New Grange is one of the finest examples in Western Europe of the type of tomb known as a passage-grave.  Its probable date of erection is about 3200BC.  It is from the stone age.

The entry way into the grave is aligned with the rising sun on the winter solstice (and the few days before and after).    For 17 minutes, on December 21st, the sun shines directly into the burial chamber.  Illuminating the chamber both directly and indirectly through the use of quartz.

To the Neolithic farmers, this was a sign of rebirth, with the New Year giving renewed life to crops and animals.

Burial Chamber