Newgrange Interior
County Meath, Ireland

[Wednesday - 11/13/02] At the entrance to the interior passageway is probably the finest carved Neolithic stone in existence. We climbed over it via a wooden rampart and entered the long passageway leading to the interior cruciform. Bran had to go in last due to his claustrophobia. Once everyone had made it in to the interior, he just made a mad dash into the tomb, shoving past a really narrow section and into the main chamber where he was fine!

We had the benefit of a guided tour of the interior (the only way to see it, in fact). Fortunately, she was well informed and very indulgent. In fact, she's the one who suggested Bran go last, just in case. There were no more than a dozen of us there which was great!

Once in the cruciform chamber, our guide told us all about the building methods used in constructing it and about the finds that were made during excavation. We were then treated to a simulation of the sunrise through the roof box on Winter solstice. This, by their own admission, is a poor substitute for the real thing. The passage and chamber are beautifully decorated with spirals and lozenge carvings. One of the three sub-chambers has a highly carved ceiling and a bowl with cup marks.