Day 11- June 21st
Newgrange Tombs - Historical
On the morning of our eleventh day in Ireland, we all got into the car and Emily drove us the short distance to the Newgrange tomb site. It looked very unusual, a stout disc jutting out of the ground. Enough dir
t had gathered on top that grass waved merrily in the breeze from the roof. A circle of stones surrounded the building about 10, maybe 15 feet away, by Emily’s guess. Joseph ran to the nearest one an pretended to climb it, going on about being king of the world or something equally silly. The structure was built in the Stone Age, over 5,000 years ago. That makes this structure older that the Great Pyramids of Giza and Stonehenge! It is made out of monoliths, or large stones, and there is no mortar! There is also smooth river rocks from the River Boyne to fill in the smaller spaces. As Joseph put it, this “pile of rocks” had survived for over 50 centuries. According to the pamphlet Hannah had printed off, the mound is 279 feet in diameter and 45 feet tall. The site, including the circle of stones surrounding the main dome, is about an acre. Inside, the structure held a passage grae. We walked into the narrow tunnel, which was shaped like a cross. The whole structure had been built by a village of Stone Age farmers, according to the artifacts found nearby. That layout is called a cruciform passage grave. There was three chambers where bones and bone ash had been found, one at each point of the cross (the fourth point was the exit and entrance). Beads, pendants, and pieces of chalk were found with the ashes. The passage is arranged in such a way that the rising sun on the Winter Solstice will line up with a roof box, or slot above the doorway, to fill the tomb with light. Experts suspect that the end of the longest night of the year held special significance to the farmers. Newgrange tomb is also suspected to have been a spiritual, religious, ceremonial, and astrological place of importance, much like a church is today. The tomb actually has a lottery for the chance to be in the tomb and see the sun fill the passage at dawn on the Winter Solstice, but we went in June, so that was not an option. The central building has a collection of 93 kerbstones, large rocks. The kerbstones are arranged in and next to the outer walls, 
and are not the circle of stones Joseph had jokingly pretended to climb when we first arrived. Some of the kerbstones were carved with beautiful art. It was mostly lines and curves, but Leah said the entrance stone reminded her of wind. The tomb is a World Heritage Site, named so by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). After getting our fill of the archaic tomb, we all grabbed our sandwiches from the car and ate on a blanket Leah had thought to bring. Then we threw away our trash and went back into the car to travel to our afternoon activity: a show!
t had gathered on top that grass waved merrily in the breeze from the roof. A circle of stones surrounded the building about 10, maybe 15 feet away, by Emily’s guess. Joseph ran to the nearest one an pretended to climb it, going on about being king of the world or something equally silly. The structure was built in the Stone Age, over 5,000 years ago. That makes this structure older that the Great Pyramids of Giza and Stonehenge! It is made out of monoliths, or large stones, and there is no mortar! There is also smooth river rocks from the River Boyne to fill in the smaller spaces. As Joseph put it, this “pile of rocks” had survived for over 50 centuries. According to the pamphlet Hannah had printed off, the mound is 279 feet in diameter and 45 feet tall. The site, including the circle of stones surrounding the main dome, is about an acre. Inside, the structure held a passage grae. We walked into the narrow tunnel, which was shaped like a cross. The whole structure had been built by a village of Stone Age farmers, according to the artifacts found nearby. That layout is called a cruciform passage grave. There was three chambers where bones and bone ash had been found, one at each point of the cross (the fourth point was the exit and entrance). Beads, pendants, and pieces of chalk were found with the ashes. The passage is arranged in such a way that the rising sun on the Winter Solstice will line up with a roof box, or slot above the doorway, to fill the tomb with light. Experts suspect that the end of the longest night of the year held special significance to the farmers. Newgrange tomb is also suspected to have been a spiritual, religious, ceremonial, and astrological place of importance, much like a church is today. The tomb actually has a lottery for the chance to be in the tomb and see the sun fill the passage at dawn on the Winter Solstice, but we went in June, so that was not an option. The central building has a collection of 93 kerbstones, large rocks. The kerbstones are arranged in and next to the outer walls, and are not the circle of stones Joseph had jokingly pretended to climb when we first arrived. Some of the kerbstones were carved with beautiful art. It was mostly lines and curves, but Leah said the entrance stone reminded her of wind. The tomb is a World Heritage Site, named so by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). After getting our fill of the archaic tomb, we all grabbed our sandwiches from the car and ate on a blanket Leah had thought to bring. Then we threw away our trash and went back into the car to travel to our afternoon activity: a show!Tommy Leddy Theatre
We went to the Tommy Leddy Theatre, in a town named Drogheda near the Newgrange tomb. It is known for hosting musicians, comedy acts, and community theatre productions. The show scheduled for this afternoon is the Keith Barry Magic Madhouse show. Keith Barry is a self-proclaimed mentalist, hypnotist, and brain hacker. Hannah was really excited to see it, because she had stumbled upon and loved his show on Discovery Channel, Deception with Keith Barry. Here is a link if you want to check it out yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3clsm5HltnA . We went in, bought our tickets, and sat on the plush theatre seats. It was amazing! No one in our group was selected to be a participant, but we watched people fall into sleep and have secrets revealed. After the show, we left, chattering excitedly about the see
mingly magical acts. Hanna didn’t think all of it was real, but she admired Mr. Barry’s skill nonetheless. As we walked out of the theatre, we were hit by a wall of humidity. It was absolutely pouring! No one had thought to bring an umbrella when we left the hotel that morning, so we just sprinted to the car. We had planned on going out and exploring the shops, but we decided to just stay inside the hotel and play cards. It was an enjoyable experience, and some of the other customers joined us in a monster round of Spoons. Leah won, and we all cheered.
mingly magical acts. Hanna didn’t think all of it was real, but she admired Mr. Barry’s skill nonetheless. As we walked out of the theatre, we were hit by a wall of humidity. It was absolutely pouring! No one had thought to bring an umbrella when we left the hotel that morning, so we just sprinted to the car. We had planned on going out and exploring the shops, but we decided to just stay inside the hotel and play cards. It was an enjoyable experience, and some of the other customers joined us in a monster round of Spoons. Leah won, and we all cheered.
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