Function

Why did Neolithic man put so much time and effort into building Newgrange?
Does this time and effort tell us anything about these people’s beliefs or habits?


Newgrange had two functions.

1) It is believed that Newgrange acted as a grave/tomb.
We know this because the remains of dead bodies were found in the chambers at the end of the passage. This is the reason Newgrange is often called a passage grave.

The people during the Stone Age placed objects of importance in the tombs with the dead.
What does this tell us about the Stone Age people?
 

2) Newgrange was also a type of calendar for the people of that time.
On the 21^st of December in 1967, the shortest day of the year, Professor M. J. O’Kelly experienced the Winter Solstice at Newgrange for the first time. He was standing in the passage when the sun illuminated the chamber floor for 17 minutes. Only on this day does the sun shine directly through the roofbox, over the entrance, and into the passage reaching the floor of the chamber. Today admission to the chamber of Newgrange for the Winter Solstice sunrise is by lottery.

Why do you think Neolithic man needed a calendar?
Can you name another device that can tell the time of day based on the position of the sun?