This morning we were able to "sleep in" a bit before departing for our tour of Newgrange, the approximately 5000 year old "tomb" / "solar observatory". The tour started with an excellently video and museum at the visitor's center, then a short ride aboard the site's own buses to the archeological site itself. An excellent pre-entry presentation by our enthusiastic tour guide gave us some insight into the various theories as to the purpose and uses of the tunnel and chamber comprising the ancient sacred site. Unfortunately photography inside the tomb is prohibited. But once our group and guide were inside the tiny central chamber there would have been scant space wield a camera anyway. This tour is not for the claustrophobic! Since we were not there for the winter solstice, an electric lamp was used to demonstrate what it would look like being in the chamber on December 21st when the sun would hit the "roof box" above the entry door and illuminate the sacred chamber. First all the illumination inside was switched off, a rather exciting event in itself if you have never witnessed total darkness before. The the "sun" was switched on and a sliver of light crept across the chamber floor and up the far wall. Apparently the actual sun does a much more dramatic job a baths the chamber in golden light for a few brief moments as it's aligned with the aperture above the door. The engineering and construction of the site by ancient people whose life span was much shorter than the estimated time to construct the site is mind boggling!
The motley crew in front of Newgrange entry.
Mind your head, Jim!
After Newgrange we returned to downtown Dublin and found ourselves in the middle of a pro-choice protest march. Extricating ourselves from the fray we hit some of the shops on the pedestrian part of Graffton Street. Then walked down to the Temple Bar area looking for a lunch spot. Seamus took a group of us back to the hotel for an hour or so to freshen up. Then it was back to THE Temple Bar which was the agreed upon meeting place. From there we split up and went out looking for dinner and/or entertainment. And did we ever find that!
THE Temple Bar -a crowded place!
They were partying at Thunder Road!
And we were groovin' along with them!
The motley crew in front of Newgrange entry.
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