Newgrange was built around 3200 BCE, before the Great Pyramid. At sunrise around the winter solstice, a beam of light enters through a gap above the door, travels 19 metres down the passage and lights the chamber floor for about 17 minutes.
Truth label: Established. Strong evidence and broad agreement among experts.
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The roof-box
The light does not come through the door but through a specially built opening above it, angled precisely for the solstice.
The carvings
Huge stones at the entrance are carved with spirals, including a famous triple spiral whose meaning is unknown.
Learn
- Why the solstice. For farming people, the moment the days began to lengthen again marked the return of light and life.
- You can witness it. Each year, a lottery picks a small number of people to stand inside on solstice mornings.
Test yourself
Which is older?
Newgrange. Newgrange dates to around 3200 BCE, centuries before the Great Pyramid.
Sources
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