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Twenty people squeezed themselves into a tight chamber in Ireland on Sunday, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, to marvel at a prehistoric "calendar clock" in operation.
About 19,200 people applied this year for a coveted place inside the Newgrange tomb in County Meath to watch the phenomenon of the sun's rays on the midwinter solstice dramatically beaming deep into the burial mound.
"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," said an environment ministry spokeswoman, who added that demand for a place in the tomb - available through a lottery - has soared in recent years.
Only 20 people can fit into the 19-metre long chamber of the immense tomb north of Dublin.
Newgrange, believed to be the world's oldest continuously roofed building, is orientated towards the rising sun.
It was built 1,000 years before Britain's Stonehenge and 500 years before Egypt's pyramids.
Modern scientists are astonished that the Stone Age builders over 5,000 years ago had the architectural skills and understanding of the movement of the sun to construct it.
Only at the midwinter solstice - the shortest day of the year on December 21 - does the rising sun shine all the way down the passage into the centre of the tomb. The phenomenon only lasts 17 minutes.
It is believed that the Neolithic builders constructed it so that the sun shone on the ashes of their dead deep in the tomb at the solstice.
This is thought to have represented a sign of rebirth, with the changing of the season giving renewed life to crops and animals.
Three years ago, when the queue of sun watchers meant that people would have to wait about 15 years to get a chance of a place in the tomb, the ministry introduced a lottery system.
Now there are 50 names drawn from the applicant list and another reserve list of 50 are picked as a back-up.
Each winner is allowed to bring a partner. People chosen are also allowed in on the days immediately before and after the solstice.
Apart from Irish people, the spokeswoman said the winners this year included people from Britain and other European countries, Brazil, New Zealand and the United States.
Newgrange is one of Ireland's top tourist attractions with over 200,000 visitors a year.
The grass roofed tomb covers almost half a hectare.
The whole Boyne River valley area around Newgrange is rich in Ireland's ancient history with the first people thought to have settled there 7,000 years ago. The 3,340 hectare area is designated a world heritage site by UNESCO.
The nearby Hill of Tara, which is only 23 metres high, was the seat of the country's ancient High Kings.
Source: AFP
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