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Newgrange Lightbox Project

In 2009, Niall Martin of RTÉ's television programme Nationwide brought together students, archaeologists and an engineer to recreate the passage, chamber and roofbox at Newgrange. The team built a full size model beside the monument to explore how its alignment allows the rising midwinter sun to illuminate the interior.

The roofbox, also called the lightbox, is an opening above the entrance. Around the winter solstice, sunlight passes through it and travels along the passage into the chamber. The project aimed to reproduce this effect in a temporary structure.

The Lightbox Project team beside the replica entrance and decorated entrance stone. The Lightbox Project team.

The Team and Its Aims

The team included students from Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), an engineer from Progression, archaeologists from CRDS and student archaeologists from the Irish Archaeological Field School (IAFS). Experienced participants supported the students, who were encouraged to take responsibility for as much of the work as possible.

The project began in July 2009 with five principal aims:

  • Build a working model of Newgrange's roofbox, passage, chamber and entrance.
  • Explore how to establish the alignment using simple methods and build the model with lightweight modern materials.
  • Recreate the effect of sunlight entering the chamber on the days around the winter solstice.
  • Assemble the full size structure beside Newgrange.
  • Produce a documentary for RTÉ's Nationwide, scheduled for broadcast in January 2010.

Finding the Midwinter Sunrise

The team first met at Newgrange in July 2009 to take basic measurements and plan the work. The students investigated the winter solstice direction during the summer, using simple instruments intended to reflect those available to prehistoric builders. Model making continued through the summer and autumn.

The students explored how observation and measurement could be used to establish the alignment. Their work tested possible methods without claiming to show exactly how the Neolithic builders had approached the task.

Building the Replica

The model had a timber frame, with foam and polystyrene supplied by Kingspan used to represent the stones. The team built and practised assembling it at RTÉ in Donnybrook before transporting the components to Newgrange. These lightweight materials allowed them to work at full size without having to move the enormous stones used in the original monument.

The team assembling the timber replica at RTÉ Donnybrook. A practice assembly at RTÉ Donnybrook.

In consultation with Clare Tuffy, then manager at Brú na Bóinne, the team arranged to assemble the replica at Newgrange on 16th December 2009 and leave it until the morning of 18th December. This allowed two dawn trials, on the 17th and 18th, shortly before the winter solstice.

Newgrange and the setting of the temporary Lightbox Project. The Lightbox Project at Newgrange.

Testing the Solstice Alignment

By 8pm on 16th December, the replica was complete. Work had continued after dark beneath a starry sky. Before dawn the next morning, the team and film crew returned to prepare for the sunrise.

Although much of the sky was clear, cloud covered the part of the horizon where the sun would appear. A brief opening eventually allowed a narrow beam of sunlight to reach the replica's rear wall. On 18th December, a denser bank of cloud prevented a further test in natural sunlight.

The construction team at work beside Newgrange as daylight fades. Construction at Newgrange in fading light.
Floodlights illuminating construction work beside Newgrange after dark. Construction continues after dark.
Artificial light passing through the replica roofbox during a test. Testing the lightbox using artificial light.
Cloud covering the sunrise horizon at Newgrange on 17th December 2009. Cloud obstructed the sunrise on 17th December.
The completed replica entrance, roofbox and decorated entrance stone. The completed replica awaiting the sunrise.
A brief opening in the clouds allowing sunlight over the Boyne Valley. A break in the clouds offered a brief opportunity to observe the light.

What the Experiment Showed

The project gave students practical experience of experimental archaeology. By measuring, building and testing the model, they investigated how the roofbox, passage and chamber work together to admit sunlight. It demonstrated a way to explore the alignment, but did not establish which construction or surveying methods the original builders used.

Cloud limited the observations on both mornings. The brief sunlight on 17th December offered a glimpse of the intended effect, but there was no sustained view of the illumination. Tests with artificial light showed how light travelled through the model, while the dawn trials explored whether the alignment would work with the rising sun.

Television Coverage

The project documentary was broadcast on RTÉ's Nationwide in January 2010.

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