Standing out atop a hill in the Boyne valley is a large, round edifice with sparkling white walls. Newgrange...a name associated with magic and the gods since its rediscovery in 1699.
A large burial mound, pre-dating the Egyptian pyramids, Newgrange was built sometime around 3200 BC. Although its original purpose is not known, skeletal remains of two people, and ashes of three others were discovered during excavations. Interesting to note, however, is the movement of sunlight into the main passageway of the tomb on the morning of December 21, the winter solstice. The sun's rays move through the front opening and, for a few minutes, light up the entire chamber. Electric light simulates this for tourists, but a waiting list of close to ten years exists for visitors to experience the actual event.
The tomb is made up of a long passageway leading to a chamber with three sections, in the shape of a clover-leaf. Thirty-two standing stones encircle the mound on the outside, although some archeologists believe there may have been more. A few others, decorated with carved swirl patterns, stand at the entrance. The outside walls are made of white quartz, quarried no doubt from the Wicklow mountains, miles away.
So what exactly was Newgrange? A tomb, or a temple? It could have been both. The designs on the decorative stones have been studied in depth, and some experts believe they are the geometry in use at that time, to calculate the movement of the sun. It was made with great precision for the sun to enter the right place at exactly the right moment on the winter solstice. The builders obviously had a profound knowledge of astronomy.
During the pre-Christian era in Ireland, the inhabitants were sun worshipers. The date of the winter solstice marked the return or rebirth of the sun god from death. It was seen as a time of hope, a time when the earth would soon come back to life and fertility would, once again, reign. For this reason, it is likely that Newgrange was not used for scientific purposes, but rather as a sort of temple in honor of the sun.
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