Dronehenge book launch
Anthony Murphy's new book about the incredible archaeological discoveries at Newgrange during the drought of 2018 will be launched in Drogheda on Wednesday night, 30th October.
The book will be launched by archaeologist Dr. Conor Brady of DkIT, and the Mayor of Drogheda, Cllr. Paul Bell.
'Dronehenge', as it became known by the popular press in the days after its discovery, is a giant Late Neolithic henge monument discovered by two Drogheda men, Anthony Murphy and Ken Williams. It measures over 500ft in diameter and is thought to be at least 4,500 years old. It was found in the Unesco World Heritage Site of Brú na Bóinne, along with other previously unrecorded monuments, during the severe drought of July 2018.
The story of its discovery is a remarkable one. Two amateurs, passionate about prehistory and photography, made the discovery of the century during an unprecedented drought, the likes of which hadn't been seen since 1976. Parched crops at Newgrange Farm revealed unknown archaeological features beneath the surface – huge manmade structures that once stood on the flood plain of the Boyne but which had long vanished without a trace.
On the evening of Tuesday 10th of July 2018, Anthony Murphy travelled to Newgrange to fly his drone over the Boyne Valley. He was soon joined by Ken Williams, a Drogheda-born photographer and dedicated archaeological researcher.
At 8.47pm on that fateful evening, while flying his drone, Anthony spotted giant circular markings in a field at Newgrange Farm. Initially thinking they could be crop circles or tractor tyre marks, he quickly realised they were in a standing crop and therefore were likely to be archaeological crop marks. Ken, who had also launched his drone, soon spotted other features nearby and in the course of about half an hour of flying drones, the pair discovered a series of gigantic monuments which had never been seen before. It was, quite literally, history in the making.
The pair discussed their finds and decided to share some of the images on social media. The drone photos went viral, and the next day the media began taking an interest. What followed was a three-week period during which newspapers and media organisations from all around the world reported on the discoveries. Some of the images taken on the evening of the discovery were seen by tens of millions of people around the world. The discovery was featured on RTE, BBC, CNN, CBS News, Channel 4 and National Geographic among others, and even made headlines in far-away places such as Japan, Australia and South Africa.
In follow-up aerial surveys, the National Monuments Service revealed the true complexity of what had been found, which they later documented in a comprehensive report confirming that the Late Neolithic phase of activity at Brú na Bóinne was much more extensive than we had previously known about.
Dronehenge itself, although shaped and laid out like a traditional henge, is unique in its design and has features that are entirely without precedent, having never been seen in any other Irish henge. It measures over 150 metres or 500 feet wide and is located just 700 metres from the great monument of Newgrange.
Its discovery, along with other henges in the vicinity, means that the Bend of the Boyne now has the highest concentration of henge monuments anywhere on the planet. The scale of the monument assembly at Brú na Bóinne makes it one of the grandest and most complex archaeological landscapes anywhere on earth.
In Dronehenge: The Story Behind the Remarkable Discovery at Newgrange, Anthony Murphy chronicles the build-up to the discovery, and talks in depth about that fateful evening and the reaction of Ken and himself as they saw these incredible monuments for the first time. He discusses the huge global reaction to the story of the discovery, and the intense interest from the media and public from Ireland, Britain, the United States and further afield.
The book discusses what henge monuments were and what they might have been used for. In particular, Anthony suggests that Dronehenge might have been used as some sort of arena for rituals, games and sports and even festivals and trade. And, he proposes, it might have been astronomically aligned too. But you'll have to buy the book to find out more!
The discovery of Dronehenge prompted lots of archaeological finds in 2018. Another local drone pilot, Noel Meehan of Copter View, discovered a Bronze Age complex of monuments near Duleek. Matthew Kelly, of company DroneSAR, discovered a similar complex of Bronze Age structures near Dundalk. Hundreds of previously unknown monuments were found using drones during the drought, and later using Google Earth imagery that had been taken during the dry spell. Anthony went on to find another 100 monuments using Google Earth, and similar hauls were made by other dedicated amateurs, keeping the National Monuments Service busy for months with reports of "new" archaeological discoveries.
Anthony has been invited to speak about the discovery at Princeton University in New Jersey, USA, on 22nd November. Dronehenge is his sixth published book.
Ken Williams is a photographer and archaeological researcher from Brookville. He runs the website Shadows and Stone, and his photographic work has been featured in numerous archaeological publications.
