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Archaeoastronomy: (Prehistoric Astronomers)

For a long time now the scientific establishment has shown a resistance and even disregard to the idea of astronomy having been practiced in prehistory. Thankfully, the question of whether astronomy was practiced is now beyond debate, and the doors are open for us to discover the extent of this important development in human awareness.

Quick Links:
	Palaeolithic Astronomers. Astronomy and the Megaliths. 'Precession of the Equinoxes' (The 'Platonic' year). Megaliths and the Metonic cycle. Quadrangles and Latitude. Harmony of the Spheres.	Light boxes (Form and Function) Ancient Egyptian Astronomy. The Anasazi Sun Dagger. Scottish Recumbent Circles. Orion Worship in Prehistory. The Nebra Sky Disc.

The earliest suggestion of an astronomical record comes in the form of notched bones, a finding which A. Marshak and others have interpreted as Palaeolithic lunar counts. While this theory is by no means substantiated, there are several ancient structures which have a clear astronomical nature in their design and the high frequency of association between megaliths and astronomy suggests an mutual relationship.

A Chronology of Ancient Astronomers:

The first suggestions of human astronomical observations come from the Palaeolithic period.

Palaeolithic Astronomy:

Carved-engraved bone plates were the earliest objects which attracted the attention of researchers. Alexander Marshack (1972) interpreted several of the various Palaeolithic and Mesolithic, mostly portable objects with engraved or painted series of dots or lines as accurate lunar observations. His arguments were based not only on counting the signs but on what he called "microscopic analysis". The interpretation of the markings on various artefacts as notational systems rests on the hypothesis of a slow accumulation of these marks which correlate with lunar or solar motion. Thus he concluded that these artefacts reflect non-arithmetic observational astronomical skills and lore.

The most well-known depiction interpreted by him is found on the bone plate about 30,000 years old, from Abri Blanchard (Dordogne, France) which is said to represent the waxing and waning moon positions in serpentine form.

35,000 - 33,000 BC - Decorated baboon fibula with 29 parallel incised notches from Kwazulu border cave, Africa. (4)

'The oldest image of a star pattern, that of the famous constellation of Orion, has been recognised on an ivory tablet some 32,500 years old'.

(BBC - Science/nature)

There are 86 notches on the tablet, a number that has two special meanings. First, it is the number of days that must be subtracted from a year to equal the average number of days of a human gestation. This is no coincidence, says Dr Rappenglueck. It is also the number of days that one of Orion�s two prominent stars, Betelguese, is visible. To ancient man, this might have linked human fertility with the gods in the sky.

(More about Orion Worship in Prehistory)

32,000 BC - Lunar notations found on remains in W. Siberia. (Ref: Science CXLVI, Nov 6, 1964).

22,000 BC - Artefacts to record the solar year and phases of the moon from Ma'alta, Siberia. (4)

The 'Venus de Laussel', France.

The 25,000 year old 'fertility goddess / mother-earth' figure from Laussel, near Eyzles in France, was painted in red ochre and holds a crescent-conch shape with 13-lines on it.

It has been suggested that the 13 lines on the conch refer to the 13 lunar/menstrual cycles each solar year. The object is currently on display at the Bordeaux Museum.

(More about Venus Figurines)

The Lascaux Caves, France;

These two images from Lascaux, France are suggested as showing Pleiades (left), and a lunar count (right).

The 17,000 year old Lascaux Caves are now realised to have had their original opening facing the setting summer solstice. The sun has been observed to enter the chambers for one hour on this date. A survey of several Palaeolithic caves nearby has demonstrated a correlation between cave-art and caves with openings facing important parts of the solar cycle.

(Bibliography of Research Literature on Palaeolithic Notation)

(More about Lascaux)

(Palaeolithic Homepage)

Mesolithic Astronomy:

9,000 - 8,000 BC - Bone plaque with lunar notations from Grotte Dutai, W. France. (4)

8,000 BC - Earliest Lunar Calendar, Scotland.

'Excavations of a field at Crathes Castle found a series of 12 pits which appear to mimic the phases of the moon and track lunar months. The pit alignment aligns on the Midwinter sunrise'.

(Link to Full article)

7,180 - 6,140 BC: Stonehenge, England. - C-14 dates for the 'car park' post holes 250m NW of Stonehenge. Each once contained a Pine trunk (1.5-2m Diameter), which align to the positions of the sun and moon with 'extreme accuracy'. (5) The existence of these 'totem' trunks several thousand years before the stone circle suggests a significance even at this early time and certainly raises questions about whether the significance of this latitude was recognised.

