Extremely detailed views of the Brú na Bóinne area taken by satellite during the drought of 2018 have revealed a raft of possible new monuments. I went searching through the imagery and found at least 15 features which are possibly or likely to be archaeology, none of which are yet recorded by the National Monuments Service.
Just when you thought it wasn't possible for more archaeology to be discovered at the Brú na Bóinne Unesco World Heritage site at the bend of the Boyne, Apple Maps is using extremely detailed satellite images of the area taken during the unprecedented dry spell in summer 2018, offering the chance to see even more unrecorded archaeology in the area.
I jumped at the chance to view the imagery, not expecting to find anything that hadn't been seen before. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The Apple Maps images offer fabulous views of the big discovery of last summer - Dronehenge - and its neighbouring henges, Site LP2 and Site P. Also visible in the same field are the Pit Complex, the Four-Poster and the arcs of the Great Palisade.
Browsing through the Apple Maps imagery, I quickly stumbled upon a feature to the east of Newgrange that looks very like a ringfort – and it even appears to have a rectangular-shaped structure in its interior, the possible remains of a habitation. This is an unrecorded monument in close proximity to the great mound of Newgrange, less than half a kilometre away.
The following are images, with a brief description, of other features I have found in the Brú na Bóinne area using Apple Maps. I must emphasise that these might not all be new discoveries. It is possible that some of these features have been previously found by others and not yet added to the National Monuments Database. I have provided details of all these finds to the National Monuments Service and await feedback on how many of them might be unrecorded archaeology. All images are © Apple Maps.
Further discoveries
In addition to all the above, I have furnished the National Monuments Service with a report containing 66 unrecorded monuments found in Apple Maps in counties Louth and Meath. I have picked out a few of my favourites from this report to show you how much archaeology was revealed during the once-in-a-generation weather conditions of June and July 2018.
