List of archaeoastronomical sites sorted by country
Encyclopedia
This is a list of sites where claims for the use of archaeoastronomy
have been made, sorted by country.
Archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy is the study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky how they used phenomena in the sky and what role the sky played in their cultures." Clive Ruggles argues it is misleading to consider archaeoastronomy to be the study of ancient astronomy, as modern...
have been made, sorted by country.
Armenia
- Karahunj (Zorats Karer)Zorats KarerZorats Karer , also called Karahunj, Carahunge or the Armenian Stonehenge) is an archaeological site near the city of Sisian in the Syunik province of Armenia.-Description:...
, ancient astronomical observatory with solstice alignment stones near the town of SisianSisianSisian formerly also known as Sisakan, Sisavan and later Garakilse, is a city in the southern province of Syunik, Armenia. Located on both banks of Vorotan River, 6 km south of the Yerevan-Meghri highway, at a distance of 217 km from Yerevan and 115 km from Kapan. Sisian forms an urban... - Metsamor, one of the world's first large metal foundries near the village of MetsamorMetsamorMetsamor is a city in the Armavir Province of Armenia. Armenia's Nuclear Power Plant called Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant is located in this city. Metsamor was built in 1979 to house workers from the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant. The power plant was closed in 1989 after an earthquake prompted...
with stones aligned in an astronomically significant pattern.
Australia
- Ngaut NgautAustralian Aboriginal astronomyAustralian Aboriginal astronomy is a name given to indigenous Australian culture relating to astronomical subjects — such as the Sun and Moon, the stars, planets, and the Milky Way, and their motions on the sky...
, a purported lunar calendar - Ku-ring-gai Chase National ParkAustralian Aboriginal astronomyAustralian Aboriginal astronomy is a name given to indigenous Australian culture relating to astronomical subjects — such as the Sun and Moon, the stars, planets, and the Milky Way, and their motions on the sky...
, rock engravingsSydney rock engravingsSydney rock engravings are a form of Australian Aboriginal Rock Art consisting of carefully drawn images of people, animals, or symbols, in the sandstone around Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
with claimed astronomical connections - Wurdi YouangWurdi YouangWurdi Youang is an Aboriginal stone arrangement located at Mount Rothwell, near Little River, Victoria at .The arrangement takes the form of an irregular egg-shape or ovoid about 50m in diametre with its major axis East-West...
, a stone arrangement with probable solar alignments
Bulgaria
- Beglik TashBeglik tashBeglik Tash is a Thracian rock sanctuary situated on the southern Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, a few kilometers north of the city of Primorsko....
- Magura CaveMagura CaveThe Magura Cave is among Bulgaria's most famous and beautiful caves. It is located in north-western Bulgaria close to the village of Rabisha, at 18 km from the town of Belogradchik in the Vidin Province. The total length of the Magura cave is 2,5 km...
, a claimed solar calendarSolar calendarA solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the position of the earth on its revolution around the sun .-Tropical solar calendars:...
with 366 days and symbols for the exinoxes and solstices - The Buzovgrad megalit, described by Alexander FolAlexander FolAlexander Fol was a Bulgarian historian and Thracologist. In 1957, he studied history at the University of St. Kliment Ohridski in Sofia and earned a PhD in 1966. He worked as a university lecturer from 1972 and became a professor in 1975...
as the Solar gate
Cambodia
- Angkor WatAngkor WatAngkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu,...
- Phnom BakhengPhnom Bakheng-See also:* Angkor* Architecture of Cambodia* List of archaeoastronomical sites by country-References:* Goloubev, Victor. Le Phnom Bakheng et la ville de Yasovarman. Bulletin de l'EFEO , 33 : 319-344....
, According to Jean Filliozat of the École Française, the center tower represents the axis of the world and the 108 smaller ones represent the 4 lunar phases each with 27 days.
Colombia
- El InfiernitoEl InfiernitoEl Infiernito , is a pre-Columbian Muisca site located at the outskirts of Villa de Leyva, Boyacá Department, Colombia. It is composed of several earthworks surrounding a setting of menhirs ; several burial mounds are also present...