(At the latitude of Stonehenge, the sun and moon have their maximum declinations at right angles to each other).

(More about the Astronomy of Stonehenge )

6,850 BC - Tumulus of St. Michael, Carnac - Orientated east-west. One of seven large tumulus on the Carnac landscape. The tumulus at Carnac contain burial deposits in sealed cysts including several large hordes of finely polished axe-heads, some of extraordinary size, (presumably ceremonial rather than functional).

The Tumulus was positioned so that small islands to the east and west could be used as cardinal marker-points.

(More about the 7-Tumuli at Carnac )

6,500 BC - Engraved bone with lunar notations from Ishango, Congo. (4)

5,000 BC - Goseck, Germany - Currently the oldest known solar observatory in the world. Located on the same Latitude as Stonehenge and 12� to the east. This recently restored Henge monument demonstrates an awareness of the solar cycle, and the simple step required to mark the day end/start point of each cycle. The two southern entrances would have illuminated the centre at both the rising and setting sun each winter solstice (the wooden posts reduce the beam of light to a narrow shaft). The northern entrance was the main entrance to the site (The bottom entrance on the photo left).

(More about Goseck, Germany)

Neolithic to Present:

4,700 BC - Carnac, France: The Kerkado passage mound was built aligned to midwinter sunrise. First Lunar observations at the original Morbihan, monument as determined by Prof. A. Thom.

Nabta Playa, Egypt: c, 4,500 - 4,000 BC.

The 12-foot-in-diameter stone circle contains four sets of upright slabs. Two sets were aligned in a north-south direction while the second pair of slabs provides a line of sight toward the summer solstice horizon.

Because of Nabta's proximity to the Tropic of Cancer, the noon sun is at its zenith about three weeks before and three weeks after the summer solstice, preventing upright objects from casting shadows. The vertical sighting stones correspond to the zenith sun during the summer solstice.

(More about Nabta Playa)

The Sumerians: c. 4,000 BC.

(Shumer- 'Shem' - 'points to sky', 'pointed stone marker'),

The Sumerians were one of the first civilisations to record their observations, and their fascination resulted in the basis for much of modern astronomy today. They recorded the sun at the centre of a system surrounded by several planets. They considered the New-year to begin at the exact moment when the Sun crossed the spring equinox.

The 25,000 texts devoted to Astronomy and Astrology found in the ruins if the Nineveh library of Ashurbanipal bear witness to the Sumerian fascination with the motions of the celestial sphere.

Sumerian	Translation	Modern Name
GU.AN.NA MASH.TAB.BA DUB UR.GULA AB.SIN ZI.BA.AN.NA GIR.TAB PA.BIL (Archer) SUHUR.MASH GU SIM.MAH KU.MAL	Heavenly Bull Twins Pincers, Tongs Lion Her father was Sin Heavenly Fate Which claws and cuts Defender Goat-Fish Lord of the waters Fishes Field dweller	Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces Aries

The Sumerians called the twelve major zodiacal constellations the 'Shiny herd'.

The Sumerians were the first to divide both space and time by units of six. The modern division of the year into 12 months, the 24 hours of each day, the division of hours into 60 minutes and 60 seconds, and the divisions of the circle/sphere by 360 degrees, each composed of 60 minutes and 60 seconds of an arc, are all Sumerian developments. This same division by units of six has been observed at several of prominent British megaliths.

Aubrey Burl said of it:

'From Brodgar, where there was once 60 stones, to the Stripple stones with a probable thirty, the builders may have counted in multiples of six. Stennes had twelve. The inner and outer rings at Balfarg have been computed at twenty-four and twelve respectively. Twenty-four has been suggested for Cairnpappel, thirty-six for Arbor Low, and the same number for the devils quoits'. (3)

Sumerian seal (VA/243). State museum, East Berlin. (23). Whichever planets this image was intended to represent, the smaller 'planets' certainly appear to be surrounding the larger, sun-like object in the centre.

The Planisphere: British Museum (K8538)

Article: (2008) Bristol University. (Quick-link)

'Cuneiform Clay Tablet Translated for the First Time'.

