Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Article
Rights
Available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International Licence
Disciplines
Archaeology, Architectural design
Abstract
THE WORLD HERITAGE PROPERTY of Brú na Bóinne attracts thousands of visitors from Ireland and around the globe, many drawn by the remarkable winter solstice phenomenon, when the rising sun’s rays illuminate the burial chamber. During 2020 it became clear that public health measures to combat the global pandemic were going to preclude visitor access to the chamber of the Great Mound of Newgrange, including during the annual winter solstice celebrations. When the government agencies OPW and NMS discussed how to manage Newgrange and the solstice during the restrictions, Clare Tuffy, Manager of Visitor Services at Brú na Bóinne, suggested that the absence of visitors from the Newgrange chamber would present an opportunity to advance aspects of the Research Framework, established for the World Heritage Property. This identified areas for further study and analysis, specifically to explore, document and better understand aspects of the solar illumination during the solstice. Guided by Dr Frank Prendergast, a multi-disciplinary team devised a research project to record direct sunlight on the floor of the Newgrange chamber over a period of 41 days centred around winter solstice 2020. A summary of the first results of this research to date is reported here, along with some background information on the solar illumination at Newgrange passage tomb.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21427/q9tw-3a19
Recommended Citation
Prendergast, Frank, Clare Tuffy, John Lalor, Claire Breen, and Sinéad Gargan. 2021. "Mapping the light fantastic at Newgrange." Archaeology Ireland 35 (Winter):30–35. DOI: 10.21427/q9tw-3a19
Funder
National Monuments Service, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Included in
Other Engineering Commons, Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, Photography Commons, Science and Technology Studies Commons
Publication Details
Prendergast, Frank, Clare Tuffy, John Lalor, Claire Breen, and Sinéad Gargan. 2021. "Mapping the light fantastic at Newgrange." Archaeology Ireland 35 (Winter):30–35.
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