Winter Solstice Magic Irish Style

Written by Mary Flanagan Wednesday, December 22 2010

Winter solstice sunlight in the inner chamber Photograph by Con Brogan, National Monuments Service of Ireland, used with the permission of Geraldine Stout

DONORE, COUNTY MEATH, Ireland – If the Irish sky is clear on the morning of the winter solstice the rays of the rising sun will fully illuminate the inner chamber of the megalithic passage tomb at Newgrange. Ancient engineers of Ireland’s first farming community constructed this impressive stone monument some 5,000 years ago. “Newgrange is one of the oldest known astronomically aligned structures in the world, predating Stonehenge by 1,000 years and the Egyptian pyramids by 400,” says Irish archaeologist Geraldine Stout. Newgrange is located about 30 miles north of Dublin, on a ridge above a sharp bend in the River Boyne. The site has an unobstructed view to the southeast, where the winter sun rises on the shortest day of the year. The Irish name for Newgrange is Brú na Bóinne, which translates as “Mansion of the Boyne,” and the river takes its name from the Goddess Boann. This ancient monument is called a “megalithic passage tomb” because it is made of large stones and has a narrow passageway that leads to a center burial chamber. Ceremonial ancestor worship, however, may not have been the tomb's only function over the years. Ireland's rich mythology tells us at least one other tale: Goddess Boann's son was apparently conceived and born on a single day in the inner chamber of Newgrange. To boot, Aengus's father was Dagda, Boann's lover -- not her husband. One can only hazard a guess as to the day of the year of this tryst.

At Newgrange, the narrow passageway leading to the inner chamber is some 60 feet long and lined with huge upright stones (called passage orthostats in archaeological terms). This tunnel is right out of a Steven Spielberg movie set. Each of these stones has some sort of carved ornamentation, and these spiral, chevron, and zigzag decorations get more intense as one approaches the inner chamber. In some places, this stone corridor is smaller than three-feet wide and five-feet high. Consequently, groups of only 24 visitors are allowed into the structure at one time, and claustrophobics are not welcome.

With a great dramatic effect, the ceiling of the inner chamber soars to a height of 20 feet. The domed roof has been constructed from stone slabs that progressively overlap each other and is closed with a single capstone. The ground space, where the indoor events of the winter solstice were held years ago, measures about 16 feet from the chamber entrance to the back stone and 20 feet from east to west. Amazingly, this vault supports an acre-sized mound of 200,000 tons of loose stones and turf directly above it. In wet Ireland, the builders of the tomb were also remarkably successful in keeping the interior dry. All the stones in the inner chamber’s corbelled roof slant slightly downward, forcing the water to run down and away from the structure.

Megalithic passage tomb of Newgrange Photograph by Mary Flanagan

Furthermore, water grooves were cut in all the horizontal capping stones to allow the water to drain away, and crevices between stones were filled with a putty made of burnt soil and sea sand. (Samples from this caulking mixture were used to radiocarbon date the site.)

“The alignment to the winter solstice was the primary vision of the builders of the tomb, and it is something we are still celebrating 5,000 years onward,” Stout says. She thinks the three stones which make up the back recess of the inner chamber were the first stones that were placed on the ground and then the whole structure was built around that alignment.

Newgrange excavation and reconstruction work (1970s) Photograph from the O'Kelly Archive

The function of the highly decorated box-like structure on the roof of the front entrance to the passageway was discovered by the Irish archaeologist Michael O’Kelly in the 1960s. This so-called “roof box” allows a ray of sunlight to penetrate the inner chamber once a year. Trying to preserve a structure falling into ruins, O’Kelly had not even realized the existence of this solstice phenomenon until he started straightening up some of the leaning stones at the tomb's entrance. Granted access to the late professor’s archives, Stout harbors no doubts about the roof box: “Having looked at his precise drawings of the roof-box area, I am convinced that gap was definitely authentic.”

Thus, weather permitting, at exactly 8:54 a.m. on Dec. 21, the spectacular light show begins as the sun starts to illuminate the inner sanctum of Newgrange. On that day the chamber stays lit for a total of 17 minutes, but don't book your flight ticket to Ireland just yet.

Every year the Brú na Bóinne Visitors Centre organizes a lottery for an early-morning entrance ticket during the five-day period around the winter solstice. (On the two days prior to and after the winter solstice, sunlight also beams into the inner chamber. The ancient tomb builders provided for an excellent back-up plan for cloudy Ireland.) In September, 50 names are picked out of a hat, and each of these people may  bring along one guest. There were 25,349 entries for the winter solstice 2010 draw.

If you are not lucky enough to win a ticket, Stout recommends joining the many hundreds who gather on the outside of the monument on the morning of the winter solstice. “We get the better show because we get to look at the mountains, see the sun coming up, and view the light going into the roof box from the outside.” She also adds, “It happens every year, and it’s been happening every year for the past 5,000 years. You will make it some time I’m sure.” Geraldine Stout has studied the Boyne River area for more than 25 years. Her newest book, written with her husband, Matthew Stout, is a great guide to the Newgrange site and includes new insights on the earlier work of Michael O'Kelly. Newgrange, is available from Cork University Press: http://corkuniversitypress.com/Newgrange/147/

Roof box and passageway entrance Photograph by Mary Flanagan

Newgrange is open all year, and admission tickets are needed to visit the site. The website for the Brú na Bóinne Visitors Center is: http://www.knowth.com/bru-na-boinne.htm

Mary Flanagan was born in Fairfield, Conn., and has a degree in archaeology from the University of Arizona. She has been working as a journalist, editor, and translator in Amsterdam, Holland, for the past 20 years. Most recently she has translated two historical novels by Dutch author Ivo Knottnerus, The Life of the Renaissance Painter Paolo Veronese and Saint Helena's Pilgrimage from Rome to Jerusalem, which have just been published as e-books via Amazon.com.