An clay tablet has been translated which records an asteroid approach on collision course 29th June 3,123 BC - as documented by a Sumerian astronomer. (11) It was found by Henry Layard in the remains of the library in the Royal Place at Nineveh, and was made by an Assyrian scribe around 700 BC. It is an astronomical work with drawings of constellations on it and the text has known constellation names. The tablet has recently been claimed to describe a collision occurred near modern K�fel, Austria causing the K�fel Landslide, although the date of the K�fel event is placed at 9,800 BC. (12) Regardless of the location of the event, the date itself stands out as one of great change in the prehistoric world.

(More about Sumeria)

3,500 - 3,000 BC - Malta. Several temples orientated to astronomically significant moments of the solar and lunar cycle. Discovery of pottery with astronomical marking on.

Stones From Hagar-Qim (left), and Tal Qadi (right). Both astronomical in nature.

(More about Prehistoric Malta)

The Boyne Valley Complex, Ireland: c. 3,300 BC.

The Boyne Valley complex consists of the three huge passage mounds; Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth all of which were built in the curve of the river Boyne. The combined orientations of the passages creates an observatory capable of calculating both the lunar and solar cycles accurately.

(More about the Boyne Valley Complex )

3,300 BC - Lochmariaquer, France - Several monuments in the Carnac area (dating from 4,700 - 4,500 BC) dismantled and re-used for new constructions. It is suspected that at this time, the new monuments were designed with a solar emphasis, in contrast to the earlier, predominntly lunar monuments at Lochmariaquer.

(More about Lochmariaquer)

Stonehenge, England: c. 3,200 BC:

The Henge and 56 'Aubrey holes' were placed. (Lunar alignment only). It is suggested that these 56 holes were later used to calculate the Metonic cycle of 18.6 years (3 x 18.6 = 55.8). The same system can be used to calculate tidal motions (based on lunar activity), eclipses, and ultimately to synchronise the movements of the sun and moon.

(More about Stonehenge )

Article: BBC News: Nov 2011.

Two previously undiscovered pits have been found in the Stonehenge Cursus which point to it once being used as a place of sun worship long before the stones were erected. The pits are positioned in such a way that when viewed from the 'Heel-Stone' at Stonehenge, they would have marked the rising and setting positions of the sun on the summers solstice. (20)

(Link to Full Article)

(More about Cursus)

3,114 BC (Aug 13) - The Mayan 'long count' begins. The great cycle was believed to last for 13 baktuns - 1,872,000 days. The present cycle comes to an end on 21st December 2012 AD.

The Mayans used two calendars with each day having two names, the first a repeating cycle of 260 days, called a 'tzolkin', and the second a 'vague' year of 365 days called a 'haab'. The year was composed of 360 days divided into 18 months of 20 days each plus a short month of 5 extra days and the intercalary days. Using the dual calendar system, any specific combination of day names did not occur for a period of 52 'vague' years (52 x 365 = 18,980 = 73 x 260). The 5+ intercalcular days were considered unlucky. The 'Dresden codex' contains tables for the prediction of eclipses.

(Pre-Columbian Americas)

The Giza Complex: c. 3,000 BC.

The vast unprecedented constructions at Giza were built with several fundamental astronomical features incorporated into them as the early dynastic Egyptians adopted the cosmos into their concept of the afterlife. As well as incorporating astronomical data into the Giza pyramids themselves, they were built on the 30th parallel, a latitude sacred to several ancient cultures.

(Radio-carbon dating at Giza )

2,800 - 2,500 BC - Metsamor, in Armenia shows evidence of astronomy and the first known zodiacal division of the heavens into 12 equal parts.

Chinese Astronomy:

2,400 BC - The canons of the Chinese emperor say, 'In the lifetime of Yao, the sun did not set for ten full days and the entire land was flooded (by an immense wave), that reached the sky'.

2,137 BC - (April 26) - Two official astrologers of Emperor Chung Kang, who were paid mainly to predict eclipses so that the population could be told in advance not to panic, got stone drunk on rice wine on this day and forgot to give the warning. Neither could they, as custom required, stand up and shoot arrows at the monster devouring the sun. So the culprits were decapitated on the spot, and since then Chinese astrologers drink nothing but water when eclipses are expected. (13)

(More about Prehistoric China)

2,000 BC - Callanish, (In the Outer Hebrides on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland): An avenue of stones points to Mount Clisham, where the midsummer moon-set occurs from Callanish. Because the complex lies only 1.3 degrees south of the Arctic latitude for the moon, so that ancient observers would have been able to see the moon appearing to 'roll along' at about one degree above the horizon. This 18.6 year cycle is the same as that recorded at Stonehenge. Both avenues of stones allowed ancient astronomers to observe what is called the 'moon's wobble', a small amplitude ripple of the moons declination at extreme positions. It is possibly significant that with both sites having key observation stones with similar geometry, and with Callanish situated at a latitude where the moon appears to skim the horizon, while at Stonehenge, the extreme positions of the moon appear at right angles to the Sun; it makes Earth's curvature obvious and from that the calculations necessary to determine its size. (9).

