The Boyne Valley, has been the focus of human settlement for at least 6,000 years. Traces of these accumulated layers of activity still survive on the landscape but it is the remains of the prehistoric period, in particular the magnificent tombs of the Neolithic or Late Stone Age, which impart a sense of this being a special place, where ritual and ceremony played a major role in the lives of local communities about 5,000 years ago.

Prehistory — When the tombs fell into disuse, possibly around 2900 BC, the areas surrounding them continued to be the focus of ceremonies, ritual and habitation right through to the Early Bronze Age period (c.2200 BC). Large earthen embanked circles, pit circles and pit and wooden post circles (all of which have been described as ‘henges’) were constructed. A cursus, comprising a pair of parallel banks and ditches defining a path or routeway can be seen close to Newgrange. Material relating to the later Bronze age has a relatively low visibility in the landscape. A small number of cist burials, burials within ring ditches and fulachtaí fia (burnt mounds) have been recorded from this period. Throughout the Iron Age (c.500 BC – AD 400) there is evidence of sporadic activity, including burials interred close to the main mound at Knowth and on the river terrace at Rosnaree. Late Iron Age / Roman items of high value, including coins and jewellery were deposited in the vicinity of Newgrange as votive offerings.