WINTER SOLSTICE Live Stream today as light passes through the tomb at dawn

[Fiach]

Newgrange is an Irish stone age Passage Tomb,

 

Archaeologists classified Newgrange as a passage tomb, however Newgrange is now recognised to be much more than a passage tomb. Ancient Temple is a more fitting classification, a place of astrological, spiritual, religious and ceremonial importance, much as present day cathedrals are places of prestige and worship where dignitaries may be laid to rest.

 

http://www.newgrange.com

 

Winter Solstice

Newgrange Winter SolsticeNewgrange is best known for the illumination of its passage and chamber by the winter solstice sun. Above the entrance to the passage at Newgrange there is a opening called a roof-box. This baffling orifice held a great surprise for those who unearthed it. Its purpose is to allow sunlight to penetrate the chamber on the shortest days of the year, around December 21st, the winter solstice. At dawn, from December 19th to 23rd, a narrow beam of light penetrates the roof-box and reaches the floor of the chamber, gradually extending to the rear of the chamber.

 

As the sun rises higher, the beam widens within the chamber so that the whole room becomes dramatically illuminated. This event lasts for 17 minutes, beginning around 9am. The accuracy of Newgrange as a time-telling device is remarkable when one considers that it was built 500 years before the Great Pyramids and more than 1,000 years before Stonehenge.

 

 

[Epaminondas]

You are clearly the coolest person in this joint, ya rat bastard. That was quite an interesting read. Looks like the event starts around 1030 local time for me. If I'm able, I'll definitely take a gander.

[Fiach]

You are clearly the coolest person in this joint, ya rat bastard. That was quite an interesting read. Looks like the event starts around 1030 local time for me. If I'm able, I'll definitely take a gander.

That's incredibly kind of you, thanks!

 

It is pretty awesome though, only "dignitaries" get in to see the actual event, the tombs size from the outside is not indicative of how small the passage is on the inside.

[Fiach]

 

 

Edited December 21, 2017 by Fiach

[Fiach]