, (Spanish for "Little hell"), is a pre-Columbian MuiscaMuiscaMuisca was the Chibcha-speaking tribe that formed the Muisca Confederation of the central highlands of present-day Colombia. They were encountered by the Spanish Empire in 1537, at the time of the conquest...
site located at the outskirts of Villa de LeyvaVilla de LeyvaVilla de Leyva is a colonial town and municipality, in the Boyacá department of Colombia, part of the subregion of the Ricaurte Province. The town is located some 40 km west of Tunja and has a population of about 9,600 people...
, Boyacá Department, Colombia. It is composed of several earthworks surrounding a setting of menhirs (upright standing stones); several burial mounds are also present. The site was a center of religious ceremonies and spiritual purification rites, and also served as a rudimentary astronomical observatory.
Egypt
- Abu SimbelAbu SimbelAbu Simbel temples refers to two massive rock temples in Abu Simbel in Nubia, southern Egypt on the western bank of Lake Nasser about 230 km southwest of Aswan...
, The axis of the temple was positioned by the ancient Egyptian architects in such a way that twice a year, on October 20 and February 20, the rays of the sun would penetrate the sanctuary and illuminate the sculpture on the back wall, except for the statue of PtahPtahIn Ancient Egyptian Religion, Ptah was the deification of the primordial mound in the Ennead cosmogony, which was more literally referred to as Ta-tenen , meaning risen land, or as Tanen, meaning submerged land, though Tatenen was a god in his...
, the god connected with the UnderworldUnderworldThe Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
, who always remained in the dark. - Great Pyramids of EgyptGreat Pyramid of GizaThe Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact...
- Nabta PlayaNabta PlayaNabta Playa was once a large basin in the Nubian Desert, located approximately 800 kilometers south of modern day Cairo or about 100 kilometers west of Abu Simbel in southern Egypt, 22° 32' north, 30° 42' east...
France
- Bondons menhirs
- CarnacCarnacCarnac is a commune beside the Gulf of Morbihan on the south coast of Brittany in the Morbihan department in north-western France.Its inhabitants are called Carnacois...
, the Grand Menhir Brisé - Cham des Bondons in Les BondonsLes BondonsLes Bondons is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France.-References:*...
- La Fage menhirs
- Lacam de Peyrarines
Honduras
- Copan RuinasCopánCopán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD...
http://web.mac.com/aeionic/iWeb/Site%204/Astroarcheology%20Copan%20Ruinas.html - El PuenteEl PuenteEl Puente, or the Parque Arqueológico El Puente , is a Maya archaeological site in the department of Copán in Honduras. Once an independent Maya city, the city of El Puente became a tributary to the nearby city of Copán between the 6th and 9th centuries AD...
Ireland
- Brú na BóinneBrú na Bóinneis a World Heritage Site in County Meath, Ireland and is the largest and one of the most important prehistoric megalithic sites in Europe.-The site:...
- KnowthKnowthKnowth is a Neolithic passage grave and an ancient monument of Brú na Bóinne in the valley of the River Boyne in Ireland.Knowth is the largest of all passage graves situated within the Brú na Bóinne complex. The site consists of one large mound and 17 smaller satellite tombs...
- DowthDowthDowth is a Neolithic passage tomb which stands in the Boyne Valley, County Meath, Ireland. It is found at .Dating from about 2,5002000 BCE, is the second oldest behind Newgrange of the three principal tombs of the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site a complex of passage-tombs...
- NewgrangeNewgrangeNewgrange is a prehistoric monument located in County Meath, on the eastern side of Ireland, about one kilometre north of the River Boyne. It was built around 3200 BC , during the Neolithic period...
, once a year, at the winter solstice, the rising sun shines directly along the long passage into the chamber for about 17 minutes and illuminates the chamber floor. - LoughcrewLoughcrewLoughcrew is near Oldcastle, County Meath, Ireland. . Loughcrew is a site of considerable historical importance in Ireland...
- CarrowkeelCarrowkeel Megalithic CemeteryCarrowkeel is a Neolithic passage tomb cemetery in the south of County Sligo, near Boyle, County Roscommon. An Cheathrú Chaol in Irish means 'the Narrow Quarter'. Circumstantial Carbon 14 dating places the tombs at between 5400 and 5100 years old, so that they predate the Pyramids on Egypt's Giza...