The book will be launched by archaeologist Dr. Conor Brady of DkIT, and the Mayor of Drogheda, Cllr. Paul Bell.
'Dronehenge', as it became known by the popular press in the days after its discovery, is a giant Late Neolithic henge monument discovered by two Drogheda men, Anthony Murphy and Ken Williams. It measures over 500ft in diameter and is thought to be at least 4,500 years old. It was found in the Unesco World Heritage Site of Brú na Bóinne, along with other previously unrecorded monuments, during the severe drought of July 2018.
The story of its discovery is a remarkable one. Two amateurs, passionate about prehistory and photography, made the discovery of the century during an unprecedented drought, the likes of which hadn't been seen since 1976. Parched crops at Newgrange Farm revealed unknown archaeological features beneath the surface – huge manmade structures that once stood on the flood plain of the Boyne but which had long vanished without a trace.
 |
| Dronehenge ... one of the first photos of the newly discovered monument. |
On the evening of Tuesday 10th of July 2018, Anthony Murphy travelled to Newgrange to fly his drone over the Boyne Valley. He was soon joined by Ken Williams, a Drogheda-born photographer and dedicated archaeological researcher.
At 8.47pm on that fateful evening, while flying his drone, Anthony spotted giant circular markings in a field at Newgrange Farm. Initially thinking they could be crop circles or tractor tyre marks, he quickly realised they were in a standing crop and therefore were likely to be archaeological crop marks. Ken, who had also launched his drone, soon spotted other features nearby and in the course of about half an hour of flying drones, the pair discovered a series of gigantic monuments which had never been seen before. It was, quite literally, history in the making.
The pair discussed their finds and decided to share some of the images on social media. The drone photos went viral, and the next day the media began taking an interest. What followed was a three-week period during which newspapers and media organisations from all around the world reported on the discoveries. Some of the images taken on the evening of the discovery were seen by tens of millions of people around the world. The discovery was featured on RTE, BBC, CNN, CBS News, Channel 4 and National Geographic among others, and even made headlines in far-away places such as Japan, Australia and South Africa.
In follow-up aerial surveys, the National Monuments Service revealed the true complexity of what had been found, which they later documented in a comprehensive report confirming that the Late Neolithic phase of activity at Brú na Bóinne was much more extensive than we had previously known about.
Dronehenge itself, although shaped and laid out like a traditional henge, is unique in its design and has features that are entirely without precedent, having never been seen in any other Irish henge. It measures over 150 metres or 500 feet wide and is located just 700 metres from the great monument of Newgrange.
Its discovery, along with other henges in the vicinity, means that the Bend of the Boyne now has the highest concentration of henge monuments anywhere on the planet. The scale of the monument assembly at Brú na Bóinne makes it one of the grandest and most complex archaeological landscapes anywhere on earth.
In Dronehenge: The Story Behind the Remarkable Discovery at Newgrange, Anthony Murphy chronicles the build-up to the discovery, and talks in depth about that fateful evening and the reaction of Ken and himself as they saw these incredible monuments for the first time. He discusses the huge global reaction to the story of the discovery, and the intense interest from the media and public from Ireland, Britain, the United States and further afield.
The book discusses what henge monuments were and what they might have been used for. In particular, Anthony suggests that Dronehenge might have been used as some sort of arena for rituals, games and sports and even festivals and trade. And, he proposes, it might have been astronomically aligned too. But you'll have to buy the book to find out more!
The discovery of Dronehenge prompted lots of archaeological finds in 2018. Another local drone pilot, Noel Meehan of Copter View, discovered a Bronze Age complex of monuments near Duleek. Matthew Kelly, of company DroneSAR, discovered a similar complex of Bronze Age structures near Dundalk. Hundreds of previously unknown monuments were found using drones during the drought, and later using Google Earth imagery that had been taken during the dry spell. Anthony went on to find another 100 monuments using Google Earth, and similar hauls were made by other dedicated amateurs, keeping the National Monuments Service busy for months with reports of "new" archaeological discoveries.
Anthony has been invited to speak about the discovery at Princeton University in New Jersey, USA, on 22nd November. Dronehenge is his sixth published book.
Ken Williams is a photographer and archaeological researcher from Brookville. He runs the website Shadows and Stone, and his photographic work has been featured in numerous archaeological publications.
Comments
Post a Comment