An astonishing ancient tomb is Ireland's most famous prehistoric monument; Newgrange. Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Muiris O’Sullivan, an expert on the many Stone Age monuments of Ireland, including Newgrange, and they revel in the astonishing construction techniques used by ancient builders over 5,000 years ago and the intricate rock art such as the triple spiral, which has an intriguing backstory.

Archeology is slowly revealing the people who built this fascinating structure, their use of sacred landscapes, and the DNA evidence linking them to other Stone Age communities.

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Nick Thomson, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

See the treasures of Newgrange in the new History Hit documentary; Prehistoric Ireland: Secrets of the Stone Age now. Sign up to History Hit for this and more original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

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