- Mound of the HostagesMound of the HostagesThe Mound of the Hostages is an ancient passage tomb located in the Tara-Skryne Valley in County Meath, Leinster, Ireland.The mound is a Neolithic structure, built between 2500 and 3000 BCE. It is circular in form, roughly fifteen metres in diameter and three metres high. It is built in the same...
- Drombeg stone circleDrombeg stone circleDrombeg stone circle , is a Recumbent stone circle located east of Glandore, County Cork, Ireland. Drombeg is one of the most visited megalithic sites in Ireland...
, at the winter solstice, the sun sets into a v formed by two distant overlapping hills and makes an alignment with the altar stone and the two main uprights. Due to the nature of the site and the western hills, local sunset is c. 15:50.
Republic of Macedonia
- KokinoKokinoKokino is an important archaeological site and a megalithic observatory discovered in 2001 by archeologist Jovica Stankovski in the northeastern Republic of Macedonia, approximately 30 km from the town of Kumanovo, near the village of Staro Nagoričane Latitude: 42.260000N Longitude: 21.850000E....
Situated 1030 m above sea level on the Tatićev Kamen Summit near KumanovoKumanovoKumanovo is a city in the Republic of Macedonia and is the seat of Kumanovo Municipality which is the largest municipality in the country. Municipal institutions include a city council, mayor and other administrative bodies.-Name:...
.
Mexico
- Chichen ItzaChichen ItzaChichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Municipality of Tinúm, Yucatán state, present-day Mexico....
, the caracol is theorized to be a proto-observatory with doors and windows aligned to astronomical events, specifically around the path of Venus as it traverses the heavens. El Castillo the main pyramid also has archeoastronomy features. - DzibilchaltunDzibilchaltunleft|thumb|Temple of the Seven Dolls.right|thumb|Sacbe at Dzibilchaltun.right|thumb|Interior of the Temple of the Seven Dolls.right|thumb|Ruins of the colonial [[Capilla Abierta|open chapel]].right|thumb|Cenote at Dzibilchaltun.Dzibilchaltún is a Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of...
, Spring equinox, the sun rises so that it shines directly through one window of the temple and out the other. - Monte AlbanMonte AlbánMonte Albán is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán Municipality in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca...
, zenith tube - TeotihuacanTeotihuacanTeotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas...
, the pecked-cross circles as survey-markers - UxmalUxmalUxmal was dominant from 875 to 900 CE. The site appears to have been the capital of a regional state in the Puuc region from 850-950 CE. The Maya dynasty expanded their dominion over their neighbors. This prominence didn't last long...
, Venus alignment of the "Governor's Palace" - XochicalcoXochicalcoXochicalco is a pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Municipality of Miacatlán in the western part of the Mexican state of Morelos. The name Xochicalco may be translated from Nahuatl as "in the house of Flowers". The site is located 38 km southwest of Cuernavaca, about 76 miles by road...
, zenith tube
Netherlands
- Funnel Beaker Culture megalith graves ("hunebedden") in the eastern Netherlands might be oriented on moonrises.
Peru
- Buena VistaBuena Vista, PeruBuena Vista is an 8 hectare archaeological site located in Peru about 25 miles inland in the Chillon River Valley and an hour's drive north of Lima. It is in the Santa Rosa de Quives District, Canta Province, in the foothills of the Andes. The site was first excavated by Frederic Engel...
- ChankilloChankilloChankillo is an ancient monumental complex in the Peruvian coastal desert, found in the Casma-Sechin Oasis in the Ancash Department of Peru. The ruins include the hilltop Chankillo fort, the nearby Thirteen Towers solar observatory, and residential and gathering areas. The Thirteen Towers are...
- CuscoCuscoCusco , often spelled Cuzco , is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cuzco Province. In 2007, the city had a population of 358,935 which was triple the figure of 20 years ago...
- Machu PicchuMachu PicchuMachu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for...
- Nazca Lines
- ChoquequiraoChoquequiraoChoquequirao is a ruined Inca city in south Peru, similar in structure and architecture to Machu Picchu. The ruins are buildings and terraces at levels above and below Sunch'u Pata, the truncated hill top...