The Nebra Sky Disc, Germany (c. 1,600 BC):

Found at the top of a mountain in Germany and long believed a fake, this remarkable object is now accepted as a genuine artefact. It is the only piece of its kind in central Europe and includes astronomical information relevant to its location.

(More about the Nebra Sky Disc)

Chankillo, Peru (c. 300 BC):

The Thirteen Towers of Chankillo run north to south along a low ridge within a fourth-century B.C. ceremonial complex in north coastal Peru. They formed an artificial toothed horizon that spanned the path of the annual rising and setting arcs of the Sun. At present, the culture that made them has not been named.

(More about the Chankillo Observatory)

4^th Cent BC - A belief existed at the time of Aristotle that a comet had once joined the solar system as a planet. This theory was later expanded by Velikovsky, who believed the story to be a reference to the appearance of Venus.

3^rd Cent BC - Aristarchus of Samos suggests that the motions of the heavenly bodies could better be explained if the Sun - and not the Earth - was in the centre.

2^nd Cent BC - Hipparchus, who lived in Asia Minor, discussed 'the displacement of the solstice and equinoctial signs'. (23) A clear reference to the phenomena called the precession of the equinoxes, which some people suggest was understood a long time before this.

1^st Cent BC - Diodorus Siculus, the Greek historian, states that...'the Chaldeans named the planets�in the centre of their system was the Sun, the greatest light, of which the planets were offspring'. (23).

The Antikythera Mechanism.

Reproduction. Athens Museum. 83 BC - A Mechanical device for working out the motions of the sun, moon and planets (based on number and relationship of over 30 gears).

Found underwater off Antikythera Island, Greece, 1901 (Current Location: National museum, Athens). Examined by Derek De Solla Price with x-ray. It is made of different metal alloys with 1/10 mm precision teeth.

Original fossiised relic. Original fossilised relic.

Ref: (Readers digest into the unknown, 1981. ISBN 0-89577-098-9 (+13)

(More about the Antikythera Mechanism)

2^nd Cent AD - Ptolemy in Alexandria states categorically that the Sun, Moon and five planets rotated around the Earth. A belief that lingers for over 1000 years.

Chaco canyon: c. 900 AD - (The 'Sun dagger')

Chaco Canyon was the home of the Anasazi people who lived in the region from about 500 to 1300 AD. Some 120 meters above the canyon floor near the top of an outcropping known as Fajada Butte, three slabs of sandstone are leaning against a rock wall creating a shaded space. Carved into this shaded wall are two spiral petroglyphs, one large and one small. Sunlight passes over them at various times throughout the year as it streams through chinks between the sandstone.

(More about the Chaco-canyon sun-dagger)

1543 AD - Nicolaus Copernicus suggests / re-discovers that the we are part of a Heliocentric system. (23).

Archaeoastronomy: Other Featured Articles.

Astronomy and the European Megaliths:

For a long time, megaliths were considered to have had primarily funerary purposes, which is reflected in the names given them such as 'Chamber tombs', 'Burial-mounds', 'Passage graves', 'Gallery graves' etc. This assumption is now in question...

stonehenge astronomy The idea that prehistoric people might have been knowledgeable in the field of astronomy is even today received with the greatest of caution. However, the accurate astronomical orientation of so many ancient megaliths leaves no doubt as to the importance of astronomy to the builders.

Sir N. Lockyer pioneered many fields of research, one of which was the study of astronomically aligned ancient megaliths and temples. His realisation that many temples Both in Prehistoric Egypt (and Britain) showed several different adjustments to their alignments, with records to date the changes, ultimately led to the creation of the field of science which we now know as archaeoastronomy.

