Incredible tombs stand across the Emerald isle that were built over 5000 years ago. These magnificent structures are famous for their complex design that have fascinated scientists, historians and archaeologists all over the world. How did people from 3000BC build such complicated structures with stone that weighed over a 100 tons? We don't know but we can give you an insight into the stone age and the people who lived through those days.
Many items have been discovered from the stone age including weapons, armory and cooking areas but the most significant landmarks include tombs such as Newgrange. Newgrange is a magnificent stone tomb which was built by stone farmers over 5000 years ago. The tomb covers an acre of land. This beautiful tomb is made with heavy stone and no one knows how the stone agers designed or made these beautiful tombs.
Chamber
Newgrange is believed to have been a tomb for the dead but also a worship temple for the people who lived at the time. The winter solace sun lines up perfectly with this magnificent structure lighting up the passages of the tomb with the winter solace time. It is estimated that the tomb would have taken 30 years to build using 300 men and a highly organised community. How did these ancient people know how to build a tomb that lined up perfectly with the sun at only a certain time of the year?
Spirals decorate the tombs throughout and fish tails. While we don't know for sure why the spirals exist, studies done on the tomb itself have suggested that the Newgrange tomb resembles a bull with two horns, the sun entering the passage and the swirls design shows a relationship of worship of the sun and earth. The swirls resemble the patterns that can be made by Halleys comet, which passes the sun. While no solid evidence exists, scientists believe that the stone age people believed Halleys comet and others like it were where the heavens were. A fascinating theory that could very well be correct. It makes sense then that the stone agers knew how to build such a magnificent structure such as the Newgrange to line up perfectly with the sun during the winter solace. They were not as stone age as our current modern world would perceive these people to be.
Pictures of Newgrange
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