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Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site MANAGEMENT PLAN January 2017 DEPARTMENT OF ARTS, HERITAGE, REGIONAL, RURAL AND GAELTACHT AFFAIRS National Monuments Service Custom House, Dublin 1 D01 W6XO Tel: 01 888 2000 LoCall 1890 202021 E-mail: [email protected] 3 Contents Acknowledgements 5 Foreword 6 PART 1 Chapter 1: Introduction 8 Chapter 2: Brú na Bóinne Location and Description 12 Chapter 3: Significance of Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site 27 PART 2 Chapter 4: Management and Policy Framework 34 Chapter 5: Current Management Systems 38 PART 3 Chapter 6: Issues, Objectives and Actions 50 Chapter 7: Implementing the Brú na Bóinne Management Plan (2017) 60 Appendices Appendix 1: List of Members of Steering Group 65 Appendix 2: Summary of Public Consultation Process 67 Appendix 3: Submissions to Second Phase of Consultation 73 Appendix 4: Brú na Bóinne National Monuments 94 Appendix 5: Natural Heritage Designations 102 Appendix 6: Record of Protected Structures 103 Appendix 7: Meath Industrial Heritage Survey 107 Appendix 8: Protected Views in the Meath County Development Plan 111 Appendix 9: Retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value 113 Appendix 10: Action Plan 122 Appendix 11: Review of Brú na Bóinne Management Plan 2002 140 Appendix 12: Architectural Conservation Areas 143 Appendix 13: Screening Report for Appropriate Assessment 144 Appendix 14: Screening Report for Strategic Environment Assessment 145 Appendix 15: Bibliography 155 Appendix 16: Glossary of Terms 157 Figures Fig. 1: Aerial view looking south-west with Knowth in centre background Fig. 2: Core Area and Buffer Zone map of WHS Fig. 3: Sites and Monuments record for Brú na Bóinne Fig. 4: Natual Heritage designations within Core Area and Buffer Zone of the World Heritage Site Fig. 5: Site location map Fig. 6: Geology Fig. 7: Swans at Newgrange with barrow in middle ground Fig. 8: River Boyne winter flooding in vicinity of Visitor Centre Fig. 9: Passage tombs in Brú na Bóinne area Fig. 10: Passage at Newgrange during winter Solstice Fig. 11: Aerial view looking north towards Newgrange with embanked enclosures (henges), ritual ponds, barrows and ring-ditches in foreground Fig. 12: Newgrange, April 1950 Fig. 13: Excavation of kerbstones and sockets to the rear of the Newgrange tumulus Fig. 14: Harvest moonrise over the great stone circle, Newgrange Fig. 15: Aerial view looking east along the Newgrange ridge with cursus in the background Fig. 16: Dowth Hall built in the late eighteenth-century Fig. 17: The eighteenth-century grain mill at Slane Fig. 18: The eighteenth-century Boyne Navigation canal Fig. 19: Location of central action in Battle of the Boyne in eastern Buffer Zone of WHS Fig. 20: Carving on passage orthostat at Newgrange Fig. 21: Newgrange roof box through which the rising sun shines during the winter solstice Fig. 22: Carving on a passage orthostat in the western tomb at Knowth Fig. 23: Newgrange, triple spiral on chamber orthostat Fig. 24: Newgrange from the north-east with folly in the foreground Fig. 25: Red deer on Dowth demesne Fig. 26: The entrance to Newgrange, 1954 Fig. 27: The Bend of the Boyne below Newgrange Fig. 28: Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre Fig. 29: A badger taking refuge in the chamber at Newgrange (Photo: Clare Tuffy) Fig. 30: Eighteenth-century Johnson's Mill at Rosnaree Fig. 31: Interpretive displays in the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre Fig. 32: Newgrange from the south Fig. 33: Display within the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre Fig. 34: The passage tomb at Dowth Fig. 35: A guide addressing visitors at Newgrange Fig. 36: Satellite passage tomb at Knowth with the outbuildings of Knowth House in the background Fig. 37: Visitors leaving WHS by footbridge Fig. 38: Map showing 19th century buildings in WHS and Buffer Zone Fig. 39: Early medieval ringfort in Knowth townland Fig. 40: Medieval land ownership in WHS area Fig. 41: Decorated basin stone, eastern tomb, Knowth Fig. 42: Flooding on the Boyne at Newgrange Fig. 43: Dowth Henge Fig. 44: Lidar mapping of the WHS are at Brú na Bóinne 5 Acknowledgements The National Monuments Service wish to acknowledge the many individuals and organisations that assisted during the production of this Management Plan. The active Steering Group played a major role and included members from the Boyne Valley Consultative Committee, The National Monuments Service (DAHRRGA), Meath County Council, Louth County Council, Slane Historical Society, Fáilte Ireland, The Heritage Council, An Taisce, ICOMOS (Ireland) and the Office of Public Works (see Appendix 1 for list of members). Images were provided by the following: Photographic Unit (DAHG): Figs 1, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16., 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 41, 42 and 43; Ann Lynch: Fig. 13; Claire Tuffy: Fig 29. Matthew and Geraldine Stout: Figs 5, 6, 9, 19, 38, and 40. Katie McFarland and Debbie Lawlor of DAHRRGA: Figs 2-4; The Discovery Programme and Meath County Council: Fig 44. Foreword Brú