The diachronic study of orientations: Mérida, a case study (original) (raw)
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Researching the Orientation of Monuments the Church of the Great Meteoro Monastery
This work presents a method for the thorough research of the orientation of monuments, based on state-of-the-art geodetic and astronomical measurements. The proposed measurement and data reduction procedures are rigorous and lead to an accurate determination of the orientation of a monument. The term "orientation" collectively refers to: the astronomically oriented plan of the monument, the diagram of the perceptible horizon around the monument and the diagram of the apparent path of the Sun (or other star) as it rises above the horizon at characteristic dates. Then, the orientation is interpreted in terms of other, mostly cultural, information about the scope of the monument and in combination with its time of construction. In retrospect, therefore, the proposed method provides a new, independent way for the confirmation or the determination of the time of construction of the monument within a narrow chronological range. An analysis of the method is given (including geode...
The Similarity in Orientation for Ancient Construction at Mesoamerica and Three World Cases
Civil Engineering and Architecture, 2021
The study of the pyramids has attracted attention for several centuries because of the construction itself and its positions. We try to understand their formal and geospatial position and implications. There are various hypotheses about the design of them, from the mystical sphere to mathematical analysis. In this research, we carried out a study of the orientation presented in various prehispanic buildings in Mexico, as a part of Mesoamerica; we selected the most important ceremonial places or pyramids and different cultures, including the last one called "Aguada Fenix" that may produce the first knowledge. Separately, we consider three similar cases, Iraq, Iran, and Egypt, as ancient initial constructions. The research shows that orientation prevails from the visualization of the sunset from the location selected by the Mesoamerican culture under a particular specific translational earth position. However, some cultures prioritized solstice sunrise-facing constructions. It does not necessarily imply that they knew explicitly about the cardinal points: the position of the sun may be sufficient. The Giza Pyramid case is analyzed under this perspective, proposing that the arrangement was carried out by following the line from sunrise to sunset through the drawing of lines from the same point, allowing the largest sunny area during the year.
Statistical Approach On the Orientation of Prehistoric Sardinian Monuments: A Comparative
On the basis of a recently updated data base of Sardinian Megalithic monuments, we perform two independent statistical analyses on several groups of these structures and confirm the existence of differences between the southern and northern halves of Sardinia, indicating that there seem to be different traditions of orientation in these two parts of the island. We then compare the orientation of these groups with other groups of contemporaneous sacred monuments in the central Mediterranean basin. The differences observed in Sardinia could be related to differences in the orientation customs between the north and south shores of the Western Mediterranean
in Amanda-Alice Maravelia (ed) Ad Astra per Aspera et per Ludum: European Archaeoastronomy and the Orientation of Monuments in the Mediterranean Basin and Beyond, 2003
Cultural interest in the movements of the moon and sun is strongly supported by many works in archaeoastronomy. Research by Papathanassiou, Hoskin and Papadopoulou on the orientation of tombs in the late-Minoan cemetery at Armenoi, Crete, as well as Aveni’s and Hartung’s work on the zenith tubes at Monte Alban and Xochicalco, illustrate this.1 Orienting structures towards particular astronomical phenomena, however, may not have been the only variable considered in location choice. Ruggles’ and Martlew’s North Mull investigations found that sites were preferentially placed so as to associate prominent secondary peaks or groups of peaks with particular astronomical phenomena, regardless of their orientation; in particular, associating them with the southernmost moonrise nearer the minor standstill or the rise and set of the solstitial sun. The outcomes of the current study support and expand the main conclusions of this work. Firstly, it was found that, when erecting a monument, consideration was sometimes given, not only to a single astronomical phenomenon, but also to an association with a complete cosmological cycle(s). Secondly, that these cycles were not indicated in their entirety but their existence was implied by the orientation towards an instance of it.
The OAS Project has been run with the support of the Spanish research funding agencies during the last dozen years. Within its framework, research on cultural astronomy has been developed for a series of ancient civilizations, from the Atlantic Islands to the Arabian Peninsula and beyond, with the Meditterranean Sea as the principal axis of action of the project. A catalogue of studies has been performed in a set of cultures such as the Megalithic Phenomenon (González-García and Belmonte, 2010; Belmonte; González-García and Polcaro, 2013a), ancient Egypt (Belmonte and Shaltout, 2009; Belmonte, 2012), Middle East Bronze Age (notably on the Hittites: González-García and Belmonte, 2011) and Iron Age (notably on the Nabataeans: Belmonte, González-García and Polcaro, 2013b) civilizations and the Roman World (e.g. González-García, Rodríguez-Antón and Belmonte, 2014), among many others. In this essay a general scope of the project and a series of most interesting highlights will be presented. The evolutionary ties of the megalithic monuments of the Iberian Peninsula and elsewhere, the pattern of orientation of Egyptian temples and skyscaping practices within the Hittite or Nabataean cultures, among others, will be briefly explored; including a comprehensive, statistical and comparative study of the orientation patterns of thousands of ancient monuments of the Mediterranean region (González-García and Belmonte, 2014). Finally, a sketch of our most recent, still ongoing, research will be a compelling and promising closing remark of our analysis.
