Thursday 20 June 2024

Neolithic

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is in search of the ancient, buildings and artifacts

Entrance Stone c3000BC

I couldn't find a card for the Summer Solstice which will be celebrated at Stonehenge when the sun rises on the 21st but here is the Entrance Stone at Newgrange passage tomb and where, when the Winter Solstice occurs, a beam of light will come through the window and illuminate the small room inside for 17 minutes at dawn. The room can hold 20 people at a time and there is a lottery in Ireland where the fickle finger of fate will decide who will journey into this ancient space at that hour.


Newgrange or in Gaelic Bru na Boinne, is located in the Boyne Valley, a place full of ancient neolithic structures.  What is striking from the outside are the quartz walls gleaming in the light.  Quartz was important to our neolithic ancestors as rock crystals do unusual things with light.

For scale travel to France and the 3000 Carnac stones.  The card shows the Menec alignments and says on the back "Will the Menec Lines ever reveal their secrets?" The question remains unanswered but as can be seen there are not only stones but lichen too so something to wonder about for both historian and naturalist.

5 comments:

Mail Adventures said...

I didn't know about that special Irish lottery :)
I visited Carnac two decades ago, and I am still fascinated by that place.

violet s said...

I was surprised, and a little disappointed, that I don't seem to have a Stonehenge card!
But these ancient monuments aligning to the solstice are an engineering marvel. The quartz wall would be impressive to see.

Lisa said...

I'll guess the odds of winning a space is low. The engineering is impressive.

marina said...

I have a postcard like the second one but with a postcrossing meet-up logo. Beautiful image of the Carnac stones.

In the Company of Me said...

Fascinating postcard, Joy! This Newgrange tomb sounds incredible. A lottery to enter the chamber at dawn adds another layer of intrigue!