While Ireland’s early summer heatwave brought some misery, it brought archaeologists and history enthusiasts great joy. The drought revealed an Neolithic wonder called a henge near the ancient site of Newgrange in County Meath.
Hidden to the naked eye for centuries, the henge’s location was captured by a drone flown over the Boyne Valley by Anthony Murphy. It’s something the historian and author does on a regular basis.
Murphy explained, in an RTÉ report, that moisture lodges in the archaeological features, probably timber posts, making the crop greener than that grown in the surrounding soil.
The henge is believed to have been built 500 years after Newgrange, which is 5,000 years old, a thousand years older than Stonehenge, and older than the Egyptian pyramids by 400 years. Six days later, also in the area, archaeologists discovered a Megalithic passage tomb. Given that the henge is on private property, all surface traces of the historic site will vanish and its secrets won’t be revealed.
“We may not see this it again for two or three decades, depending on when we get another prolonged dry spell like this,” Murphy concluded. ♦ Dave Lewis
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