Carbon dating and the artwork style well predate the iron age. The stones were carved with stone tools (not iron). The calendric use of monuments is not unique to Newgrange or its builders.
The quartz facade reconstruction has always been a matter of debate, but even if you were to lend credence to Gibbon's claim that Kelly fabricated the light box, it doesn’t change the fact that the passage aligns with the Winter solstice sun. Gibbon's is therefore accusing Kelly of a deliberate alteration of the site to capitalize on a chance alignment:
I don’t have a source off hand for this, but I remember reading that Newgrange is a bit off on its timing - however would have been accurate for the period it was built in. That is one heck of a fabrication to pull off - to not only improve the structure but align it to the rising sun of a few thousand years ago.
But even more compelling: Newgrange is merely the largest mound of a complex (and gets the most press). Knowth and Dowth are within a mile or so of Newgrange. Dowth also has sunbeam mechanic that illuminates a chamber on the Winter solstice - and that was only realized in 1980.
Unless Kelly had a time machine to visit the future his "fabrication" was blind luck in anticipation of consistency (of course a time machine would also have been useful for the ancient alignment issue as well). Or is it Gibbon’s assertion that Kelly altered the Dowth site in secret and brilliantly left it to be “discovered” 20 years later?
This guy Gibbons is either a quack, or the news source misquoted and distorted his paper to create hype and controversy. One paper by some guy disputing the antiquity of a site in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary?? I'd wait for peer review before entertaining any doubts if I were you.
In the mean time:
https://www.amazon.com/Stars-Stones-Anc ... 0500012954
If you would like to borrow this book, let me know.
Carbon dating and the artwork style well predate the iron age. The stones were carved with stone tools (not iron). The calendric use of monuments is not unique to Newgrange or its builders.
The quartz facade reconstruction has always been a matter of debate, but even if you were to lend credence to Gibbon's claim that Kelly fabricated the light box, it doesn’t change the fact that the passage aligns with the Winter solstice sun. Gibbon's is therefore accusing Kelly of a deliberate alteration of the site to capitalize on a chance alignment:
[attachment=0]sun-illuminates-the-chamber-at-newgrange.jpg[/attachment]
I don’t have a source off hand for this, but I remember reading that Newgrange is a bit off on its timing - however would have been accurate for the period it was built in. That is one heck of a fabrication to pull off - to not only improve the structure but align it to the rising sun of a few thousand years ago.
But even more compelling: Newgrange is merely the largest mound of a complex (and gets the most press). Knowth and Dowth are within a mile or so of Newgrange. Dowth also has sunbeam mechanic that illuminates a chamber on the Winter solstice - and that was only realized in 1980.
Unless Kelly had a time machine to visit the future his "fabrication" was blind luck in anticipation of consistency (of course a time machine would also have been useful for the ancient alignment issue as well). Or is it Gibbon’s assertion that Kelly altered the Dowth site in secret and brilliantly left it to be “discovered” 20 years later?
This guy Gibbons is either a quack, or the news source misquoted and distorted his paper to create hype and controversy. One paper by some guy disputing the antiquity of a site in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary?? I'd wait for peer review before entertaining any doubts if I were you.
In the mean time:
[url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500012954/tdbcelts-20]https://www.amazon.com/Stars-Stones-Ancient-Astronomy-Ireland/dp/0500012954[/url]
If you would like to borrow this book, let me know.