na Bóinne is one of the world’s most important archaeological land- scapes, a fact that was recognised through its designation as a World Heritage Site in 1993 by UNESCO. The archaeological ensemble of Brú na Bóinne, which covers some 780 hectares, with a buffer area of 2,500 hectares surrounding it, contains many outstanding archaeological features, notably its megalithic art, the large and varied grouping of monuments and evidence of continuous set- tlement and activity in the area for some 7,000 years. One of the requirements for a World Heritage Site designation is having in place a comprehensive Management Plan. Recent developments have underlined the need for a structured approach to the management and protection of this unique area. Much of the emphasis in the long period of consultation has been to attempt to balance the protection of this site with the needs and aspirations of its residents and of other important stakeholders in the area. To this end I am happy that all parties are participating in ongoing discussions with local communities and I look forward to the contin- uation of this engagement during the lifetime of this Plan. This Plan which has a ten year lifespan, with a review after 5 years, sets out to address the many complex issues that inevitably arise at a site of the importance of Brú na Bóinne. It provides comprehensive information on various aspects of the site, including its management history, its resources, visitor management policies and the concerns expressed by stakeholders during the management consultation process. Drawing on this information base, the Plan proposes a total of 101 actions under 18 different headings. While many of the key objectives reflect what is happening on the ground today, there are a number of new measures being proposed particularly in the area of research and local involvement. The initial draft of this Plan was developed by a multi-disciplinary team drawn from the archaeologists, architects and administration of my Department together with the conservation architects, administrators and guide service of the Office of Public Works. However, conscious that Brú na Bóinne, as well as being an important archaeological ensemble, is a living landscape, my Department also engaged in an extensive public consultation process. This process has directly influenced the shape of the final draft of the Plan and I would like to take the opportunity to thank all who took the time to make their views known. I believe that the publication of this Management Plan is an essential step towards the continued success of the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site and I look forward to the implementation of the actions recommended in the Plan. _______________________ Heather Humphreys T.D. Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Introduction 8 Chapter 1 Introduction A Vision Statement for Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site To protect, conserve and promote the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site by putting in place a management framework that will ensure its Outstanding Universal Value is maintained and enhanced for present and future generations. This will include promotion of the site as a resource for research and learning, and protection of its status as a world-class visitor experience. It will be a focus for achieving sustainable economic, social and environmental benefits for local communities. 1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE MANAGEMENT Brú na Bóinne. It will be a working document, open to PLAN periodic review, with additions and amendments made as Brú na Bóinne, or the ‘Archaeological Ensemble of the conditions change. Bend of the Boyne’, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1993 and refers to the complex of archaeological The Plan will employ the principles put forward in the monuments located in a distinct U-shaped bend formed Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the by the River Boyne c. 4.8km west of the town of Drogheda World Heritage Convention (2013) and those of Managing (Fig. 1) . The property, located in County Meath, but con- Cultural World Heritage (2013) and will include a values- tiguous with a portion of the Louth county boundary, is led approach, and delivery of management which antici- characterised by a number of distinct topographical zones pates and manages change. and some of the most prestigious monuments in the coun- try. The international significance of Brú na Bóinne has The Management Plan is not a statutory document and been gradually revealed through a process of discovery does not supersede the responsibilities of individual part- and research which began over 300 years ago. ner organisations and bodies. However, in order for the Plan to be effective, the partner organisations should ensure that it is reflected in their own strategic and statu- 1.2 PURPOSE OF THE MANAGEMENT PLAN tory plans as these are prepared, reviewed and imple- The Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site Management Plan mented over the lifetime of this Plan.

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