Login
Lost Password?
No account yet? Register

Welcome

Taphophilia (dot) Com...
A repository of morbid curiosities:
Thanatology and Taphophile Issues, Cemetery,
Funeral Industry and Death Related News.

What's at Taph?

Taphophilia Home
Thanatology Forums
Taphophile Weblinks
Taph's Article Archive
Contact Deadgirl
Donating to Taphophilia
Book Library

Deadgirl Recommends

Advertisement

Dig Deeper

Literature
Topics at Taphophilia
Deadgirl's Dictionary
Cemetery Photography
Industry News
Carved in Stone

A Taphophilia Thank You...

Taphophilia (dot) Com would not be possible without the knowledge, experience and talent of DarkestWeb. From
its conception and early development, DarkestWeb
was faced with many challenges; from inspiring and motivating, to providing guidance and direction. The continued dedication and support has produced results greater than ever expected, and for this, I owe a huge debt of gratitude.

Cemetery Snapshot

P1010136.jpg.jpg

Announcements

Graveyards of Chicago:
The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries
By Matt Hucke And Ursula Bielski. Discover a Chicago That Exists Just Beneath the Surface - About Six Feet Under! Take a tour of Chicago's permanent residents! Please visit the Lake Claremont Press website to purchase your copy of Graveyards of Chicago today!

Green-Wood Cemetery Arcadia Publishing announces the release of Alexandra Mosca's historic account of one of New York's most famous cemeteries. Aracdia Publishing's Images of America series has an extensive catalog of many cemetery publications! Please visit Arcadia Publishing to purchase your copy of Green-Wood Cemetery and to browse other available titles!


Men of Mortuaries Calendar
To purchase your 2008 calendar, learn more about the KAMMCARES Foundation, or to be featured in the 2009 calendar, please visit Men of Mortuaries.

Epitaphs: The Magazine for Cemetery Lovers By Cemetery Lovers
For information regarding subscriptions, single issues, submission guidelines, deadlines, classifieds or advertising for future issues, please visit The Cemetery Club.

Guardians of the Soul: Angels and Innocents, Mourners and Saints, Indiana's remarkable cemetery sculpture
with photography by John Bower and foreword by Claude Cookman is now
available. Please visit
Studio Indiana for more information.

West Springfield Massachusetts: Stories Carved in Stone by Rusty Clark features information on early New England gravestone carvers with more than two hundred photos and illustrations. Please visit the Dog Pond Press website.
Thousands seek solstice sun in Stone Age tomb PDF Print E-mail
Written by DeadGirl   
Saturday, 25 December 2004
Over 24,000 people have sought a coveted ticket to allow them watch the phenomenon of the rays of the rising midwinter solstice sun beaming deep into Ireland’s Stone Age burial mound this year. But, as always, only 20 people were being allowed to witness the 17-minute phenomenon at the Newgrange tomb in County Meath — because that’s the most the 30 metre long chamber can hold.

It is believed that Ireland’s Stone Age ancestors built the tomb with an alignment so that the rising sun shines on the ashes of their dead deep in the tomb only around the time of the shortest day of the year. This is thought to have represented a sign of rebirth, with the changing of the season giving renewed life to crops and animals.

The recent surge in worldwide demand to witness Ireland oldest “calendar clock” in operation has astonished the government’s Office of Public Works that cares for the country’s heritage. The number of applications has jumped nearly fivefold from 5,500 in 2002, an Irish government official told AFP.

Local schoolchildren pick 100 winners from the application list, and they are allowed in on five days either side of the solstice. “Newgrange is now one of the most exclusive places to be in the world to witness a winter solstice sunrise,” a spokeswoman said.

This year those selected were from the Irish Republic, Northern Ireland, Britain, the United States, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands and Morocco. A second back-up selection of a further 100 people was chosen as replacements in case winners dropped out. “Often when people from far away — who applied when they were here on their summer holidays — get picked in the lottery they have second thoughts about traveling the long distance to Ireland just before Christmas,” the government spokeswoman said.

“But this year we have several people traveling from the US and also a number of winners coming from Britain and (European) continental countries.” The spokeswoman said those chosen in the lottery feel really special.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_22-12-2004_pg9_7
 
< Prev   Next >
[ Back ]