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| The current issue of Archaeology Ireland (Autumn 2007) has highlighted the usefulness of using high-resolution Google Earth imagery to study the archaeological landscape. Here, this dramatic view of the Bend of the Boyne shows numerous monuments of Brú na Bóinne, most noticably Newgrange in the centre. Knowth is towards the top left. Numerous monuments are identifiable. See our map of the valley here. Tom Condit, Editor of Archaeology Ireland, says on page 26, "it is a massive resource and an invaluable tool that will not only sharpen your appreciation of the Irish landscape but will also allow you to view the details of other countries too - and all in a couple of clicks!" More stunning photos here. |
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| This dramatic view of Newgrange from the west shows how the mound sits on a ridge overlooking the Boyne. To the left (north) of Newgrange is Site R, while near the right of the image are the ceremonial ponds which may have been created for the Whooper Swans which winter there. For more on the swans, see Island of the Setting Sun chapter 7. |
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| Another image with Newgrange in the background, and also satellite sites A (left of centre) and B (near river). |
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| Newgrange and the Boyne, again showing the ceremonial ponds near the river. Almost invisible in this photo is the circular Site P, to the left of the ponds. See the Brú na Bóinne map to pinpoint its location. |
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| This dramatic picture shows the monumental landscape overlooking the Bend of the Boyne at Rossnaree and Crewbane, with the multi-faceted Knowth complex dominating, flanked by Site N, a very dramatic platformed ringfort overlooking a steep bank down to the Boyne and (left behind Knowth) site M, which has been excavated in recent years. |
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| The Knowth complex, which took nearly 40 years to excavate, was in use from the Neolithic right down to Norman and Medieval Times. It's a massive site with a huge amount of artwork on its giant kerbstones. |
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| One of the biggest monuments of the Boyne Valley is the giant embanked enclosure known as Site Q. Aligned on Summer Solstice sunrise, it probably dates to the Bronze Age and is like a gladiatorial arena in scale. |
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| A closer view of Site Q. |
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| Dowth, one of the three great mounds of the Bend of the Boyne, with the huge crater in its top, left by crude excavations in the 1840s. |
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| Even the standing stones show up in Google Earth. |
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| A few miles downstream from Newgrange is the town of Drogheda. Here, the martello tower and mound of Millmount occupy a dominant position overlooking the Boyne. Millmount is a probable passage tomb, adapted as a motte by the Normans. It has astronomical alignments with the Hills of Tara and Slane and is said to be the burial place of Milesian bard Amergin. |
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