- OllantaytamboOllantaytamboOllantaytambo is a town and an Inca archaeological site in southern Peru some 60 kilometers northwest of the city of Cusco. It is located at an altitude of 2,792 meters above sea level in the district of Ollantaytambo, province of Urubamba, Cusco region...
United Kingdom
- BallochroyBallochroyBallochroy is a megalithic site in Kintyre on the Argyll peninsula in Scotland. It consists of three vertical stones, side by side, aligned with various land features 7–19 miles away....
- Callanish Stones
- MaeshoweMaeshoweMaeshowe is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. The monuments around Maeshowe, including Skara Brae, were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. It gives its name to the Maeshowe type of chambered cairn, which is limited to Orkney...
, it is aligned so that the rear wall of its central chamber, a rough cube of five yards square held up by a bracketed wall, is illuminated on the winter solsticeWinter solsticeWinter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...
. - Prehistoric OrkneyPrehistoric OrkneyPrehistoric Orkney refers to a period in the human occupation of the Orkney archipelago of Scotland that was the latter part of these islands' prehistory. The period of prehistory prior to occupation by the genus Homo is part of the geology of Scotland...
- StonehengeArchaeoastronomy and StonehengeThe prehistoric monument of Stonehenge has long been studied for its possible connections with ancient astronomy. Archaeoastronomers have claimed that Stonehenge represents an "ancient observatory," although the extent of its use for that purpose is in dispute...
- WoodhengeWoodhengeWoodhenge is a Neolithic Class I henge and timber circle monument located in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in Wiltshire, England. It is north-east of Stonehenge in the parish of Durrington, just north of Amesbury.-Discovery:...
United States
- Bighorn Medicine WheelMedicine Wheel National Historic LandmarkThe Medicine Wheel/Medicine Mountain National Historic Landmark is a medicine wheel located in the Big Horn Mountains of the U.S. state of Wyoming....
- CahokiaCahokiaCahokia Mounds State Historic Site is the area of an ancient indigenous city located in the American Bottom floodplain, between East Saint Louis and Collinsville in south-western Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. The site included 120 human-built earthwork mounds...
, City of the Sun. - Chaco Canyon, cardinal orientations, meridian alignment, inter-pueblo alignments
- Fajada ButteFajada ButteFajada Butte is in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, in northwest New Mexico.Fajada Butte rises 135 meters above the canyon floor. Although there is no water source on the butte, there are ruins of small cliff dwellings in the higher regions of the butte...
at Chaco Canyon, an observatory which marks the solar cycle - Anderson Mounds, Mounds State ParkMounds State ParkMounds State Park is a state park in Anderson, Indiana, featuring Native American heritage, and 10 ceremonial mounds built by the prehistoric Adena culture indigenous peoples of eastern North America, and also used centuries by later Hopewell culture inhabitants.-Mounds:The largest earthwork, the...
(Anderson, Indiana). - Mesa Verde National ParkMesa Verde National ParkMesa Verde National Park is a U.S. National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. It was created in 1906 to protect some of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in the world...
- Serpent MoundSerpent MoundThe Great Serpent Mound is a -long, three-foot-high prehistoric effigy mound located on a plateau of the Serpent Mound crater along Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio. Maintained within a park by the Ohio Historical Society, it has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the United...
- Chimney Rock Archaeological Area, near Pagosa Springs, ColoradoPagosa Springs, ColoradoPagosa Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat of, and the only incorporated municipality in, Archuleta County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,591 at the 2000 census...
- Moorehead CircleMoorehead CircleMoorehead Circle was a triple woodhenge constructed about two millennia ago at the Fort Ancient Earthworks in the U.S. state of Ohio.The outer circle, discovered in 2005 by Jarrod Burks, is about 60 meters in diameter...
in OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
Other Lists
- List of colossal sculpture in situ
- List of Egyptian pyramids
- List of megalithic sites
- List of menhirs
- List of Mesoamerican pyramids
- List of Roman bridges
- List of Roman domes
- List of statues
- List of statues by height
- List of tallest statues in the United States
- List of world's largest domes
- New Seven Wonders of the WorldNew Seven Wonders of the WorldNew7Wonders of the World was an initiative started in 2001 by the Swiss corporation New7Wonders Foundation to choose Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments. A popularity poll was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber and organized by the New7Wonders Foundation based in...