In Neolithic Europe, there is evidence of at least two marked phases of cultural development involving the development (and/or redevelopment) of large, civil-scale constructions involving primary astronomical orientations and alignments at several 'megalithic complexes' along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastline of Europe, many of which were positioned at astronomically significant latitudes (such as Stonehenge, Orkneys, Carnac, Evora). The following examples are some of the most important European 'megalithic complexes', for which astronomy can be seen to go a long way in explaining their specific placement, often in relation to each other.

The Astronomy of the Stonehenge/Avebury Complex.

One of the strongest pieces of evidence in favour of Stonehenge serving an astronomic purpose is the location of the site itself, as it is along this latitude at which the sun and the moon have their maximum declinations at right angles to each other, in addition to which the latitude of Stonehenge (51� 10' N), is one of only two latitudes in the world at which the full moon passes directly overhead on the maximum zenith. The other (38� 33′ N), is perhaps coincidentally on the same as the latitude of the oldest stone-circle in Europe, at Almendres in Portugal.

The 56 Aubrey holes were suggested by Prof. G. Hawkins, to have been used for calculating the phases of the moon and also for predicting the month of the year in which eclipses would take place. The same design can also be used to predict the tides and is one of the many facts which combine to suggest that Stonehenge was an 'instrument' designed to calculate astronomical cycles. (3)

Although the orientation of the 'Avenue' is commonly believed to be in line with the summer solstice, there are indications that the orientation was originally lunar...

Extract from Burl - 'The heel-stone is popularly thought to stand in line with the midsummer sunrise but it does not and never did...astronomical analysis has shown instead that the stone is in-line with rising of the moon halfway between its northern minor and major positions'.

The angle of orientation of both the 'Avenue' and the geometry of the 'Station-stones', mirror the sites latitude of 51� 10' N.

(More about Stonehenge)

Megalithic Quadrangles:

The mathematical peculiarity of the Stonehenge 'Station-stones' having proportions that mirrors the latitude of the site, is only surpassed by the fact that both the Sun and the Moon (at their respective maximum settings) rise at approximately the same point on the horizon from the site, which is also mirrored in the latitude of 51� 51'.

This remarkable astronomical fact, and the quadrangle design occurs at two (Possibly three) other known European locations, each of which demonstrates a relationship between their latitude, their internal geometry, and an astronomical relevance in their placement. One of the other interesting astronomical facts concerning Stonehenge is that it lies under one of two latitudes in the world at which the full moon passes directly overhead on its maximum Zeniths, these are at Stonehenge and Almendres in Portugal.

The Almendres Stone Circle at the Evora complex in Portugal is one of the oldest circle in Western-Europe. It simultaneously calculates the solstices and the equinoxes, being composed of two circles superimposed over each other. There exists an alignment running for over 50km approximately east from Almendres circle, following the path of the spring full-moon. The alignment passes over the largest passage mound in all Iberia (Zambujeiro), and ends at the Xarez Quadrangle (above) at Monsaraz.

Another alignment to the midsummer sunrise exists through the rectangular 'Crucuno' enclosure at Carnac which encompasses a 3:4:5 triangle, with the east - west sides aligned to the equinox sunrise and sunset, and perhaps more importantly, the diagonals being aligned to both the solstice sunrise and sunset positions, a feature similar to the four 'station-stones' at Stonehenge. These particular examples of megalithic quadrangles betrays the simultaneous application of the knowledge of geometry, astronomy and latitude, demonstrating the existence of a sophisticated set of ideas as suggested by Prof Alexander Thom in the 1960's.

(More about Megalithic Quadrangles )

The Boyne Valley Complex.

3,300 BC - Boyne Valley, County Meath, Ireland - The Boyne Valley Passage-mounds are an elegantly simple 'observatory mechanism' employed for accurately measuring all of the important extremes of the Solar and Lunar cycles. The simplest of calculations would have yielded the 'Metonic cycle' to the 'priests/astronomers' who resided over events at the mounds. These constructions are large enough to be termed 'civil-structures', revealing specialisations in skills, co-operation of a large communal workforce, and the ability to calculate and complete the complex over several sustained generations.

The Boyne Valley complex, Ireland.

The Boyne-Valley Complex incorporates several important lunar and solar orientations.

BBC News Article: Thursday, 22 April, 1999

A map of the Moon 10-times older than anything known before has been claimed to be found carved into stone at one of Ireland's most ancient and mysterious Neolithic sites.

It has been identified by Dr Philip Stooke, of the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He spends most of his time preparing maps of asteroids based on spacecraft observations, but he has also prepared detailed maps of the Moon.

