scholarly journals Stonehenge and Avebury: Megalithic shadow casting at the solstices at sunrise

1970 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 39-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Terence Meaden
Keyword(s):  
Half Width ◽  
Summer Solstice ◽  
Stone Casting ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Winter Solstice ◽  
Half Height ◽  
Shadow Casting ◽  
Axis Of Symmetry ◽  
Calendar Dates

The paper examines how specific megaliths at Stonehenge and Avebury were positioned relative to others and to particular sunrises such as to produce watchable effects arising from solar movement and resulting lithic shadows. At Stonehenge and environs numerous research expeditions (exceeding 120 that started in 1981) combined with accurate compass analysis, photography and studies of the best plans of the sarsen-stone and bluestone phases have led to explanations for apparent anomalies of stone positioning that have not been clarified before. Firstly, at the summer solstice in the Late Neolithic the Altar Stone was illuminated by sunshine for the first three or four minutes of the day, following which the shadow of the round-topped Heel Stone was cast into the middle of Stonehenge to reach the Altar Stone. This circumstance continues to be witnessed today. It is a consequence of the Heel Stone being deliberately offset from the Stonehenge axis of symmetry. Again, there is the offset positioning of the anomalous half-height, half-width, Stone 11 that disrupts the otherwise regular arc of the lintelled sarsen circle. It is also a fact that the Altar Stone, although on the midsummer sunrise axis and bisected by it, does not lie perpendicular to the monument’s axis but is instead angled lengthways in the direction of the winter solstice sunrise. The same is true of the orientation of the Great Trilithon (as recently discussed by T. Daw). This suggests that the Altar Stone and the Great Trilithon were deliberately positioned this way in order to respect and emphasise an older arrangement in which a midwinter sunrise megalithic setting had been important. Such an arrangement involving the winter solstice sunrise still exists because the shadow of the short round-topped Stone 11 at sunrise appears aimed at the rhyolite ignimbrite Bluestones 40 and 38 - both of which are damaged, fallen and possibly parts of a single original. In similar manner the site of Hole G could indicate the former position of an ancestral stone with regard to equinoctial sunrises. Thus, these shadow-casting experiences for sunrise at Stonehenge may have affinities with the proven stone-to-stone casting of shadows for the same significant calendar dates at the carefully examined Drombeg Stone Circle. At Avebury the stones of the Cove in the northern circle together with Avebury’s Stone F harmonize likewise at the summer solstice sunrise. Two surviving megaliths in Avebury’s southern circle behave similarly. It is discussed whether an explanation in terms of the ancient worldview of the hieros gamos between Sky and Earth may be appropriate for Stonehenge and Avebury as it could also be at Drombeg.

scholarly journals Stonehenge and Avebury: Megalithic shadow casting at the solstices at sunrise

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Terence Meaden
Keyword(s):  
Half Width ◽  
Summer Solstice ◽  
Stone Casting ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Winter Solstice ◽  
Half Height ◽  
Shadow Casting ◽  
Axis Of Symmetry ◽  
Calendar Dates

