Michael
Gibbons
Contributions to journals
Michael O’Kelly argued in 1982 that Newgrange had been left largely unaltered from the Neolithic onwards. However, recent scholarship and a re-assessment of the archaeological remains, as well as the early antiquarian sources and available aerial photography, suggest that, in addition to the long-recognized deposition of Roman material at the front of the entrance, the tomb was altered and perhaps entered as part of continuing ritual activities and deposition over several centuries in the Iron Age. Iron Age activities may have included deposition within the interior of the tomb itself, the construction of an enclosure or barrow on the summit and alterations to the profile of the mound itself. The ritual importance of Newgrange in the Late Iron Age is reflected in the Early Christian and medieval literature and the mythological and literary sources suggest strong links between Newgrange and Romano-British religious and ritual practices at Lydney near the NW coast of the Severn Estuary. There is now sufficient evidence of possible Iron Age activity at Newgrange to justify further testing of the remains from O’Kelly’s excavations between 1962 and 1975 to clarify the extent and duration of these practices.
Michael O’Kelly argued in 1982 that Newgrange had been left largely unaltered from the Neolithic onwards. However, recent scholarship and a re-assessment of the archaeological remains, as well as the early antiquarian sources and available aerial photography, suggest that, in addition to the long-recognized deposition of Roman material at the front of the entrance, the tomb was altered and perhaps entered as part of continuing ritual activities and deposition over several centuries in the Iron Age. Iron Age activities may have included deposition within the interior of the tomb itself, the construction of an enclosure or barrow on the summit and alterations to the profile of the mound itself. The ritual importance of Newgrange in the Late Iron Age is reflected in the Early Christian and medieval literature and the mythological and literary sources suggest strong links between Newgrange and Romano-British religious and ritual practices at Lydney near the NW coast of the Severn Estuary. There is now sufficient evidence of possible Iron Age activity at Newgrange to justify further testing of the remains from O’Kelly’s excavations between 1962 and 1975 to clarify the extent and duration of these practices.
