped everywhere removed,reseated etc
preserved" he says!
yer! right! what a shame, breaks my heart
thanks for this 🙏🏻🙏🏻
that version in this film is way better than what came a few years after this.
@@beyondroom3133 wow really , soz thought this was what it is now, very sad
thanks again for sharing
"Reconditioned" 🤨
Hmmm. Vandalism
hmm indeed
“Preserved” = Irish for “utterly destroyed”
Fake and phony re-build, but hey - we needed a gift shop, right?
These are sacred monuments that hold the true core of the country's heart. Time to stand up and make it so but will the government and society do so in this day and age?
Nonsense. Just very old ruins.
All you Want now is the New Arrivals!
They'll Certainly Enrich that Beautiful Ancient Land!
Like what happened to Palmyra. 😟
No Thank You, they have no respect for history.
Amazing !! So interesting 👍
very cool video ✨
Love it....
A man exercising both his legs and his imagination. Should have been left alone instead of just trying to assume it's true form. Now it looks like they had a liking for big mushrooms. Perhaps they had)
I'm no expert but those lines on the large stone... didn't it look like sign waves....
You mean Sine waves? It doesn't really. To me, it just looks like decoration.
@@j.vonhogen9650 Thank you for the correction 🙏 I know decorations are important but it seems to me a Sine Wave given the site has an astrological aspect to it and to carve stone is hard and time consuming that maybe they might carve a design with a purpose and it to be decorative. Just a thought.
I think the circular patterns represent something like continuous time and the connections between the spiritual and physical worlds.
Simply, no. Just meaningless patterns like on wallpaper.
Thomas will you give us your thoughts on the recent Stonehenge "incident"? Thank you & thank you for this video
❤
Cwoar big recumbents
It was a ritual to bring a White stone to a burial site as in many sites in Scotland during a pilgrimage....is it a possibility that the stones where brought over many years after , and placed on the mound rather than part of the original construction.... I believe an interpretation of reconstruction used these stones to create a structure and facade.....but is that actually accurate.
"Reconstruction' - is this the most ghastly 'Reconstruction' ever. Newgrange today is unrecognizable - it looks like a Disney Theme Park - need a vivid imagination it's 5000 years. Has there ever been a more ghastly 'Reconstruction'. Perhaps, I'm missing something. Glad whoever sanctioned the Reconstruction didn't get near Stonehenge, Chichén Itzá.
There's nothing " reconstructed " internally. The stones forming the passageway walls, floor and roof are unchanged, and the roof box is visible here in the film clip.
The facing work is reconstructed, the kerb stones are positioned to fulfill the same retaining function they were failing to fulfill here.
The fundamental astronomical alignment features are unchanged, not just in the tumulus, but around the Knowth Dowth Newgrange complex as a whole.
You most definitely are missing something.
@@genghisthegreat2034 Thanks! Yes, I am aware internal structures were not altered significantly . The box’s “elevation” during reconstruction work was due to the fact that orthostats or upright stones in the tomb’s outer passage required straightening. But what viewers encounter now is an exterior which indicates modernity not antiquity. Imagine if something similar had been done 'modernizing' Dún Aengus!
Stonehenge was reconstructed too… doesn’t take anything away from their history ….
Unrecognisable? How do you know? I’m assuming (safely) that you weren’t there when it was built.
And Stonehenge was restored several times including re-erecting stones and setting them in concrete. In 1993, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee said that the way Stonehenge was presented was “a national disgrace”.
Now the British government is going to build a tunnel past it.
Tom Holland, the president of the Stonehenge Alliance, said: “At the best of times this would be a grotesque decision, but at a time when the country is faced with so many bills, such a financial shortfall, this desecration of a world heritage site is the height of folly-an act of vandalism that shames Britain.”
Save your “ghastly” for that sort of desecration.
how did it get buried?
Time. Grass and scrub growing, dying, becoming soil. It can happen surprisingly quickly in a damp climate like Ireland. I’ve seen things get covered after a few years, never mind thousands of years.
Its 4,000+ years old so nature has taken its course. Wind and rain, etc would have contributed to covering the mound to an extent.
I think that the spirals on the large entrance stone represent the transit of the planet Venus as it travels across the night sky on one of its eight year cycles.......Venus used to light up the Passage, before all the modern light pollution......T
As if.
Reconditioned😂😂😂😂 it's a disgrace what they did you it
❤