Newgrange, County Meath

When it was discovered in the late 17th century, the rock facing of the mound of this passage tomb had collapsed. The shimmering white quartz, irregularly shaped, and the round dark granite stones, neither of which are local, were found at the site. Ninety-seven curbstones were also found. Archaeologists have reconstructed the rock face of the mound and its entrance.
The entrance This passage tomb has a tunnel to the central vaulted interior, which is oriented so that on the winter solstice sunlight shines through the "roof box" above the entrance and streams down the passage lighting the main chamber.
Detail of the rock face; one of the twelve remaining large stones that circles the tomb

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Page created by Mary Ann Sullivan