Newgrange...no dramatic announcements.
Posted on 11/19/2011 1:48:54 AM PST by SunkenCiv
The technology used in an attempt to find out whether a second passage tomb, which may also be aligned with a solstice event, exists at Newgrange had proved its worth during experimentation by a Slovakian team of scientists who visited the Boyne Valley, an Irish archaeologist said this week.
Dr Conor Brady, archaeologist and lecturer at Dundalk Institute of Technology, who lives at Slane, said that while there would be no "dramatic announcements" about discovery of a second chamber at Newgrange at this stage, the microgravitational technology used in the experiments had proven valuable to archaeologists and scientists.
The possibility that Newgrange could have a second passage tomb, which may also be aligned with a solstice event, was being explored by a team of Irish and Slovakians archaeologists using ground-breaking technology.
Already part of the Brúna Bóinne World Heritage Site, Newgrange is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Ireland and if a second chamber was uncovered it would add to its already global iconic status.
Newgrange is synonymous with sunrise on the winter solstice but the possibility that it has another as yet unknown chamber is not being ruled out.
Dr Brady said this week that while the weather conditions encountered by the team at Newgrange created difficulty in the use of the highly-sensitive equipment, it had nevertheless shown that "it works".
The purpose of the microgravitational equipment was to detect underground cavities. The microgravity meter responds to variations in density in the ground beneath it.
(Excerpt) Read more at meathchronicle.ie ...
Newgrange...no dramatic announcements.
microgravitational equipment ...???
If this equipment can detect the gravitational difference between an empty cavity and the same underground area filled with dirt then it is indeed sensitive and awesome!
I’d like to get a good look at equipment such as this.
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A) I couldn't get back to sleep at 2:30 AM, and B) there was a large backlog of unposted articles. |
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The Current FReepathon Pays For The Current Quarters Expenses?
Less sensitive gravity meters have been around for a long time - I think from the 1800’s? Gravity meters in the 40’s and 50’s were important in exploring the large basins for oil. Sedimentary rocks (where the oil is) are much less dense than the metamorphic and igneous rocks.
Microgravity has been around for quite awhile - the 80’s or so? And they are VERY sensitive, so wind blowing will cause errors. Even an ocean storm with waves crashing on the shoreline 100’s of miles away can affect the data. (Probably the limiting “weather” conditions mentioned in the paper).
BTW - I always get a kick out of the media’s term of “ground breaking” when discussing 20+ year old technology as so often happens when they discuss these types of things.
I’m still reading my way through weeks of GGG pings (Christmas sales have been very brisk) but this one immediately caught my eye.
However, I find the microgravity tool even more awesome than the original story. That seems like a bit of a feat of engineering to detect changes in gravity caused by a cavity beneath you.
(Thanks for all the pings!)
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