The paper examines how specific megaliths at Stonehenge and Avebury were positioned relative to others and to particular sunrises such as to produce watchable effects arising from solar movement and resulting lithic shadows. At Stonehenge and environs numerous research expeditions (exceeding 120 that started in 1981) combined with accurate compass analysis, photography and studies of the best plans of the sarsen-stone and bluestone phases have led to explanations for apparent anomalies of stone positioning that have not been clarified before.Firstly, at the summer solstice in the Late Neolithic the Altar Stone was illuminated by sunshine for the first three or four minutes of the day, following which the shadow of the round-topped Heel Stone was cast into the middle of Stonehenge to reach the Altar Stone. This circumstance continues to be witnessed today. It is a consequence of the Heel Stone being deliberately offset from the Stonehenge axis of symmetry. Again, there is the offset positioning of the anomalous half-height, half-width, Stone 11 that disrupts the otherwise regular arc of the lintelled sarsen circle. It is also a fact that the Altar Stone, although on the midsummer sunrise axis and bisected by it, does not lie perpendicular to the monument’s axis but is instead angled lengthways in the direction of the winter solstice sunrise. The same is true of the orientation of the Great Trilithon (as recently discussed by T. Daw). This suggests that the Altar Stone and the Great Trilithon were deliberately positioned this way in order to respect and emphasise an older arrangement in which a midwinter sunrise megalithic setting had been important. Such an arrangement involving the winter solstice sunrise still exists because the shadow of the short round-topped Stone 11 at sunrise appears aimed at the rhyolite ignimbrite Bluestones 40 and 38 - both of which are damaged, fallen and possibly parts of a single original. In similar manner the site of Hole G could indicate the former position of an ancestral stone with regard to equinoctial sunrises. Thus, these shadow-casting experiences for sunrise at Stonehenge may have affinities with the proven stone-to-stone casting of shadows for the same significant calendar dates at the carefully examined Drombeg Stone Circle. At Avebury the stones of the Cove in the northern circle together with Avebury’s Stone F harmonize likewise at the summer solstice sunrise. Two surviving megaliths in Avebury’s southern circle behave similarly. It is discussed whether an explanation in terms of the ancient worldview of the hieros gamos between Sky and Earth may be appropriate for Stonehenge and Avebury as it could also be at Drombeg.

scholarly journals Drombeg Stone Circle, Ireland, analyzed with respect to sunrises and lithic shadow-casting for the eight traditional agricultural festival dates and further validated by photography

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-37
Author(s):  
G. Terence Meaden
Keyword(s):  
Present Observation ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Winter Solstice ◽  
Accurate Analysis ◽  
Agricultural Communities ◽  
Winter Half ◽  
Shadow Casting ◽  
May Day ◽  
Summer Half ◽  
Calendar Dates

A new survey of Drombeg Stone Circle and accurate analysis of shadow effects beginning at particular sunrises of the calendar year has led to a breakthrough in the understanding of lithic symbolism and the intentions behind the construction of this and other Irish monuments including Knowth and Newgrange that also have astronomical alignments. At Drombeg specific standing stones play critical roles at sunrise for all eight of the festival dates as known traditionally and historically for agricultural communities and as now inferred for prehistoric times following the present observation-based analysis.Crucial for Drombeg in the summer half of the year is the positioning of a tall straight-sided portal stone such that its shadow at midsummer sunrise encounters an engraving on the recumbent stone diametrically opposite. During subsequent minutes the shadow moves away allowing the light of the sun to fall on the carved symbol. It is the same for sunrises at Beltane (May Day), Lughnasadh (Lammas), and the equinoxes when shadows from other perimeter stones achieve the same coupling with the same image, each time soon replaced by sunlight. For the winter half of the year which includes dates for Samhain, the winter solstice and Imbolc, the target stone for shadow reception at sunrise is a huge lozenge-shaped megalith, artificially trimmed. Moreover, for 22 March and 21 September there is notable dramatic action by shadow and light between a precisely positioned narrow pillar stone and the lozenge stone.As a result, at sunrise at Drombeg eight calendrical shadow events have been witnessed and photographed. This attests to the precision of Neolithic planning that determined the stone positions, and demonstrates the antiquity of the calendar dates for these traditional agricultural festivals. Discussion is held as to what the concept of shadow casting between shaped or engraved stones at the time of sunrise may have meant in terms of lithic symbolism for the planners and builders. This leads to a possible explanation in terms of the ancient worldview known as the hieros gamos or the Marriage of the Gods between Sky and Earth.

scholarly journals Drombeg Stone Circle, Ireland, analyzed with respect to sunrises and lithic shadow-casting for the eight traditional agricultural festival dates and further validated by photography

