Uploads from flyingkiwigirl, tagged meath

Newgrange Passage Tomb, Co. Meath, Ireland

nobody@flickr.com (flyingkiwigirl) — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:40:06 -0700

You may remember that we saw a roof box in tomb at Carrowkeel in County Sligo, well Newgrange is the tomb with the only other roof box(the top rectangle opening). A shaft of sunlight shines through the roof box and penetrates the passage to light up the chamber, this only happens for 17 minutes at dawn and for a few mornings either side of the Winter Solstice. So many people want to experience this that there is a lottery system set up where 50 names(with 2 places each)are selected to be in the chamber when it happens. Over 30,000 applications are submitted each year!

Newgrange Kerbstones

nobody@flickr.com (flyingkiwigirl) — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:40:10 -0700

flyingkiwigirl posted a photo:

The Newgrange passage tomb was built about 3200 BC (it predates Stonehenge by 1000 years), the mound covers over an acre, is 76 meters across and 12 meters high. It’s surrounded by 97 kerbstones, some of which are decorated with megalithic art. It is estimated that the construction of the tomb at Newgrange would have taken a work force of 300 at least 20 years.

Newgrange, the most famous of all Ireland’s Megalithic Passage Tombs.

nobody@flickr.com (flyingkiwigirl) — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:40:12 -0700

flyingkiwigirl posted a photo:

Leaving Belfast we cross the border back into Ireland heading for County Meath and Newgrange, the most famous of all the megalithic passage tombs. The visitors centre is actually 5-6kms away from the tomb on the other side of the River Boyne. After you book your tour you catch a bus to the tomb and are shown around it by a guide. This is obviously so there is less impact on the environment and not thousands of cars using the country lanes and disrupting the farming community that farm right up to and around the tomb sites and even all over some of the lesser known sites. There are three main passage tombs in the Boyne Valley and lots of other megalithic sites and stone circles, the whole valley has been designated a World Heritage Site.

Newgrange was built about 3200 BC (it predates Stonehenge by 1000 years), the mound covers over an acre, is 76 meters across and 12 meters high. It’s surrounded by 97 kerbstones, some of which are decorated with megalithic art. It is estimated that the construction of the tomb at Newgrange would have taken a work force of 300 at least 20 years.

Within the mound, a long passage, stretching approximately one third of the length of the mound, leads to a cruciform (cross-shaped) chamber. The passage itself is over 18 meters long. The burial chamber has a corbelled roof which rises steeply upwards to a height of nearly 6m. A tribute to its builders, the roof has remained essentially intact and waterproof for over 5,000 years.

Newgrange lay hidden for over 5,000 years due to mound slippage, until the late 17th century, when men looking for building stone uncovered it, and described it as a cave. Newgrange was excavated and mostly restored between 1962 and 1975. The mound is retained within a circle of large kerbstones topped by a high inward-leaning wall of white quartzite and granite. Most of the stones were sourced locally(within a 20km radius) but the stones of the façade have been sourced further afield.

Newgrange kerbstone megalithic art, Ireland

nobody@flickr.com (flyingkiwigirl) — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:39:12 -0700

flyingkiwigirl posted a photo:

Newgrange was built about 3200 BC (it predates Stonehenge by 1000 years), the mound covers over an acre, is 76 meters across and 12 meters high. It’s surrounded by 97 kerbstones, some of which are decorated with megalithic art. It is estimated that the construction of the tomb at Newgrange would have taken a work force of 300 at least 20 years.

Newgrange lay hidden for over 5,000 years due to mound slippage, until the late 17th century, when men looking for building stone uncovered it, and described it as a cave. Newgrange was excavated and mostly restored between 1962 and 1975. The mound is retained within a circle of large kerbstones topped by a high inward-leaning wall of white quartzite and granite. Most of the stones were sourced locally(within a 20km radius) but the stones of the façade have been sourced further afield.

Newgrange Passage Tomb Standing Stones, Co. Meath, Ireland

nobody@flickr.com (flyingkiwigirl) — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:39:08 -0700

flyingkiwigirl posted a photo:

As part of the restoration process the white quartzite stones and cobbles were fixed into a near-vertical steel-reinforced concrete wall surrounding the entrance of the mound. This restoration is controversial and critics of the wall say that the technology did not exist when the mound was created to fix a retaining wall at this angle. Another theory is that the white quartzite stones formed a plaza on the ground at the entrance.

Newgrange Passage Tomb, Co. Meath, Ireland

nobody@flickr.com (flyingkiwigirl) — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:39:14 -0700

flyingkiwigirl posted a photo:

We waited outside the entrance for the previous tour to exit and then make our way in through the bottom opening ducking to get underneath the capstone at the entrance. It’s a very narrow passage and takes some getting through between the huge rocks that jut out into the passage way. The passage rises 2 metres from the entrance so that the light from the roof box (at winter solstice) is lined up with the chamber floor. No photos were allowed inside.

Newgrange was built about 3200 BC (it predates Stonehenge by 1000 years), the mound covers over an acre, is 76 meters across and 12 meters high. It’s surrounded by 97 kerbstones, some of which are decorated with megalithic art. It is estimated that the construction of the tomb at Newgrange would have taken a work force of 300 at least 20 years.

Within the mound, a long passage, stretching approximately one third of the length of the mound, leads to a cruciform (cross-shaped) chamber. The passage itself is over 18 meters long. The burial chamber has a corbelled roof which rises steeply upwards to a height of nearly 6m. A tribute to its builders, the roof has remained essentially intact and waterproof for over 5,000 years.

Once we were all safely inside the chamber there was more time for questions. It was a tight fit (and we were only 10 people) and would be very, very claustrophobic with more people on the tour, I'm not sure how they fit up to 40 people in there(in the busy season). The chamber is dimly lit by electricity so we can see the three side chambers, the huge stone bowls, the megalithic art on the stones and the corbelled roof with its huge stones all placed just right to support each other.

Before we were given an example of how the the roof box worked the lights were switched out and we were left in total darkness. You could not see your finger in front of your face, it was pitch black. Our guide suggested that one of the gentlemen sing in the darkness, apparently women’s voices are no good but the chamber is very acoustic for the men’s(personally I think they’re more gullible! ). Next the guide turned the lights off to simulated sunrise and how the light box worked. We watched as the sunrise “beam” slowly crawled up the passage way from the entrance and into the chamber. That was very interesting. It’s amazing how something so huge that was constructed so long ago can be so precise that a tiny beam of light finds its way inside for such a short period of time. Incredible.