Award-winning journalist and folklorist Seán Mac an tSíthigh, along with a team of leading international scientists, attempts to uncover the location of a long suspected second chamber at Newgrange in "Rún na Bóinne," a new documentary on TG4.
In the 1960s, excavations in the Boyne Valley in County Meath led to the rediscovery of the winter solstice alignment at Newgrange and the cairn's highly decorated curbstones, but incredibly, the monument was never fully excavated. The vast majority of the ancient structure, which dates back over 5,200 years old, remains untouched, and rumors have persisted for decades of a second, as yet undiscovered chamber.
In Tg4's new documentary "Rún na Bóinne [Secret of the Boyne]," presenter Seán Mac an tSíthigh revisits the remarkable finds of the 1960s excavations, seeking clues to this mystery scattered across time and the Irish landscape.
For the first time, documentary filmmaker Neal Boyle has brought leading scientists from Ireland and across Europe, and cutting-edge technology, to join Seán’s quest to locate the second chamber.
New, non-invasive technologies like micro gravity survey and geo-radar scans now offer the possibility of a tantalizing glimpse into the deep, ancient heart of the monument.
Geneticist Lara Cassidy and presenter Seán Mac an tSíthigh. Credit: TG4
Seán is joined by leading international scientists, including Mayo based archaeological geophysicist Kevin Barton and Slovakian geophysicist Roman Pasteka and his team of experts. As they embark on a tight, nine-day survey of the mound, Seán attempts to narrow their search as he traces the clues that have led to the belief a second chamber may exist.
Newgrange is the jewel in, and pinnacle of the Boyne Valley Neolithic complex. It is believed the ancient Irish built these vast complexes as tombs or ceremonial burial sites for an elite. But as Seán’s investigation reveals, passages and chambers in Newgrange’s sister monuments Knowth and Dowth are also constructed to capture alignments to key dates. Could a second chamber at Newgrange also target a celestial event and if so, are these monuments much more than passage graves?
Seeking answers in ancient manuscripts, the landscape, folklore and the art, "Rún na Bóinne" decodes the stones and stories. Deciphering the mechanics of this architecture, Seán traces the development and innovation of these ancient builders across Ireland from west to east, to offer a portrait of star-gazing ancestors mapping their first intellectual steps into our very landscape.
But will the rumours be proved true; will ancient clues and modern science locate a second chamber? Or will the mound keep its secrets? Either way, this documentary promises to rewrite the story of Newgrange and its builders in our imaginations.
Rún na Bóinne airs on TG4, Wednesday December 20, 2023 at 9:30pm.
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