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Ken Williams > A second shot of the Stone of Destiny, in colour this time.
Ken Williams > The 'Rath of the Synods' is typical of the earthen banks and ditches spread all around this site. This view is from the top of the Mound of the Hostages.
Ken Williams > The 'Stone of Destiny' or Lia Fáil as it is also known is a slender, rounded standing stone which originally stood just north of the Mound of the Hostages but was moved to this position to commemorate the men who died in the failed 1798 rebellion. Folklore tells that this stone is the stone on which the High King of Ireland was crowned and when the true king touched the stone it 'cried out' in approval. Click to continue to page 2
Ken Williams > At about 8.40 am the light begins to move off the backstone and onto the chamber wall.
Ken Williams > During his research into neolithic art, passage tombs and astronomy, Martin Brennan noted that its passage was orientated so that the cross quater days sunrise (half way between the solstice and the equinoxes) shines onto the rear stone at the back of the chamber. Due to bad weather conditions on the cross quater days in 2005 and 2006 it was not possible to witness this but some two weeks later I was able to observe the impressive alignment still functioning. A clear sunrise on the 15th Febrary 2006 gave an impressive display when just before 8am the backstone of the passage was brightly lit by sunlight as you can see in the photos below. This general view of the mound was also taken at this time.
Ken Williams > From outside the mound, a few metres from the entrance you can already see the backstone is brightly illuminated. The shortness of the passage means that the alignment is not as accurate as the other better known alignments at Newgrange and Loughcrew so it is possible to see this event for some time either side of the cross quater days.
Ken Williams > The illumination moved very slowly across the back stone towards the right side of the chamber walls and in all the illumination lasted almost an hour.
Ken Williams > From this angle you can see the carvings on the orthostat on the left hand passage wall and the brightly lit backstone.
Ken Williams > The bars of the gate partially block the suns light on the backstone, this photo was taken at about 4 minutes past 8am. Continue on to page two to see a sequence of photos of this event.
A second shot of the Stone of Destiny, in colour this time.
Ken Williams > A second shot of the Stone of Destiny, in colour this time.
A second shot of the Stone of Destiny, in colour this time.
See photo in original gallery.
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