Newgrange is the prehistoric Irish monument best known for its winter-solstice sunrise alignment.
Built around 3200 BCE in County Meath, Newgrange is a passage tomb within the Brú na Bóinne archaeological landscape. Its long passage leads to a cruciform chamber beneath a massive circular mound, whose kerbstones include famous megalithic carvings.
At the winter solstice, sunlight enters through a specially designed opening called the roof box above the entrance. The beam travels down the passage and illuminates the inner chamber for roughly 17 minutes. The alignment is often presented as evidence that the builders carefully observed the solar year, although the monument’s exact religious meaning remains unknown.
A common mix-up is confusing Newgrange’s winter alignment with Stonehenge’s better-known summer-solstice sunrise alignment. Newgrange is also part of a wider complex that includes the passage tombs of Knowth and Dowth.