British Archaeology

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Once-in-a-generation lunar event to shed light on Stonehenge’s links to the moon (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 7 months ago by GreyShuck to c/britisharchaeology

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The rising and setting of the sun at Stonehenge, especially during the summer and winter solstices, continues to evoke joy, fascination and religious devotion.

Now a project has been launched to delve into the lesser understood links that may exist between the monument and the moon during a once-in-a-generation lunar event.

A “major lunar standstill”, which takes place once every 18.6 years, when moonrise and moonset reach their farthest apart points along the horizon, will take place in January 2025.

This will give archaeologists, astronomers and archaeoastronomers a rare chance to explore theories surrounding the event and the ancient people of Stonehenge. Some experts believe the people who built the monument were aware of the major lunar standstill and may have buried their dead in a particular part of the site because of its relationship to the phenomenon.

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[–] dgriffith@aussie.zone 4 points 7 months ago

This will give archaeologists, astronomers and archaeoastronomers a rare chance to explore theories surrounding the event and the ancient people of Stonehenge.

You're telling me, that with the plethora of computing power available in the 21st century, nobody has stuck a 3D model of Stonehenge into any half decent astronomy software?

Really?

I mean, this could have been computed with astronomical tables and a relatively accurate survey plan of the site a century ago. 🤷‍♂️