What puzzled him greatly was that there was no recorded map of the Moon older than about 500 years. "I simply could not believe this," he told BBC News Online. "I felt there just had to be an older map somewhere."

So he began looking in old manuscripts and history books as well as in the records of excavations of the Neolithic sites on the British Isles.

Then he found one. It took the eye of an expert to see it for what it was. It was carved into a rock in one of Ireland's most remarkable prehistoric tombs at Knowth, County Meath.

"I was amazed when I saw it. Place the markings over a picture of the full Moon and you will see that they line up. It is without doubt a map of the Moon, the most ancient one ever found," said Dr Stooke.

"It's all there in the carving. You can see the overall pattern of the lunar features, from features such as Mare Humorun through to Mare Crisium."

Before this discovery, the oldest known map of the Moon was by Leonardo da Vinci, drawn about 1505. The Knowth map is 10-times older. Knowth is already a major focus of research into understanding prehistoric man. Now, it will become one of the most important scientific sites in the world.

"The people who carved this Moon map were the first scientists," said Dr Stooke. "They knew a great deal about the motion of the Moon. They were not primitive at all."

The passage tomb at Knowth is estimated to be about 5,000 years old. It was obviously built by men who had a sophisticated understanding of the motions of the Sun, Moon and stars.

It is known that many stone circles and ancient tombs are aligned with the Sun but less attention has been paid to possible lunar alignments. This is despite the fact that at certain times the Moon can rise or set at any location on the horizon that the Sun can.

Investigations at Knowth almost 20 years ago showed that at certain times moonlight could shine down the eastern passage of the tomb. Remarkably, the moonlight would also fall on the Neolithic lunar map.

During excavations, the stone in question was named Orthostat 47. Its right-hand section contains a series of arcs.

The circular limb of the moon is not included in the carving. Dr Stooke believes that it may have been drawn on the rock with chalk or with coloured paint.

(Ref: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/325290.stm)

(More about the Boyne Valley complex, Ireland)

Scottish Recumbent Stone Circles:

Scotland is home to hundreds of 'Recumbent' stone circles. These circles are usually fairly small, the largest being (Innesmill (B5/1 at 110 ft diameter). Recumbent circles in the Grampians of Scotland have been shown to have a primary association with the observation of the extreme setting points on the lunar cycle. They are defined by a prominent 'recumbent' stone, positioned horizontally, so that the moon sets behind it at both extremes of its cycle, and upon which stones cup-marks are often found.

In Aberdeenshire, with a mean latitude of 57� 30's, the moon at its maximum, will rise at 155� SSE, and set at 205� SSW. Of the 48 recumbents where it is possible to plot their axis, 45 have recumbent between these limits. The remaining were placed at 230�, 231� and 232�, the min moon setting.

(Ref: Burl. Stone circles).

It is interesting to note that the only recumbent circles found outside of Scotland, are in the Ross-Carbery area of Ireland (SW), which places them too far south to make them any use as lunar observatories, and have in fact been shown to be solar in their orientation. Cope (4), makes note of the Drombeg RSC, where the sun has been observed setting at midwinter (solstice), directly into a notch in the landscape behind the recumbent stone.

The largest recumbent stone in Scotland is at Old Keig (above), in Aberdeenshire, which at an estimated 53 tons, and still sitting perfectly horizontally, is a testimony to the engineering skills of the builders. The Old Keig recumbent was positioned so that its length (5m), was such that the moon rose at its minimum and maximum settings (over the 18.6 yr cycle) from behind the left and right 'flankers', gliding along the surface of the recumbent (due to its specific latitude).

(Recumbent Stone Circles)

The Megalithic yard: Prof Alexander Thom determined the presence of both geometry and astronomy at hundreds of prehistoric sites across Europe. His findings confirmed the accuracy of numerous astronomically orientated megalithic sites, and also revealed the use of geometry in the design of megalithic circles, including the use of 3:4:5 triangles and the 'megalithic yard', a common unit of measurement, which he suggested was used throughout prehistoric Europe.

It is suggested that the Megalithic yard is a natural product of astronomical observation.

(More about Alexander Thom and the Megalithic Yard)

The 'Metonic' Cycle:

The Metonic cycle is attributed to the Greek mathematician/astronomer Meton (4th cent. BC). Who identified the synchronous cycles of the Sun and Moon over a period of 18.6 Solar years, during which the Moon has 235 Lunations, with an error of only two hours.

