The Longest Night
5000 years ago, before the pyramids of Egypt were constructed, one thousand years before Stonehenge was built, neolithic peoples in what is today known as Ireland were very in tune with the yearly cycle of the sun. The rhythm of the sky played so significant a role that they constructed massive chambers to align with the Winter Solstice. The 97 largest kerbstones at Newgrange are beautifully and mysteriously carved, weigh up to one ton each and were quarried 12 miles away from the site. It is estimated that the structure contains 200,000 tons of stone, and it is 279 feet in diameter, 42 feet high, and covers an acre of land. Most remarkably, it was built by regular people in a farming community. On the Winter Solstice, a beam of light shines 20 yards straight down an underground passageway and fully illuminates an intricately carved inner chamber.