The stretch of valley between Drogheda and Slane, Brú na Bóinne (Gaelic for Palace of the Boyne) is home to spectacular megalithic tombs dating back more than 5 000 years. Some 40 burial places have been identified, but only three have been systematically excavated: Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. The site is strewn with other monuments, such as stone circles, menhirs and medieval buildings and bear witness to the civilisations that have succeeded each other in Ireland for almost 6,000 years.