"...to seek and to find the past, a lineage, a history, a family built on a flesh and bone foundation."

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Wordless Wednesday, almost: Then and Now: The Passage Tomb at Newgrange

This week's images are of the Passage Tomb at Newgrange in Drogheda, County Meath.  In comparing these images of past and present, you can see that the passage tomb has undergone a good deal of exterior restoration. In the old image, the roof-box over the doorway, through which the sun's light passes on Winter Solstice, had not yet been uncovered, and the stone frontage was covered in grass. I have included four present day images so that you can see how all is now neat and well ordered. The final image I shot from the roadway down the hill to give a sense of context. Be sure to visit The National Library of Ireland's Flickr page to view more images from the past.

Newgrange
From the Tempest Collection NLI c. 1900-1910 (Click on the image to link to NLI photo stream.)
Emerging from the passage tomb,
this young girl looks less happy about the prospect than the girl in the old photograph.
The OPW guide and some of the roof-box.
The roof-box through which the light of the sun passes on the Winter Solstice.
The position of the roof-box directs the light so that the entire inner chamber is illuminated at dawn.
The Passage Tomb at Newgrange.
For more information about the Passage Tombs of Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth, visit their website at: http://newgrange.com

Copyright©irisheyesjg2013.
Click on images to view larger version.

6 comments:

  1. What a fascinating place! Thanks for the photos.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Colleen! It truly is a fascinating place.

      Cheers,
      Jennifer

      Delete
  2. Absolutely WONDERFUL, Jennifer!!! The before and the after shots are just stunning. Thanks for sharing, Catherine.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks very much Catherine! I'm glad you liked them so much.

      Cheers,
      Jennifer

      Delete
  3. It's an amazing place and I'd heard quite a bit about the complexities and accuracy of its measurements from an Irish physicist. Still and all when it came to going in, my claustrophobia kicked in and I had to wait for my daughter outside. I'd loved to have gone to the centre but not enough to put up with the feeling of panic. Lovely photos.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Pauleen! It is indeed an amazing place, especially when you consider that the passage tombs are older than the pyramids. I'm sorry you felt claustrophobic and did not venture inside, perhaps another time. I have experienced that feeling too. When I was a child the narrow passageway did not bother me at all, but the feeling of uncertainty that goes with claustrophobia kicks in now, and I was happy to reach the end of it and enter the chamber itself.

      Cheers,
      Jennifer

      Delete

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Cheers, Jennifer

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