Newgrange, New Grange, Shi-en-I'm lying (Irish Si an Bhru) - is the oldest religious stone structure in the world. The property consists of megaliths and enters the complex Brú na Boyne is located in Ireland.
Presumably, it takes ages counting from 3600 BC. e., that the older Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids.
This area has long been used as farmland. In 1688 these lands passed into the possession of Charles Campbell. It was his servant found Newgrange, when looking for the stones for construction. At first it seemed to them a simple construction of the cave, but then was found a long, narrow passage leading to the great room. The workers immediately reported the discovery to the owner, who told this antiquarian, naturalist and philologist Edward Luidja. As a result, Luidja Newgrange announced his discovery and called it a tomb, to put it simply prehistoric tomb. Later, many questioned this hypothesis, for example, Charles Vallance, who thought that this place probably used for rituals and astronomical purposes. In 1983, Martin Brennan published the book "Stones of Time," which results in a lot of detail to refute the theory of the burial tomb.
Over time, the complex began to decrease due to the subsidence of the embankment, and soon disappeared completely. In 1962, under the direction of Professor Michael J.. O'Kelly. Newgrange was excavated and restored, and around it was erected a wall of quartzite and granite to strengthen the embankments. This recovery has displeased the archaeological community, critics argue that such technology did not exist when this building was erected. Another reason for the discontent was the fact that the stones were brought from other regions of the country.
Today Newgrange restored and opened to visitors.
The height of the mound - 13, 5 meters in diameter - 85 meters. 19-meter-long corridor leads to the burial chamber, which is based on vertically set stone monoliths weighing 20 to 40 tons. The device resembles Newgrange than Stonehenge, but here, unlike Stonehenge stone circle on top is covered mound of earth and rubble.