Posted on 12/21/2010 6:05:08 PM PST by decimon
On the morning of 21 December, a select group of people made their way through a dark, narrow passage and gathered in a small cross-shaped chamber at Newgrange in Co Meath, Irish Republic, to celebrate the winter solstice.
Newgrange, located 40km north of Dublin and perched high above a bend of the River Boyne, is a prehistoric passage tomb, covered on the outside by a large grassy mound.
At over 5,000 years old it is the older cousin of Stonehenge and it predates the pyramids by about 500 years.
It is difficult to estimate how long it would have taken to build it.
"They were a very sophisticated society with a sound economic base as they were able to divert a large number of people to the building of passage tombs," says archaeologist Professor George Eogan.
"The ritual of the dead was very important in their lives and the site combines engineering, architectural and artistic skills."
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Irish mist ping.
Irish mist ping.
Ah ... Irish Mist ... I have an (empty) jug on the shelf of me library.
I noticed in “National Geographic” a few months ago, that there is another “Henge” at least as old as Stonehenge on one of the Hebrides.
We visited Newgrange in 2003. It’s an amazing structure: watertight (like the Gallarus Oratory in the SW corner of Ireland, which is between 12 and 15 centuries old). I have pictures of both, but not with me at the moment.
We went to Newgrange in 1993. Well worth a side trip if you’re anywhere remotely near. Gave me profound chills (mental, not physical, though it was a tad cool down there) to be in such an ancient place. We were there in the winter, so there were no other tourists to speak of. You could hear a pin drop.
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The book “Uriel’s Machine”, by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, has (among other things)an excellent exposition of how and why Newgrange was built. One of the best books I have read; I highly recommend it.
Fascinating site. Thanks for posting.
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