Henge

The National Monuments Service's description

This monument (Newgrange Site A) is a henge. It has been described by Stout (1991, 268) as an embanked enclosure that was recorded on the OS first edition (1836). A mound, within the ‘Ring’ NW of the centre, was termed ‘Moat’. The henge is situated on the lowest terrace above the River Boyne, which is c. 350m to the S at the nearest point. The Newgrange passage tomb is at the summit of the ridge c. 460m to the NW, and the central passage tombs of Knowth and Dowth are prominent features to the NW and NE respectively. The denuded earthwork is roughly circular in plan (max. ext. dims 153m NE-SW; 146m NNW-SSE), and the interior deepens towards the centre giving the monument a saucer shape. There is no evidence for a ditch and it is probable that the interior was scarped to obtain the bank material. The bank, best preserved now at NW (Wth 24m; H 0.7m), was levelled at the E side in 1965 when 165 pieces of flint were collected. These included 24 artefacts, mostly scarpers, but there was also a plano-convex knife and a possible discoidal knife (O’Kelly 1968). An entrance gap (Wth 13m) at ENE (80 degrees T) was noted but no entrance can be confirmed. A flat-topped mound (diam. of base 27m; max. H 3.2m) is NW of the centre and is probably a passage tomb. (Coffey 1912, 42; Crawford 1927, 97; Ó Ríordáin and Daniel 1964, 87, pl. 51; O’Kelly 1968, 114-17; O’Kelly 1978, 49-50; Thornton 1980, 105-08)

The aerial archaeological survey conducted by the National Monuments Service in the summer of 2018 (Condit and Keegan 2018, 85-90) adds considerably to our knowledge of the structure of this monument. An annexe, which was always incorporated into the henge, is detected at E where it is visible as a bulge in the bank at ENE. The bank of the annexe (max. Wth 9m) could be accompanied by inner and outer ditches. Radial lines, creating construction compartments in the main henge bank are particularly noticeable S-W. A small outer bank, or perhaps the outer edge of the badly denuded original bank, is also noted E-S.

See attached Google Earth aerial photograph taken 12 July 2013 (ME019-049002-_01.jpg), and photo taken 13/07/2020 (ME019-049002-_02.jpg)

Date of revision: 08 October 2025

This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 2/1964).

References

Crawford, O. G. S. (ed.) 1927 Notes and news. Antiquity 1, 97-8. Ó Ríordáin, S. P. and Daniel, G. 1964 Newgrange and the bend of the Boyne. Thames and Hudson, London Coffey, G. 1912 Newgrange and other incised tumuli in Ireland. Hodges Figgis, Dublin O'Kelly, M.J. 1968 Surface collected finds from two sites in the Boyne Valley, Co. Meath. Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 73, 114-19. Thornton, G. 1980 A survey of the earthen enclosures of the Boyne Valley and related sites. MA thesis, University College, Dublin. Stout, G. 1991 The embanked enclosures of the Boyne region. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 91C, 245-84. O'Kelly, C. 1978 (3rd ed.) Illustrated guide to Newgrange and the other Boyne monuments. Cork. Author. Moore, M. 1987 Archaeological inventory of county Meath. Dublin. Stationery Office.

Condit, T. and Keegan, M. 2018 Aerial investigation and mapping of the Newgrange landscape, Brú na Bóinne, Co. Meath. Interim Report. Available online