Dramatic claims in today's Irish Times from archaeologist Michael Gibbons to the effect that Newgrange as we see it now is essentially a fake. Parts of the monument were allegedly concocted 50 years ago by the late Professor Michael O'Kelly, including the famous 'roof box' through which the winter solstice sun enters (or sometimes not on cloudy mornings) the inner chamber. Dr Richard Hensey is quoted as supporting the now established view that the roof box is in fact 5,000 years old.
I have long considered that Professor O'Kelly may have taken liberties during the post-excavation reconstruction of Newgrange, but he did go to the trouble of having a surveyor test and confirm that the monument's alignment was deliberate and not accidental: John Patrick, 'Midwinter Sunrise at Newgrange', Nature, vol 249, 1974, pages 517-19.
I have long considered that Professor O'Kelly may have taken liberties during the post-excavation reconstruction of Newgrange, but he did go to the trouble of having a surveyor test and confirm that the monument's alignment was deliberate and not accidental: John Patrick, 'Midwinter Sunrise at Newgrange', Nature, vol 249, 1974, pages 517-19.