An Analysis of the Alignment of Archaeological Sites
Journal of Scientific Exploration, 2020
There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of sites of archaeological importance throughout the world. In this study the alignments of over twohundred ancient sites were measured and analyzed. Sites are organized into eight geographic regions: South America, Mesoamerica, North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Pacific Ocean. Google Earth imagery and measurement tools were used to estimate the alignment of linear and rectilinear structures at these sites with respect to true (geographic) north. In considering standard celestial and geographic reasons for the alignments, many were found to be oriented to the cardinal directions, in the directions of solstices and other solar events, to lunar standstills, and certain stars. A number of sites in China and Thailand were likely aligned to magnetic north at the time of construction using a compass. Some sites appear to have been aligned to “sacred directions” that include Islamic qibla and Quechua ceques. Site alignment sta...
A recently accomplished systematic study of 271 architectural orientations measured at 87 archaeological sites in the Maya Lowlands led to several conclusions about the underlying astronomical motives. In order to test these proposals, we have performed a number of statistical analyses, employing kernel density estimations (KDEs) and cluster analyses without preconceived ideas on the directionality of the different buildings. Since most buildings have roughly rectangular ground plans, both north-south and east-west orientation axes were analyzed. Our KDE analyses, in which the errors assigned to alignment data were considered, are based on the assumption that the direction in which a particular orientation group was astronomically functional is indicated in histograms by narrower maxima with larger amplitudes. The distribution of azimuths and declinations suggests that the orientations were functional predominantly in the east-west direction, largely referring to the Sun, but the existence of alignments to the major extremes of Venus and the Moon on the horizon is also highly likely. The analyses of the distribution of sunrise and sunset dates corresponding to solar orientations, as well as of the intervening intervals, support the idea that the orientations recorded the dates separated by multiples of 13 and 20 days, allowing the use of easily manageable observational calendars intended to facilitate a proper scheduling of agricultural activities and the associated rituals. As revealed by cluster analyses, the East Coast and the Usumacinta basin share similar orientation trends, which are, however, notably different from those in the rest of the Maya Lowlands, probably reflecting regional variations observed also in other cultural elements.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTEBOOKS 19 (SUPPLEMENT), 2013
This article presents the results of an archaeoastronomical study carried out in several protohistoric religious buildings of the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula, most of them located in modern-day Andalusia. The sites date from IX to V century BC and belong to the Tartessian or Iberian cultures. All sites show evidence of direct influence by Phoenician colonisation and most of them have even been interpreted as true Phoenician temples. An element commonly associated with some of these buildings are the bull hide-shaped altars, which have been interpreted as dedicated to the Phoenician deities of Baal and Astarte. We find that these sacred buildings are oriented to the same azimuth of 55°, indicating the importance of orientation in the design and ritual use of the sanctuaries. In discussing the astronomical targets of such an orientation pattern we find several possibilities -Sun, Moon or Venus -and the need to interpret the results in the light of current knowledge about the Phoenician religion as well as ancient written references. POVZETEK !lanek predstavlja rezultate arheoastronomske "tudije, opravljene na ve# protohistori#nih religioznih objektih ju$nega Iberskega polotoka, ve#inoma v sedanji Andaluziji. Najdi"#a so iz #asa med 9. in 5. stol. pr. n. "t., pripadajo pa kulturi Tartessos oz. iberski kulturi. Na vseh najdi"#ih so vidni neposredni vplivi feni#anske kolonizacije; ve#ina jih je bila celo interpretirana kot pravi feni#anski templji. Pogosti v teh zgradbah so oltarji v obliki bikove ko$e, ki naj bi bili posve#eni feni#anskim bo$anstvom Baalu in Astarti. Ugotovili smo, da so vsa ta sveti"#a usmerjena z istim azimutom 55°, kar ka$e na pomembnost usmeritve pri njihovem na#rtovanju in obredni rabi. V razpravi o mo$nih astronomskih tar#ah tega vzorca usmeritev podajamo ve# mo$nosti -Sonce, Luna ali Venera -ter izra$amo potrebo po interpretaciji rezultatov v lu#i sedanjega poznavanje feni#anske religije ter starodavnih pisnih virov.