(Exactly corrected for over a period of 1116 solar years or 14,100 lunations)

It is noted that at Stonehenge, in England, there are 56 Aubrey holes (3 x 18.6 = 55.8). The largest menhir in France (now fallen), Le Grande Menhir Brise, was once a part of a huge construction consisting of 19 menhirs of decreasing size, and the large stone in the back of the adjacent La Table des Marchands has 19 crescent shapes scored on either side of it. All suggestive of an early awareness of the Metonic cycle.

How far back the Metonic cycle was recognised is still a matter of debate, but there is no doubt that the European megalithic builders were measuring both lunar and solar cycles at the same time, as testified by Stonehenge and the great Boyne Valley complex, where all the minor and major setting points of both cycles were determined through orientations and alignments of the three great passage mounds Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth.

Robin Heath (3), suggested that the Megalithic yard was linked to the Metonic cycle, (in which the earth orbits the sun 19 times and the moon has 235 lunation's). He Proposed that if the measurement of time is transferred to the measurement of space (i.e. each day = one Megalithic Inch 'MI'), then the difference between the solar and lunar cycles over a three year solar period amount to a deficit of 1.104812 lunation's, which amounts to 32.625 days: which if transferred into Megalithic Inches 'MI' (one MI = one solar day), equals 2.7188 ft. A figure extremely close to Thom's estimate of 2.72 ft.

Prehistoric Egyptian Astronomers:

At approximately the same time as Europe was undergoing the conversion from Mesolithic to Neolithic, Egypt was undergoing dramatic changes of its own.

The earliest evidence of astronomy in Egypt is the Nabta Playa Stone circle and associated megalithic remains, which were built on the Tropic of Cancer, the very latitude at which the sun casts no shadow at midday on summers solstice. The remains have been dated at c. 4,500 - 4,000 BC and they attest to a recognition of the annual cycle of the sun.

(More about the Nabta Playa stone circle)

In ancient Egypt, religion and astronomy were irrevocably entwined, resulting in the complex mythological tapestry as seen in the 'Book of the dead' and the so called 'pyramid texts', which simultaneously describe both the journey of the sun on its daily cycle and of the soul passing into the underworld. These texts are found first in fifth dynasty pyramids before which time, pyramids appear to have been unadorned.

The Giza complex in Egypt shows numerous geometric and astronomical references in its design. Pi (л) in the exterior dimensions of the Great pyramid, the 3:4:5 triangle in the dimensions of the 'Kings chamber' of the 'Great pyramid', and the sacred mean (0.618) in the overall layout of the site. In addition, the structures at Giza have several astronomical features built into them. In particular, the almost exact cardinal orientation of the pyramids, the polar-shafts in each pyramid, cut to face the pole-star at the time of construction. The 'Star-shafts' in Khufu's pyramid, said to align to both Orion and Sirius, and not forgetting of course the majestic sphinx, which sits facing the rising sun on the equinoxes.

Davidson (7), showed how the shadow cast by the Great pyramid could have been used to measure the solstice, equinoxes and quarter periods of the year.

(More about The Giza complex )

(More about Egyptian Astronomy )

The Precession of the Equinoxes:

The precession of the equinoxes refers to the celestial phenomena that appears in the skies over a period spanning 25,920 years, during which time the constellations appear to rotate around the heavens, taking turns at rising on the horizon before the rising sun on the vernal equinox.

The Precession of the equinoxes = 25,920 yrs = (360�)

The sky is divided into 12 constellations:

(25,920 / 12 = 2,160)

A New sign appears on the horizon each 2,160 yrs (30�)

Note: (2 x 2,160 or 12 x 360 = 4,320 yrs)

Therefore to move 1� on the horizon = 72 yrs.

This remarkable cycle is due to a synchronicity between the speed of the earth's rotation around the sun, and the rotational speed of the galaxy.

It has been observed that certain myths, sacred texts and ancient buildings have these figures �stored� within them, as numerical units which are common throughout the ancient world.

(More about Precession)

Light-boxes: Form and Function:

Light-boxes are a megalithic design feature employed so as to restrict the entrance of light into a chamber or passage. They are a Neolithic construction feature that have so far only been recorded at four (possibly five) sites in the UK, with the two in Ireland (Newgrange and Carrowkeel) both having the same design, two on the Orkneys (Maes Howe and Crantit) in Scotland and one in Wales (Brynn-Celli-Ddu).

