Ireland: Newgrange
Sunday found us driving north from Dublin to visit one of Ireland’s oldest sites – Newgrange Megalithic Passage Tomb. A bus takes you from the visitor’s center to the actual site, where we were met by a guide who gave us a talk about Newgrange and what archaeologists think about it. Then we walked down the passage and into the tiny chamber in the center of this large mound.
What makes this tomb so special is the fact that the passage and central chamber are perfectly aligned to be lit by the sun at winter solstice. A shaft of sunlight shines through the roof box over the entrance and penetrates the passage to light up the chamber. The dramatic event lasts for 17 minutes at dawn from the 19th to the 23rd of December.
The chamber is lit with electrical light for the tourists, and the guide is able to demonstrate the effect of the solstice sun coming into the chamber. It is spooky and eerie and utterly amazing. Did I mention that Newgrange is even older than the pyramids in Egypt?
No one knows why the ancients built the passage tomb this way – or even if it was a tomb. When it was fully excavated in 1962ish, there were human remains found on the giant bowls in the three alcoves in the center room. They could have been placed there as sacrifices and offerings or merely awaiting the blessing of the winter sun before they could be scattered.
