Beyond Newgrange: Brú na Bóinne in the later Neolithic

Recent surveys of the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site, Ireland, have uncovered a diverse array of late Neolithic ritual and ceremonial structures, including earthen henges, square-in-circle monuments, palisaded enclosures, and pit/post-alignments. These discoveries, made possible by advanced non-invasive technologies like LiDAR and geophysical surveys, as well as the 2018 drought-induced cropmarks, reveal a landscape of extraordinary diversity yet architectural commonality with earlier passage tombs. The findings suggest both parallels with British Neolithic traditions and insular developments unique to Brú na Bóinne, offering new insights into the later Neolithic period without relying on excavation.

Davis, S., & Rassmann, K. (2021). Beyond Newgrange: Brú na Bóinne in the later Neolithic. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 87, 189–218. https://doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2021.6