Access to Newgrange is by guided tour only. Tours begin at the Bru na Boinne Visitor Centre in Donore, Co. Meath, from which visitors are bussed to the site in groups. Newgrange appears to have been used as a tomb. The recesses in the cruciform chamber hold large stone basins into which were placed cremated human remains. During excavation, the remains of five individuals were found. It is speculated that the sun formed an important part of the religious beliefs of the neolithic (“New” Stone Age) people who built it. Formerly the mound was encircled by an outer ring of immense standing stones, of which there are twelve of a possible thirty-seven remaining. However, it seems that the stone circle which encircled Newgrange is not contemporary with the monument itself but was placed there some 1,000 years later in the Bronze Age. The Newgrange mound is 76m (250ft) across and 12m (40ft) high, and covers 0.4 hectares (one acre). Within the mound, a long passage, stretching approximately one third of the length of the mound, leads to a cruciform (cross-shaped) chamber. The passage itself is over 18m (60ft) long. The burial chamber has a corbelled roof which rises steeply upwards to a height of nearly 6m (20 ft). A tribute to its builders, the roof has remained essentially intact and waterproof for over 5,000 years. Size 11″ x 14″ matted Double matted white/black Dunshaughlin Cottage Signed Print