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A
spiral inside Newgrange
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81
Archaeologists
categorise the range of motifs which make up the decoration
on the stones of Newgrange. These categories are: circles,
spirals, arcs, serpentiforms, dot-in-circles, zigzags (chevrons),
lozenges, radials or star shapes, parallel lines, and offsets
or comb-devices.
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Of
all the categories of motif, the most common at Newgrange
are lozenge and zigzag (chevron). The lozenge is most prominent
in the interior of the site.
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In
his study of "Megalithic Art in Ireland", Muiris
O'Sullivan points out that by decorating the convex surface
of the entrance kerbstone, Kerb 1, with a "curvilinear"
arrangement, the artist has managed to make the stone look
"considerably more massive" than it actually is.
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Despite
the presence of some of the most beautifully and intricately
designed kerbstones (e.g. K1 and KI52), the kerb art at
Newgrange does not match that of Knowth in terms of volume
and overall grandeur.
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The
majority of decorated passage-mounds, accounting for more
than four-fifths of the decorated stones, are located in
Co. Meath, including Newgrange.
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The
"face" on stone L19 in the passage
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About
seven-tenths of the kerbstones uncovered during archaeological
work at Newgrange are decorated with megalithic art.
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The
famous "triple spiral" in the chamber. Click
for more.
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87
The
famous so-called "triple spiral" on a standing
stone in the central recess of the chamber actually consists
of a total of six spirals.
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Despite
an apparent lack of megalithic art on some of the passage
orthostats, every one of these stones features a style of
decoration which archaeologists call "pick-dressing".
On stones which feature other types of art, the pick-dressing
tends to overlap onto the existing art.
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An
arragement of spirals, lozenges and zigzags on a passage
orthostat (L19) has been interpreted by many people as representing
a face, possibly a god or deity of some kind.
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Curiously,
some of the megalithic art at Newgrange was found on the
reverse side of some of the kerbstones and chamber stones
- in locations where they could not be seen.
Visit
this
page for more photos of the megalithic art inside Newgrange.
