Site Type: Passage Tomb
Irish Grid Ref: O0062972685
Location: Link to Bing Maps
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| A quiet November day at Newgrange. |
This passage tomb is described on Archaeology.ie as follows;
"The great mound of Newgrange, 85m in max. dim. and 11m H, is delimited by a megalithic kerb. It covers a cruciform passage-tomb, 24m long, opening to SE. The chamber is roofed with a fine corbelled vault. There are two stone basins in NE recess; the others contain single basins. The 'roof box' above, some 2.4m back from the passage entrance, permits rays of the rising sun at midwinter solstice to penetrate to the chamber. Many of the kerb stones and a great number of the structural stones of the passage and chamber bear megalighic art. A circle of standing stones (ME019-045005-) surrounds the mound, and three small passage-tombs (ME019-046001-, ME019-046003--, ME019-044004-) are in close proximity to it. The monument was excavated between 1962 and 1975 (O'Kelly 1982)."
This passage tomb is one of the three great passage tombs that make up Bru Na Boinne. There really isn't much that I can add to its description. It is the jewel in the crown and perhaps the pinnacle of the Neolithic culture in Ireland. The winter solstice sunrise alignment is famous worldwide and nowadays there is a lottery to decide who gets to be inside the passage on the winter solstice morning. However even if you don't get inside the tomb it is possible to view an interesting phenomena outside the tomb on this morning. A shadow effect as per Frank Prendergasts paper below.
Links to photographs;
Link to a picture of light entering the chamber at Anthony Murphys website www.mythicalireland.com
Links for further information;
Shadow Casting Phenomena at Newgrange by Frank Prendergast
Video of the sun entering the chamber at Newgrange on youtube featuring Frank Prendergast
Information on Newgrange at www.newgrange.com
Information and pictures at www.megalithicireland.com
