Both Garnham and Richards point out that the houses were models for the tombs: the
passage graves are structurally similar to the houses at Scara Brae, and both were covered with turf (Garnham 48; Challands, Muir & Richards 242, 245).
According to the research, the Danish
passage graves are most likely oriented according to the path of the full moon, perhaps even according to the full moon immediately before a lunar eclipse.
Dwellings, the Great
Passage Grave of Maeshowe, grooved ware, lithic assemblage, pumice, wood charcoal, and faunal remains are among the reports.
Furthermore, the blocks were not simply piled together but carefully arranged, together with smaller stones, to create the
passage grave and cairn.
The monument, which overlooks the Irish Sea between Rhosneigr and Aberffraw, is an example of a cruciform
passage grave and is famous for its decorative stones.
An art project centred round Barclodiad y Gawres, a Neolithic
passage grave on Ynys Mon, recently took to the skies as part of its drive <B to create a portfolio of contemporary work focused on the various 'scapes' that form the backdrop to the monument George Nash
The prehistoric Celtic Newgrange
passage grave is aligned with the Sun at winter solstice to harness the Sun's ability to be reborn seasonally.
"The important thing is that we have a ceremonial monument here that is earlier than the
passage grave," said Prof Wainwright.
I must confess, however, that I have some trouble digesting the description of, for example, the
passage grave at Newgrange, Ireland, on page 134 as "a tuxedo button on fields not used to formal attire." Alliterative dyspepsia aside, the narrative style keeps one alert for further assaults on literary convention.
The live broad-cast marked the 40th anniversary of the discovery of the
passage grave.
I took the local bus (60p to anywhere on the island) first to the Le Dehus
passage grave from Neolithic times, then on to the German Occupation Museum near the airport, a dusty, fading but utterly moving place opened in 1966.
They were taken inside a
passage grave that is older than the pyramids of Egypt.