The technology used in an attempt to find out whether a second passage tomb, which may also be aligned with a solstice event, exists at Newgrange had proved its worth during experimentation by a Slovakian team of scientists who visited the Boyne Valley (Co. Meath, Ireland).
     Dr Conor Brady, archaeologist and lecturer at Dundalk Institute of Technology, said that while there would be no 'dramatic announcements' about discovery of a second chamber at Newgrange at this stage, the microgravitational technology used in the experiments had proven valuable to archaeologists and scientists.
     The possibility that Newgrange could have a second passage tomb, which may also be aligned with a solstice event, was being explored by a team of Irish and Slovakians archaeologists using microgravitational equipment. The purpose of the new study was to detect underground cavities and the microgravity meter used at Newgrange responds to variations in density in the ground beneath it.
     Already part of the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site, Newgrange is synonymous with sunrise on the winter solstice but the possibility that it has another as yet unknown chamber is not being ruled out. Dr Brady said that while the weather conditions encountered by the team at Newgrange created difficulty in the use of the highly-sensitive equipment, it had nevertheless shown that 'it works'.

Edited from The Meath Chronicle (9 November 2011)