Around 6,000 years ago a most sophisticated community of people arose on the island of Ireland. This book tells the story of their genesis. It explores the invasion myths of Ireland, the link between the ancient astronomers and St Patrick, and the true inspiration behind Newgrange’s white quartz facade. Ireland is home to some of the world’s oldest astronomically-aligned structures, giant stone monuments erected over 5,000 years ago. Despite their apparent simplicity, these megalithic edifices were crafted by a scientifically knowledgeable community of farmers who endeavoured to enshrine their beliefs in a stellar afterlife within the very fabric of their cleverly-designed stone temples. Finally back in print, this reissued edition presents evidence suggesting the builders of monuments such as Newgrange and its Boyne Valley counterparts were adept astronomers, cunning engineers and capable surveyors. Their huge monuments are memorials in stone and earth, commemorating their creators’ perceived unity with the cosmos and enshrining a belief system which resulted from a crossover between science and spirituality. As investigation of this awe-inspiring civilisation of people continues on many levels, evidence is emerging that significant archaeological sites dating from deep in prehistory are linked
not just through mythology, archaeology and cosmology
but through an arrangement of complex, and in some cases astonishing, alignments. Some of these alignments of ancient sites stretch from one side of Ireland to another. While the accounts of the lives of some prominent Irish saints appear to be steeped in folklore and mystery, it seems from new interpretations of the literature that the cosmic world view which existed in Neolithic Ireland experienced a continuity right into the Early Christian period. Join us on this fascinating exploration of stones, stars and stories. AUTHORS: Anthony Murphy is a journalist and the author of Dronehenge: The Story Behind the Remarkable Discovery at Newgrange; Mythical Ireland: New Light on the Ancient Past and Newgrange: Monument to Immortality. He lives in Drogheda and manages the website www.mythicalireland.com. Richard Moore is an artist, working mainly in oils and acrylics, who has been painting the ancient sites of the Boyne Valley region for 25 years.
170 illustrations