To touch the magic of the wier solstice in this ancie temple, money and passion are not enough; Rather, you must win the “lottery”. Imagine that 16,000 people from all over the world line up to watch an eve that lasts only 17 minutes, but in the end only 38 people are allowed to eer. This breath-taking competition is not for fro-row seats at concerts or sports finals, but rather an attempt to stand in the total darkness of a 5,200-year-old mausoleum in Ireland, hoping for the clouds to clear and a miracle of light to occur. (National Geographic)
Photographer: Unknown / www.discoverboynevalley.ie
Here is Newgrange in the Boyne Valley, an engineering masterpiece. Every year in the shortest days of December, this place hosts a perfect alignme of sun and rock; But seeing this mome closely today is no longer depende on status and wealth, but on the luck of the lottery.
Newgrange is not an ordinary building. It dates back to about 3200 years BC. Ceuries before the foundation stone of the “Great Pyramids of Giza” was laid or the stone circle of “Stonehenge” was formed, this structure was erected. To create this huge hill (12 meters high and 85 meters wide), the builders of the Neolithic age dragged gia stones from far distances and up to 48 kilometers away to this poi.
Photographer: Unknown / www.discoverboynevalley.ie
But the real art is hidden in its ierior architecture. A long hallway that ends in a chamber with an amazing ceiling. The roof of the chamber is fastened together so precisely that after five thousand years, not a single drop of water has penetrated io it and it has never needed to be repaired.
However, the original genius of the ancie architects stands out at the erance of the building. Just above the erance door, there is a stone hatch known as “Roof-box”. This valve is not designed for veilation, but precisely for catching light.
Every year around the wier solstice (five days in late December), at the same time as the sun rises, a ray of sunlight eers through this small opening. This light travels the 19-meter corridor to reach the ceral chamber. At that mome, the ancie engravings on the stones will light up and the dark space of the tomb will be immersed in a dazzling golden light for 17 minutes; Uil the sun rises, darkness returns again.
Photographer: Unknown / kessiworld.com
The corridor of the tomb acts like a telescope aimed at the horizon. Ierestingly, of the 136 remaining hall tombs in Ireland, only a handful have such a precise astronomical orieation, and Newgrange is the flagship.
Archaeological evidence shows that this place was more than just a tomb. Researchers say that scieific analysis of the discovered human remains show that the people buried here were not necessarily relatives and came from differe parts of the island.
Photographer: Unknown / kessiworld.com
It seems that this was a place for religious rituals and to celebrate the “victory of light over darkness”. The ancies considered the wier solstice to be the end of the reign of darkness and the beginning of a new cycle of life. The discovery of the remains of large feasts around the erance, such as pig and cow bones and pottery, indicates that people gathered for this cosmic eve thousands of years ago and celebrated that day with special foods.
Today, the lottery system, which was set up due to the very tight space inside the tomb, has unwittingly revived the same ancie tradition. Just as 5,000 years ago people traveled from far away for this mome, today lucky winners come from all over the world to this spot.
Although, to eer the tomb, you have to participate in the lottery; But ehusiasts can still gather in the outer area of the tomb on the cold mornings of December 19 to 23 to breathe the atmosphere of this mythical mome.
Photographer: James Manning / PA Images
On the other side of the world, Newgrange celebrates about the same nights as we celebrate Yalda night in Iran. If you had to choose between eating Yalda with your family and watching the sun rise in a 5,200-year-old Irish temple, which would you choose? Write your opinion for us and other readers.
Cover photo source: edition.cnn.com Photographer: Unknown
