Total lunar eclipse and Newgrange ancient monument

Although a total lunar eclipse isn't a rare event the last one on a Winter Solstice was 372 years ago in 1638. The winter solstice marks the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and a total lunar eclipse happens when the sun, earth and moon are in alignment with the earth in the middle. As always getting a view of celestial events depends on having clear skies and, unfortunately, the cloud cover didn't begin to break up until 8.43am when the eclipse was almost over. Only a yellowy-orange and gold edged ripple of grey cloud could be seen in the southern sky here in the hills twenty-five miles from the Welsh coastline.

The Winter Solstice was an important point in time in the Neolithic calendar. A number of monuments are constructed in such a way that there is an alignment with the solstice dawn or sunset.

Entrance stone, passage entrance behind and "roof box"slot above doorway

The Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre holds a lottery yearly for one of the twenty places inside the ancient monument of Newgrange, located in the Irish countryside in County Meath, to experience viewing the winter solstice dawn light which enters the Neolithic passage tomb through a narrow "roof box" slot above the entrance and illuminates the passage which is 62' (19 meters) in length.

2003 Solstice photograph Alan Betson

When first built around 5,000 years ago the shaft of sunlight reached to the back of the central chamber. Due to the current tilt of the Earth's axis the light penetrates only to 2 metres in front of the back recess.


Newgrange was rediscovered in 1699 when the passage grave had fallen into ruin. The megalithic tomb was still a popular place to visit until archaeological work began in 1962. The monument was restored after thorough investigation by Professor O'Kelly.


According to local tradition the sun shone into the passage in Midsummer but it was found that the roofbox contained a large quartz stone bearing evidence of having been slid aside. O'Kelly worked out that it was the midwinter sunrise that this was aligned to.

Chamber at Newgrange, with decorated wall,  2008

The tomb which consist of three cruciform chambers was constructed with a corbelled roof and contains a number of decorated stones some of which are hidden.

To keep the passage and contents of recessed stone bowls dry the Stone Age builders incorporated a system of grooves to channel rainwater away.







 
 The famous Tri-spiral is not a Celtic symbol but of Neolithic origin and variations of the spiral can be found on megaliths at many sites in Britain.





Newgrange is one of several decorated passage tombs in the agricultural landscape along the Boyne River about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Dublin.


Dating to around 3200 B.C., it is contemporary with the three henge alignment at Thornborough, in North Yorkshire, England. Both are around 500 years older than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt and 1000 years older than England's Stonehenge.