Newgrange at the Boyne Valley, possesses one of the finest known examples of 'Light-boxes'.

The incorporation of light boxes into megaliths is one of the few direct proofs of the link between megaliths and astronomy, as their purpose was the manipulation of light into the passage mounds at certain times of the year only. In Egypt, the earliest pyramids all contain 'polar-shafts', on Malta, the 'Temples' orientated towards the solstices and equinoxes and in Britain, all the known passage-mounds containing light-boxes were also aligned with solar events, (i.e. the equinoxes or solstice)

Newgrange - Ireland, (Winter Solstice, Lunar Standstill)

Crantit Tomb Orkneys - (start and end of winter..?)

Carrowkeel - Ireland, (Summer and winter solstice, Lunar standstill)

Maes Howe - Orkneys, (Winter solstice).

Bryn Celli Ddu - Anglesey, (Summer solstice, Lunar standstill)

(More about Lightboxes)

Astronomy in Myth:

We can see how astronomical information is still recorded into everyday terminology such as the names of the days of the week.

Latin	French	English (Norse/Germanic)
Lunae (Moon)	Lundi - (*Lunar-day*)	Monday - (Moons day)
Martis (Mars)	Mardi - (Mars-day)	Tuesday - (Tīw's day)
Mercurii (Mercury)	Mercredi - (Mercury-day)	Wednesday - (Wodin's-day)
Jovis (Jupiter)	Jeudi - (Jupiter-day)	Thursday - (Thor's -day)
Veneris (Venus)	Vendredi - (Venus-day)	Friday - (Freya's-day)
Saturni (Saturn)	Samedi - (Sabado/Sabbath)	Saturday - (Saturn-day)
Solis/Dominicus (Sun)	Dimanche - (Domingo)	Sunday - (Sun-day)

Why the particular order of the days of the week ?

If you order the "planets" according to either their average distance from Earth (assuming the Earth to be the centre of the universe) or their period of revolution around the Earth, you arrive at this order:

Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn

Now, assign (in reverse order) these planets to the (24) hours of the day:

1=Saturn, 2=Jupiter, 3=Mars, 4=Sun, 5=Venus, 6=Mercury, 7=Moon, 8=Saturn, 9=Jupiter, etc. etc etc, until 24=Mars

The next day will then continue where the old day left off:

1=Sun, 2=Venus, etc., until 24=Mercury

And the next day will go...

1=Moon, 2=Saturn, etc.

If you look at the planet assigned to the first hour of each day, you
will note that the planets come in this order:

Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus.

Which gives the order of the associated week days...

(Who works these things out anyway...?)

According to Dr Richard L. Thompson (Mysteries of the sacred universe), The Bhagvata Purana, contains a body of astronomical knowledge. He looks at the Blue Mandala, which consists of circles and intersecting spheres of precise, very large, dimensions. He argues that the Blue Mandala is an accurate map of the solar system and as a planar projection map of the earth. He points out correlations with dimensions given in the texts and those of the planetary orbits within the solar system.

(Ref: Hancock, Underwater kingdoms)

We have mentioned the astronomical phenomenon called the 'Precession of the equinoxes' above, and it appears likely that there was a working understanding of this great cycle in prehistoric times. Before the written word, information and knowledge would have been transferred verbally, and there are several myths which are suspected of incorporating observations of astronomical events. Apart from the numerous references to fiery dragons and a war between the gods in heaven, there are also more specific myths that come from unrelated sources which appear to share similar descriptions of an event. It is in these myths that we can begin to view mythology as an historical narrative rather than a purely imaginative one. But what should we make then, of the 'The day the sun stood still', a myth found independently around the ancient world...

(More about Mythology)

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References:

1) G. Santillana and H. Von Dechend. Hamlets mill. 1983. D. R. G. Press.

2). A. Service & J. Bradbery. Megaliths and their Mysteries. 1979. Macmillan.

3). Aubrey Burl. Stone Circles of the British Isles. 1976. Yale University Press.

4). Richard Rudgley. The Lost Civilisation of the Stone Age. 1999. Arrow. Press

5). Sir B. Cunliffe. Facing the Ocean: The Atlantic and Its Peoples, 2001, Oxford University Press

6). http://www.physorg.com/news126183668.html

7). D. Davidson & H. Aldersmith. Great Pyramid, Its Divine Message. 1924. Williams and Norgate.