1970 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-37
Author(s):  
G. Terence Meaden
Keyword(s):  
Present Observation ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Winter Solstice ◽  
Accurate Analysis ◽  
Agricultural Communities ◽  
Winter Half ◽  
Shadow Casting ◽  
May Day ◽  
Summer Half ◽  
Calendar Dates

A new survey of Drombeg Stone Circle and accurate analysis of shadow effects beginning at particular sunrises of the calendar year has led to a breakthrough in the understanding of lithic symbolism and the intentions behind the construction of this and other Irish monuments including Knowth and Newgrange that also have astronomical alignments. At Drombeg specific standing stones play critical roles at sunrise for all eight of the festival dates as known traditionally and historically for agricultural communities and as now inferred for prehistoric times following the present observation-based analysis. Crucial for Drombeg in the summer half of the year is the positioning of a tall straight-sided portal stone such that its shadow at midsummer sunrise encounters an engraving on the recumbent stone diametrically opposite. During subsequent minutes the shadow moves away allowing the light of the sun to fall on the carved symbol. It is the same for sunrises at Beltane (May Day), Lughnasadh (Lammas), and the equinoxes when shadows from other perimeter stones achieve the same coupling with the same image, each time soon replaced by sunlight. For the winter half of the year which includes dates for Samhain, the winter solstice and Imbolc, the target stone for shadow reception at sunrise is a huge lozenge-shaped megalith, artificially trimmed. Moreover, for 22 March and 21 September there is notable dramatic action by shadow and light between a precisely positioned narrow pillar stone and the lozenge stone. As a result, at sunrise at Drombeg eight calendrical shadow events have been witnessed and photographed. This attests to the precision of Neolithic planning that determined the stone positions, and demonstrates the antiquity of the calendar dates for these traditional agricultural festivals. Discussion is held as to what the concept of shadow casting between shaped or engraved stones at the time of sunrise may have meant in terms of lithic symbolism for the planners and builders. This leads to a possible explanation in terms of the ancient worldview known as the hieros gamos or the Marriage of the Gods between Sky and Earth.

Observation of the winter solstice 1812, with the mural circle at Greenwich

1832 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 457-457
Keyword(s):  
Slight Modification ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Summer Solstice ◽  
Winter Solstice ◽  
Separate Paper ◽  
The Subject

The weather was so extremely unfavourable, that it was not possible to obtain more than eight observations of the sun, from which the obliquity of the ecliptic at the late solstice could be deduced; from these it is inferred to have been 23° 27' 47''·35, that from the summer solstice having been 23° 27' 51''·3. This small discordance, it is observed, might be easily made to disappear by a slight modification of Bradley’s refractions; but the Astronomer Royal has not yet had an opportunity of making a sufficient number of observations on circumpolar stars with the new circle, to warrant making any corrections in his table of refractions, and he leaves the subject of the discordance of the solstices for discussion in a separate paper.

scholarly journals The results of observations made at the observatory of Trinity College, Dublin, for determining the obliquity of the ecliptic, and the maximum of the aberration of light

1833 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 114-115
Keyword(s):  
Trinity College ◽  
Sufficient Accuracy ◽  
Zenith Distance ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Summer Solstice ◽  
Winter Solstice ◽  
Trinity College Dublin ◽  
The Mean

The obliquity of the ecliptic, as deduced from the early observations by the Greenwich quadrant, compared with the present obliquity, gives the diminution for an interval of nearly sixty years, with almost sufficient accuracy to state with some confidence the mass of Venus; but to obtain this point with certainty, the present obliquity, deduced from a mean of the observations of different astronomers, should be used. Upon this subject the author alludes to the opinion of astronomers, that observations of the winter solstice have given a less obliquity than those of the summer solstice,—an opinion sustained by the observations of Maskelyne, Arago, and Pond, but questioned by Bessel and Bradley. Dr. Brinkley refers this difference to some unknown modification of refraction; he has observed that at the winter solstice the irregularity of refraction for the sun is greater than for the stars at the same zenith-distance. He points out the necessity of paying attention to the observations at the winter solstice, and gives a table, exhibiting the mean obliquity reduced to January 1813. Dr. Brinkley next alludes to the maximum of the aberration of light, which appears from his observations of last year to be 20"·80.

