On a cloudy Saturday, I took a bus tour from the Dublin bus station to the Boyne Valley. The first half of the tour was dedicated to early Christian Ireland. First, we admired the 10th-century crosses at Monasterboice. After that, we visited Ireland's first Cistercian Abbey (Old Mellifont). A very articulate female guide made this part of Irish history come alive.

In the early afternoon, we finally arrived at the main destination of the day: Newgrange, part of the Archeological Complex at the Bend of the Boyne.

Sightseeing there started at the Visitor Center, where a simple exhibition is shown about the daily life of the people who build the structures. The explanations are very specific about the site predating Egypt's Pyramids and Stonehenge (that last one must give the Irish some extra pleasure). When I checked the dates of some other prehistoric WHS (of which there are many), the funerary monuments of the Boyne Valley are from about the same age as the first Megalithic Temples of Malta and the Heart of Neolithic Orkney.

Access to the tombs is only allowed with a guide. A small bus takes you there, the mounds are situated amidst agricultural lands. Only little is known, much speculation surrounds this site. The stones that were used come from different areas, some from quite a distance. The way they are presented now is the result of the restorations of Professor O'Kelly in the 1960s and 1970s, a reconstruction that has been criticized.

We were split into two groups to get a look inside. It still is a very crowded experience with 25 people. After entering along a low passage, there is a room in the shape of a crucifix. Some of the walls are adorned with prehistoric drawings (and 19th-century graffiti). The guide explains the phenomenon of the sunlight reaching the altar directly on the winter solstice. Like at Stonehenge, there are many astronomical stories connected with this site.

A tour like this only gives you a glimpse into this era and the way humans lived and thought at that time. I think it's recommended to also visit the nearby site at Knowth (reached from the same Visitor Center) for a more in-depth experience.