Wonders of the world in 3D

Newgrange in 3D

Exterior · the mound and kerb

Brú na Bóinne, County Meath, Ireland

Newgrange is a 5,000-year-old passage tomb in Ireland's Boyne Valley. A slot above its entrance, the roof-box, lets the winter-solstice sunrise run 19 m down the passage and light the chamber floor for about 17 minutes. This 3D walk shows the exterior: the great mound, the carved kerbstones and the white quartz front, which you can switch off to see the mound without the 1970s reconstruction.

Where: Brú na Bóinne, County Meath, Ireland
When built: Built around 3200 BC, older than Stonehenge's sarsens and the Giza pyramids
Size: The mound is about 85 m across; the passage runs 19 m to the chamber
UNESCO World Heritage: 1993

Official site

Walk Newgrange in 3D

A real-time 3D model, built from open elevation data and published measurements. Loads 2.1 MB when you start.

Walk it yourself. Works on this phone.

Terrain and sky from open data · stones from published measurements · tags as in the app

Hear the guide

The narrator from the app reads each tour stop. Transcripts below.

The roof-box
Known0:20

A slot above the doorway lets the winter-solstice sunrise run 19 m down the passage and light the chamber floor for about 17 minutes. Built around 3200 BC, it is older than Stonehenge's sarsens and the Giza pyramids.
The quartz facade
Theorised0:17

The white front is a 1967–74 reconstruction from quartz found at the base of the mound. Whether it ever stood as a wall is disputed. Toggle "Then" to see the mound without it.

How to visit in real life

Newgrange can only be visited on a guided tour that starts at the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, with a shuttle bus to the monument. Places inside the chamber at the winter solstice are given out by an annual lottery.

Opening times and tickets change: check the official site. Official site

Open Newgrange in Farstep

The full site on your phone: a narrated guided tour, passport stamps, offline, and smoother graphics than a browser can give.

Narrated guided tour, stop by stop, in nine languages
Passport stamps for every hotspot and finished tour
Works offline once installed
Stonehenge free; other sites are one-time packs. No ads, no subscription.

Open in Farstep

Get it onGoogle Play Download on theApp Store

On iPhone the button opens the App Store.

Questions

How old is Newgrange?

It was built around 3200 BC, which makes it older than the sarsen circle at Stonehenge and the pyramids of Giza.

What happens at Newgrange on the winter solstice?

For about 17 minutes after sunrise on the days around 21 December, sunlight enters through the roof-box and reaches the chamber floor at the end of the passage.