Surveyed by the author, these particular ancient sacred places are pre-christian, pre-iron age, mostly megalithic and mostly Irish. The majority are Cork-Kerry Stone Circle Complex sites of the Mid to Late Bronze Age, built some 3000 years ago. Others are as much as 7000 years old.
Emphasis is on the views from these prehistoric sites and the astronomical significance of them. Alignments are investigated and shown to be servants of place. We generally go to look at these places by day but they mark places of the night. Yes! Really: sunSet through Night to sunRise. Communing with the celestial powers.
Whole Horizon Analytical Techniques show that these prehistoric monument sites were chosen for their astronomical properties. All of them mark places from which the horizon could be used to accurately map and measure patterns in the sky. [Statistics]. Most specifically the annual solar and 18.6 year lunar nodal cycles.
A possible megalithic calendrical system has been recovered that is quite sophisticated and seems designed to enable eclipse prediction [Details]. It worked because it was purely observational.
This study demonstrates a continuous cultural thread from the Neolithic through to the Late Bronze Age. Against all expectations the earliest monuments have much the the same astronomical siting criteria as the later stone circle complex of monuments. Thus the period when this prehistoric luni-solar horizon calendar methodology evolved was earlier than the earliest monument so far surveyed [Carrowmore c.4500BCE].
Perhaps the quickest way to gain an understanding of the techniques that the monument builders employed is to compare usage of the same horizons from different sites within a locality. Links are provided to facilitate this.
The pictures have limitations because they do not not have the clarity and detail obtained by the naked eye nor the sense of movement obtainable by personal presence. Static images do not readily convey the extent to which skyline configuration is a function of observer location but do demonstrate visually how the horizon was used as a calendar from particular places [Technical Notes].
- Most of the pictures show views from monuments with the horizon accurately fitted to survey data.
- Luni-solar trajectories for the appropriate prehistoric period have been added.
- Orange Solar trajectories split the tropical year into 48 "Tweeks" (7.6 day mean) that are better regarded as quarter-months.
- Solid Blue Lunar lines split cyclical lunistice position variation into 16 periods of about 14 months each.
- Lunistices are the most northerly and southerly moons of the month.