NEWGRANGE

Last week we had friends visiting from the States, so we took them to Newgrange. We had been there when we visited Ireland in 2002, so that's why I haven't blogged about it yet. I was glad to get to go again though, so I could get pictures to post.
Newgrange is a passage tomb that is about 5000 years old. That's older than the Great Pyramids. Newgrange is the most famous of all the Irish prehistoric sites, and one of the most famous in all the world. According to Celtic lore, the legendary kings of Tara were buried here, but Newgrange predatest them.
In the 1960's, archeologists discovered that on the winter solstice (Dec. 21), the rays of the sun enter the tomb and light up the burial chamber - making it the oldest solar observatory in all the world. When you visit Newgrange, they use electric lights to simulate the sun's rays on the winter solstice.
Just a tip for tourists: You can only get into Newgrange on a tour. We saw several cars pull up at front, only to be turned away and directed to the visitor's center about a little ways away. So be sure to find the visitor's center first, where you buy your ticket, then get on a bus that takes you to Newgrange.
Also, the passageway into the tomb is quite tight. I am not a skinny person, but anyone much bigger than me might have a problem getting through the passageway. You have to duck down until you get back into the burial tomb. The passageway is VERY narrow in spots and if you are very large, you will scrape the rock. They ask you to take your bags and cameras off of your shoulders and carry them in front of you so as to not scrape the rocks with them. I would also suggest that if you have a very bulky jacket to also take that off. There is nowhere to put your bags and jackets, you have to carry them. Might even be better to leave all purses and bags in your trunk. You can take pictures outside of the tomb, but you cannot take pictures inside. They have a nice tourist shop in the visitor's center where you can buy postcards or pictures of the inside. They also have a very nice cafe with good food. This is an OPW site, so we were able to use our cards. We bought them last winter for 20 euro at our first tourist site and have used them many times since. We have saved a lot of money buying those cards. They are good for a year. Most places charge between 3-8 euro apiece for admission.