Newgrange
Why
Newgrange
is specialNewgrange in Ireland is a major Neolithic site built around 3200 BC and was designed to document the winter solstice. This large, grass-covered circular mound predates the Great Pyramids of Egypt by a half millennium.
Newgrange tips and insights
Entrance requirement
The site attracts 200,000 visitors per year. Access is by group tour only. After you buy your ticket at the nearby visitors center, your assigned group is bussed to the site.
Winter solstice
Once a year, on December 21st (shortest day of the year), the inner passage is lined up perfectly with the rising sun.
-
At dawn, for 17 minutes
A sunbeam passes through the inner passage and illuminates the central chamber's floor.
- Visitor lottery
About 100 people (out of nearly 30,000 applicants) are selected each year by lottery to witness the solar-alignment event.
- Throughout the year
The solar event is reenacted by artificial light for all group tours.
Although most archaeologists believe that Stonehenge in England is a more significant Neolithic site than Newgrange, some disagree.
Measurements
- Newgrange is approximately 80 meters (250 feet) wide and 12 meters (40 feet) high.
- The arched roof of the central chamber is 6 meters (20 feet) high and the narrow inner passage leading to it is 18 meters (60 feet) long.
An intriguing triple-spiral design is etched into a stone in the chamber as well as on the large stone at the outdoor entrance. No one knows for sure the symbol's meaning.
Tidbits
- Newgrange lay forgotten by man for thousands of years. It wasn't discovered until 1699 - and serious excavation and restoration did not begin until 1962.
- A white stone foundation wall covers part of the site's surface. Some archaeologists believe that the 20th-century restorers should not have put on that wall because - they argue - the stones may have been used for a different purpose.
