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<< News >> Newgrange Solstice Lottery

Submitted by vicky on Wednesday, 18 December 2002  Page Views: 2745

Neolithic and Bronze AgeCountry: Ireland (Republic of) County: Co. Meath
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Newgrange
Newgrange submitted by McDeil : Entry at Newgrange showing massive carved stone which once blocked the entry. Not shown are the tourists who in Summer would queue for up to an hour to be taken through the tomb! (Vote or comment on this photo)
The first group of 100 lucky people chosen to witness Ireland's oldest calendar "clock" in operation were allowed into the chamber of a giant burial mound on Wednesday, an environment ministry spokesperson said. Starting on Wednesday and running for six days, small groups will be allowed into the 20m long Newgrange tomb to see the sun's rays beaming deep into the centre of the burial mound.

The phenomenon only lasts 17 minutes, but demand to see it has been soaring.

This year 5 500 people from Ireland and around the world were left disappointed after losing out in a lottery to see the effects of the midwinter solstice sunrise on the Newgrange tomb in County Meath, just north of Dublin.

The environment ministry said interest began to grow in the late 1980s. They began to queue the applicants for future years.

But the waiting list grew so long that it became unmanageable, and people were facing decades-long delays before they had a chance of getting in.

Now an annual draw picks 50 names from amongst the year's applicants. The lucky ones are rewarded with a place for themselves and a friend.

"We were astonished. We got over 5 500 national and international applications for this year," the spokesperson said.

However, the winners of the draw then face another lottery: the weather. If it is bad and clouded over, the sun cannot work its wonders.

The chamber is so small that only about 20 members of the public are allowed in for the sunrise on each of the six days surrounding the December 21 solstice.

VIPs virtually take over on the actual solstice day. This year they will be hosted by junior housing minister Noel Ahern, a brother of Prime Minister Bertie Ahern.

Neolithic ancestors built Newgrange over five thousand years ago with architectural skills and an understanding of the movement of the sun that astonishes modern scientists.

It is believed to be the world's oldest continuously roofed building and was built a thousand years before Britain's Stonehenge and 500 years before Egypt's great pyramids at Giza.

The tomb covers almost half a hectare. About 200 000 tons of stone and earth were used to build the structure, which is 13m high and 85m in diameter.

After years of construction, the Neolithic builders would have seen the solstice sun's rays peep through the lightbox above the tomb entrance and, as the sun rose, creep up along the floor to reach the back of the chamber where the cremated ashes of their dead were kept.

Scientists believe the Neolithic designers regarded the sunlight shining on the ashes as a sign of rebirth, with the New Year giving renewed life to crops and animals.

Source: IOL Online 18/12/02

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Newgrange: Archaeology, Art and Legend

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"Newgrange Solstice Lottery" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment
  
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Re: Newgrange Solstice Lottery by knowth on Monday, 23 December 2002
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The 20 people picked by lottery were in the chamber for the main event, I got in just after the main group came out, the chamber was still bright and the sunbeam was clearly visible in the passage.

For images of the Solstice at Newgrange click on http://www.knowth.com/winter-solstice-2002.htm

All the images are from outsite the passage and chamber because photography is not allowed inside.
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