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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Science
- Irish Independent
How pig feasts and ‘magic' mushrooms reveal Newgrange's strange similarity to Stonehenge
'The pigs were deliberately fattened on acorns in oak forests for a period prior to being slaughtered at Newgrange, mainly during midwinter feasting conducted around 2,600 to 2,450BC,' said Dr Neil Carlin, a UCD archaeologist who took part in the research along with others from Ireland, the UK and Canada, and whose work has been published in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. 'It also shows very strong links with places like Stonehenge where very similar solstice-related pig feasting was happening at the same time,' Dr Carlin said. It was surprising, he added, to find such strong evidence that the winter feasting at Newgrange and Stonehenge were taking place at exactly the same time and in a very similar manner. We don't know whether the feasting went on for a day, a week or more The researchers believe the Newgrange feasts would have involved groups of people gathering at the entrance to the sealed tomb, perhaps to pay homage to their ancestors. This view is based on the quantity of materials present, the nature of the radiocarbon dates recovered from the animal bones and the size of the timber and earthen monuments constructed at the time. 'This may have been 100 or maybe 1,000 people – we can't tell, and we also don't know whether the ceremonies and feasting went on for a day, a week or more,' said Dr Fiona Beglane, archaeologist at the Atlantic Technological University, Sligo, and a lead author. 'We think that it may have involved larger numbers of people for several days over at least a few decades. 'There may have been a formal religious ceremony, perhaps including ritual slaughter of the animals, followed by depositing offerings of pork joints to the ancestors, and then the feasting.' The researchers found grooved-ware pottery in the area outside the tomb – a pottery type that has been linked to the storage of food and drink and the making and consuming of alcoholic drinks. 'Based on the presence of grooved ware, they were probably drinking alcohol, maybe mead – which is made from honey – or beer-type drinks, made from grain, or maybe fruit wines,' Dr Beglane said. 'They may also have used hallucinogenic mushrooms or poisonous plants to induce states of altered consciousness.' The archaeologists believe midwinter feasting at Newgrange continued for centuries after the tomb was closed, even when the sun lighting up the burial chamber was no longer visible. The Newgrange results highlight an especially intense use of acorns Dr Eric Guiry, an archaeologist at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, and a lead author of the research, studies the diets and behaviour of the people of Newgrange. It was interesting, he noted, that the archaeological findings from Newgrange showed how little pig husbandry practices in Ireland had changed over the centuries. 'In some of the earliest Irish writings, such as law texts, pigs are strongly linked to acorn feeding,' Dr Guiry said. 'The Newgrange results highlight an especially intense use of acorns –underscoring the deep antiquity of the connection between pigs, people and forests in Ireland.'
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Incestuous kings 'unlikely' to be buried in ancient tomb
For many years it was believed that burial at the an ancient Irish passage tomb was the preserve of kings and other dignitaries, who represented a dynasty that practised incest. But a new research paper suggests Newgrange in County Meath may not have been confined to the social elite. The tomb is 5,200 years old - older than the Great Pyramid of Giza - and is also renowned for a winter solstice phenomenon where sunlight penetrates a passage and illuminates an inner chamber, indicating an ancient understanding of astronomy. Associate professor of archaeology Neil Carlin from University College Dublin (UCD) said suggestions of "an incestuous ruling elite in Stone Age Ireland did not match our understanding of society at this time, it did not fit the evidence very well". Newgrange is a Neolithic monument constructed by stone age farmers in the Boyne Valley. It is part of a network of several prehistoric monuments in an area which is recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site. "We now have some really great examples of monuments elsewhere in Europe that contain people with very close biological ties - parents, children, grandparents etc," said associate professor Jessica Smyth, also from UCD. "This sort of aDNA (ancient DNA) evidence is much closer to the idea of a lineage or dynasty. We do not see this evidence in Irish passage tombs." The findings also claim that no other incestuous unions have been identified in Neolithic Ireland and Britain, and that there is a lack of evidence for inbreeding across prehistoric Europe. They also say the evidence found at the site does not support the existence of a 'king' of Newgrange or any hereditary power or dynasty with a shared ancestry. "People were definitely being selected for burial in passage tombs - the whole community does not end up in these monuments" Prof Smyth said. "However, we don't know the reasons behind this selection, and why they were thought to be special. "Unlike today, bodies don't tend to be buried 'whole' or 'intact' in this time period. Before they end up in megalithic monuments, bodies are broken down, sometimes cremated and even circulated around their communities." Speaking to BBC News NI, Prof Carlin said some of the materials used to build the tomb came from "distant areas". "We have chemical signatures indicating