The metaphorical darkness begins to lift as we see the first light of the Winter Solstice at Newgrange, in Part 4 of our miniseries on Newgrange we meet Dr. Robert Hensey for a wide-ranging discussion on the motivations of the builders and communication across time and space.

The great passage tomb of Newgrange in the Boyne Valley of County Meath, is one of Ireland’s most iconic monuments. Today it is a World Heritage Site, and (on a normal year) it is one of our most visited monuments, with people from all over the world travelling to see this marvel of Neolithic engineering and belief. As the Winter Solstice is upon us, Newgrange takes on even more meaning, as it is aligned with the midwinter solstice. On a clear dawn on the 20th, 21st and 22nd December, a beam of light from the rising sun travels up the passageway to illuminate the chamber. Each year people gather in great numbers around the monument to celebrate this phenomenon, and lucky lottery winners get the ultimate prize of being inside the chamber to witness it first hand. However, this year, if it shines the light will pass unseen by human eyes. The pandemic that has taken so much, has also meant that the gathering for 2020 has been cancelled.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to discuss Newgrange with some of the experts who know the site intimately. As a way of casting another kind of light on our iconic monument. In this fourth episode of our miniseries focusing on Newgrange, I was joined by Dr. Robert Hensey, author of the excellent book: First Light: The Origins of Newgrange. We had a wide ranging discussion about the concept of time, the process of understanding, megalithic art, light and darkness, communication across time and space and what the celebrations at Newgrange might have been like.

First Light at Newgrange at the Winter Solstice Part 4 – Show Notes

• You can find Dr Robert Hensey’s author page here.
• Robert is the author of First Light: The Origins of Newgrange. A deeply thoughtful, but highly accessible, discussion on Newgrange and Ireland’s passage tomb tradition. I highly recommend it!
• Robert is also involved in Sligo Neolithic Landscapes a group that seeks to better understand and protect the remarkable Neolithic landscapes and monuments in County Sligo. I highly recommend giving them a follow on Twitter.
• You can hear Robert in a remarkable discussion on Carrowkeel in Episode 7 of Amplify Archaeology.
• Part 1 of our Newgrange and the Winter Solstice featured Professor Muiris O’Sullivan.
• Part 2 of our Newgrange and the Winter Solstice featured Dr. Jessica Smyth.
• Part 3 of our Newgrange and the Winter Solstice featured Clare Tuffy.
• Part 5 of our Newgrange and the Winter Solstice featured Professor Gabriel Cooney.
• The Winter Solstice at Newgrange is being livestreamed this year, you can watch it here.
• For details on the opening times and more information on the Visitor Centre at the Brú na Bóinne please see the OPW website.

Amplify Archaeology Podcast

This is the fourth part of a five episode miniseries focusing on Newgrange, the Winter Solstice and Neolithic Ireland. Please subscribe to Amplify Archaeology Podcast on your favourite platform to ensure you don’t miss a thing. If you leave us a review it can really help us to be found, so we’d be very grateful if you’d consider sharing the podcast.