scholarly journals COMPORTAMENTO TEMPORAL DA EVAPOTRANSPIRAÇÃO DE REFERÊNCIA EM MUNICÍPIOS DE SÃO PAULO E PROVÍNCIAS DE CUBA

Irriga ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 365
Author(s):  
Esteban Choque Conde ◽  
Ramilos Rodrigues De Brito ◽  
Rodrigo Máximo Sánchez Román ◽  
Ranses José Vasquez Montenegro
Keyword(s):  
Water Deficit ◽  
Reference Evapotranspiration ◽  
Sao Paulo ◽  
Temporal Behavior ◽  
São Paulo ◽  
Agricultural Crops ◽  
Summer Solstice ◽  
Winter Solstice ◽  
Semivariogram Analysis ◽  
Future Demands

COMPORTAMENTO TEMPORAL DA EVAPOTRANSPIRAÇÃO DE REFERÊNCIA EM MUNICÍPIOS DE SÃO PAULO E PROVÍNCIAS DE CUBA ESTEBAN CHOQUE CONDE1; RAMILOS RODRIGUES DE BRITO2; RANSES JOSÉ VÁZQUEZ MONTENEGRO3 E RODRIGO MÁXIMO SÁNCHEZ ROMÁN4 1Doutorando em Irrigação e Drenagem, UNESP/FCA, Botucatu, Brasil. email: [email protected]. Agrônomo, Doutorando em Irrigação e Drenagem, UNESP/FCA, Botucatu, Brasil.3Especialista em Meteorologia Agrícola, Instituto de Meteorologia La Habana, Cuba.4Doutor em Engenharia Agrícola, Professor UNESP/FCA, Botucatu, Brasil.  1 RESUMO A importância de determinar e modelar o comportamento temporal da Evapotranspiração de Referência (ETo) constitui-se na grande necessidade de gerar uma margem de confiança na programação e disponibilidade de água para irrigação, frente ao déficit hídrico das culturas agrícolas. O estudo foca-se na estimativa da ETo mediante a equação Penman-Monteith FAO-56, e a modelagem da tendência e comportamento temporal, mediante o método geoestatístico, baseado na análise de semivariograma e krigagem, nas localidades de Cuba (Güira de Melena, Bauta e Batabanó) e do Brasil (Franca, Piracicaba e São Paulo). Os resultados do ETo mostraram diferentes cenários, maiores amplitudes durante o solstício de verão e menores no solstício de inverno. Palavras chave: Evapotranspiração de referencia, Geoestatística, Krigagem  CHOQUE C., E.; BRITO, R. R.; VAZQUEZ M., R. J.; SÁNCHEZ-ROMÁN, R. M. TEMPORAL BEHAVIOR OF REFERENCE EVAPOTRANSPIRATION IN THE STATE OF SÃO PAULO AND PROVINCES OF CUBA  2 ABSTRACT The importance of determining and modelling the temporal behavior of Reference Evapotranspiration (ETo) lies in the need to generate a margin of confidence in programming and assess the availability of water for irrigation, considering future demands to diminish the water deficit for agricultural crops. The study focuses on the estimation of ETo by Penman-Monteith FAO-56 equation, and modeling the tendency and temporal behavior, by using semivariogram analysis and kriging as geo-statistical methods. The areas of study were Güira de Melena, Bauta and Batabanó in Cuba, and Franca, Piracicaba and São Paulo in Brazil. The results of the ETo showed several scenarios, larger amplitudes during the summer solstice and smaller in the winter solstice. Keywords: Reference evapotranspiration, Geostatistic, Kriging

scholarly journals Transition Periods in the Udmurt Folk Calendar and Their Spirits

