Hey dudes! Here's my Newgrange notes :D I made these a long time ago, but i just updated them quickly. Mo xxx
Pre-Christian Ireland- Stone age
Neolithic Age
3700-2000 B.C.
Around 3700
B.C. the hunter gatherers and fishermen were replaced with people from central
Europe, who travelled to Ireland
through England or Scotland.
What we know about these farmers
comes from their stone graves called megalithic
tombs. They placed importance on life after death by building imposing
resting placed for the dead rather than for the living.
These
people were organised farmers with complex social groups. They brought livestock with them, they cleared forests and the whole island
had regular contact with land overseas.
The people
who made Newgrange were intelligent
and organised, farmers and had a
good knowledge of astronomy. They
set a lot of importance on ritual
symbolism.
They used
the river to transport materials, therefore had good knowledge of engineering. They
lived in wattle and daub huts.
Megalithic (large stone) Burial Monuments
- Portal Dolmen
Ex.
Poulnabrone, Burren Landscape, Co. Clare
Ardara, Co. Donegal
170 in
total around Ireland
Between 3
and 7 standing stones supporting 1
or 2 capstones
Single
slabs rested against back to form the chamber.
- Court Cairns
Most court
cairns are found in the northern part of Ireland
Has a
rectangular or circular burial chamber,
with a corbelled roof.
The chamber
would serves as the tomb and the court would hold the rituals
- Passage Graves
1 or 2
chambers in the centre of a large mound of earth or stone, reached by a
passage.
Newgrange
Located in
the Boyne Valley Co. Meath
Constructed
around 3000-2000
- Structure
11m in height and 85m in diameter
The passage
is 21m long, it is lines and roofed
with large stones and slopes gently upwards.
There is
one main chamber and 3 niches, with
stone basins
Roof of
chamber is corbelled, layers of
flattish stone in circles, each layer moving further inwards than the one
below, until closed by single stone at the top. Stones tilted downwards to stop
water entering the chamber
Once there
stood 32 standing stones (monoliths)
now there are only 12, believed to
be used for astronomical observations. Now believed not to be contemporary with
the mound.
97 kerbstones form the perimeter of the mound and a wall of
white quartz stone stands on top.
- Function
Burial
chamber, evidence of at least 5 burials being preformed
Used for
ceremonies and rituals
Burial
chamber lights upon the 21st of December, which also helped it
function as a calendar to the people.
Number of cremated remains found is relatively small compare
to the size of the community and the length of time for which the mounds were
used. This suggests that only important members of the community were buried
there or that they were ritual or sacrificial burials.
Some believe tat the designs on the stones relate to the
movements of sun, moon and planets, which would have been a way to keep track
of the seasons and important community events
- Technique
The building of a large structure like Newgrange was a
momentous task for people of the Stone Age as their technology was limited to
what hey could carry, pull or lever into place, and there was no animals to
carry the burdens and the when was not invented yet. It is believed that they
may have used logs to roll the kerbstones which weighed up to 5 tons across the
probably forested countryside. It has been estimated that it could have taken
80 men three weeks per kerbstone to travel the 15 km from the quarry from which
the stones were taken, which works out about o be 50 years for one mound ant
this rate.
The Stone Age people obviously from there amazing commitment
had a very deep belief in the meaning and function of these tombs, as they were
not even used for their own benefit of shelter. It also suggests that the
society was well established and they had time to make wondrously huge tombs.
Construction probably began with the layout of the passages
as their orientation to the sun was an essential part of the purpose. The line
kerb would have been laid out early on as it was the retaining structure for
the body of the mound.
- Decoration
Decoration
mainly consisted of geometric motifs;
circles, spirals, arcs, zig zags, lozenges, diamonds, dots in circles , wavy
parallel or radial lines, concentric circles and rectangles. The entire stone
was pitched first with a fine point to remove the original weathered surface.
They used a stone hammer and a pointed flint stone and this was called chip and
flint carving.
Entrance stone
Carved with
pointed flint stone and hammer, the channels on this are 4cm wide.
On the far
left there are lozenges, and as we move right we can see a triple spiral, then
two double spirals surrounded by waves, curves and zig zags.
Kerbstone 52
Situated
opposite the entrance stone. Highly decorated but less harmoniously than the
entrance stone. Consists of 3 sections. Diamonds on the bottom left, spirals on
the top left and group of concentric circles with dots and rectangles
Above the
entrance to the passage there is a roof
box, the lintel above this is decorated with radiating triangle carvings.