that some of the burials in some of these passage tombs are coming from beyond the locality," he said. "At Newgrange itself, we see the stones coming from as far away as 40km in and around Dundalk Bay. "So, there are all these indications that this is not about biology or lineages, this is about people being chosen as representatives of their community." Newgrange was rediscovered in AD 1699 and its interior had been heavily disturbed prior to its modern excavation in the 1960s, according to the authors "Burnt and unburnt fragments from just five people were recovered from the 1960s excavations of the tomb," said Mr Carlin. "Due to the high levels of disturbance in the centuries before that, we don't know if this number was originally much higher." Newgrange is part of a complex of monuments built along a bend of the River Boyne known collectively in the Irish language as Brú na Bóinne and the sites are managed by Ireland's Office of Public Works in partnership with the National Monuments Services of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The tomb is a large kidney shaped mound covering an area of over one acre, retained at the base by 97 large kerbstones, some of which are decorated with megalithic art. The 19m (62ft) long inner passage leads to a cruciform chamber with a corbelled roof. The site, which has been reconstructed, was originally built about 5,200 years ago which makes it older than Stonehenge. Newgrange is also renowned for a winter solstice phenomenon where sunlight penetrates a passage and illuminates an inner chamber, indicating an ancient understanding of astronomy. The light travels 19m, from the roof box at the entrance through the passage and into the chamber.
BBC News
23-06-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Newgrange: Ancient Irish tomb not just for social elite
Burial at an ancient Irish passage tomb in County Meath may not have been confined to the social elite, according to a new research paper. It has long been believed that burial at the Newgrange tomb was the preserve of kings and other dignitaries, who represented a dynasty that practised the new paper, published by researchers from University College Dublin (UCD), says this may not be the case. Associate Professor of archaeology Neil Carlin said suggestions of "an incestuous ruling elite in Stone Age Ireland did not match our understanding of society at this time, it did not fit the evidence very well." The tomb is a Neolithic monument constructed by stone age farmers more than 5000 years ago in the Boyne Valley. It is also part of a network of several prehistoric monuments in an area which is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. No 'King' of Newgrange "We now have some really great examples of monuments elsewhere in Europe that contain people with very close biological ties - parents, children, grandparents etc," said Associate Professor Jessica Smyth, also from UCD."This sort of aDNA (ancient DNA) evidence is much closer to the idea of a lineage or dynasty. We do not see this evidence in Irish passage tombs."The findings also claim that no other incestuous unions have been identified in Neolithic Ireland and Britain, and that there is a lack of evidence for inbreeding across prehistoric also say the evidence found at the site does not support the existence of a 'King' of Newgrange or any hereditary power or dynasty with a shared ancestry."People were definitely being selected for burial in passage tombs - the whole community does not end up in these monuments. "However, we don't know the reasons behind this selection, and why they were thought to be special," said Ms Smyth."Unlike today, bodies don't tend to be buried 'whole' or 'intact' in this time period. Before they end up in megalithic monuments, bodies are broken down, sometimes cremated and even circulated around their communities." Speaking to BBC News NI, Mr Carlin said some of the materials used to build the tomb came from "distant areas". "We have chemical signatures indicating that some of the burials in some of these passage tombs are coming from beyond the locality," he said."At Newgrange itself, we see the stones coming from as far away as 40 kilometres in and around Dundalk Bay."So, there are all these indications that this is not about biology or lineages, this is about people being chosen as representatives of their community."Newgrange was rediscovered in AD 1699 and its interior had been heavily disturbed prior to its modern excavation in the 1960s, according to the authors"Burnt and unburnt fragments from just five people were recovered from the 1960s excavations of the tomb," said Mr Carlin."Due to the high levels of disturbance in the centuries before that, we don't know if this number was originally much higher." What is Newgrange? Newgrange is part of a complex of monuments built along a bend of the River Boyne known collectively in the Irish language as Brú na Bóinne and the sites are managed by Ireland's Office of Public Works in partnership with the National Monuments Services of the Department of Housing, Local Government and tomb is a large kidney shaped mound covering an area of over one acre, retained at the base by 97 large kerbstones, some of which are decorated with megalithic 19m (62ft) long inner passage leads to a cruciform chamber with a corbelled site, which has been reconstructed, was originally constructed about 5,200 years ago (3,200 BC) which makes it older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of is also renowned for a winter solstice phenomenon where sunlight penetrates a passage and illuminates an inner chamber, indicating an ancient understanding of light travels 19m, from the roof box at the entrance through the passage and into the chamber.