2021 ◽  
pp. 73-82
Author(s):  
Galina Glukhova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Transition Time ◽  
Winter Period ◽  
Summer Solstice ◽  
Solar Cycles ◽  
Winter Solstice ◽  
Agricultural Work ◽  
Evil Spirits ◽  
Time Of Year ◽  
Key Events

The article investigates the perceptions of time based on lunar and solar cycles, seasonal changes in nature, and the rhythm of agricultural work. The key events of the annual cycle in the Udmurt calendar are winter (vozhodyr/uyvozho) and summer (invozhodyr) solstices. The winter solstice period (vozhodyr, lit: transition time, crossroads / crossroads of time, the time of vozho, the time of evil spirits) and the time of the summer solstice are described. The winter period is dedicated to the winter Christmas period from January 7th to January 19th, and includes the following components: gatherings with songs and games, divination, dressing up, and mumming. The article characterises the most important events, such as mumming and masking, as well as beliefs, rituals and prohibitions connected with the spirits of the transition time. The summer solstice is connected with the image of the Mother/Foremother Invozho (In(‘)vozho-mumy), that descends from heaven to earth at that time of year. During summer solstice period the Udmurt particularly venerated heavenly powers and held calendar festivals (gershyd, gerber, gyron-bydton) in order to glorify blooming nature and peasant farmer’s labour.

The Dual Alignments of the Solstitial Churches in North Wales

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette Brady
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Sixth Century ◽  
Summer Solstice ◽  
Sacred Sites ◽  
Winter Solstice ◽  
Naked Eye ◽  
The North ◽  
North Wales ◽  
History Of

In the north of Wales, there are 105 churches that have stonework dated to the thirteenth century or earlier. Of these, only twelve are oriented to face the summer solstice sunrise. Additionally, all of these solstitial churches are located in the northern-most counties of Wales, near or around the valleys which flow beside the Snowdonia Mountains or to the east of the mountains. The twelve solstitial churches take their landscape into account and, thus, vary considerably in their azimuths in order to align to the actual sunrise of the summer solstice. In such terrain, one would expect a wide and diverse collection of western declinations, yet these twelve churches fall into three distinct regional bands of western declination. The twelve solstice churches have western declinations that align them either with the winter solstice sunset (this is the natural alignment) or with the period of early February or early November. With all the churches fitting into these declination patterns, this paper presents an argument for the origin of this apparent intentionality based on the history of the region. The Isle of Anglesey, in the Roman period, was one of Europe’s major Druidic centres of learning and their naked- eye astronomy skills are evident in artefacts such as the Coligny calendar. Based on this background, this paper suggests that the original fifth or sixth century churches, which were later rebuilt in stone, appropriated pre-existing sacred sites. Thus, today, these Welsh historical churches appear to have preserved, in their medieval walls, older non-Christian orientations.

Mississippian Solstice Shrines and a Cahokian Calendar: An Hypothesis Based on Ethnohistory and Archaeology

1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia J. O'Brien ◽  
William P. McHugh
Keyword(s):  
Full Moon ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Summer Solstice ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Winter Solstice ◽  
Vernal Equinox ◽  
Religious Ritual ◽  
Autumnal Equinox ◽  
New Moon ◽  
Using Data

This article examines the hypothesis that early Middle Mississippians had a calendric system which tied agriculture and religious ritual together. It also suggests that to that end they built solstice shrines as a means of recording the passage of time through the behavior of the sun and the moon. Using data from structures having possible astronomical alignments, from historic-ethnographic-linguistic sources, and from agricultural planting cycles, a “Cahokian calendar year” is constructed. The year begins with the summer solstice and the Great Busk ceremony. At the next full moon the “great corn” is planted to be harvested at the autumnal equinox. At the winter solstice winter begins while the vernal equinox is marked by a ritual for the Great Sun, their ruler. At the next new moon after that rite a “little corn” is planted which is harvested at the Great Busk. In their five-day, thirteenth month, just before the Busk, all the fires in the society are extinguished to be relit at the summer solstice Great Busk ceremony.

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