A group of Australian researchers from the University of Adelaide found out what was the purpose of the so-called Great Circles in Scotland - the oldest monuments of its kind in Great Britain that have survived to this day. As the experts were able to confirm, the stone circles were oriented according to the movement of the sun and the moon, and probably served as a symbol of the relationship between the earth and the sky.
Scientists have presented a model that made it possible to understand what path the sun and moon made in the sky every day five thousand years ago. For many millennia, this "route" has changed significantly, however, experts say that the calculations they have made allow us to represent with a high degree of accuracy where the stars were located in the distant past at one time or another.
Armed with the findings, the team examined the Callanish Great Circles on the Isle of Lewis and the Stennes Great Circles on the Orkney Islands. In both cases, it turned out that the stone structures were erected taking into account the movement of the sun and moon. At the same time, the location and height of the stones in a special way "reflected" some details of the landscape - hills and other elevations that could affect the visibility of the stars or the time of their rising and setting. According to scientists, the builders of the ancient monuments also took into account such details as the height and distance to the horizon, which differ depending on the cardinal points.
Experts believe that their findings help to learn a lot about the ancient builders. In particular, it can be argued that they carefully accumulated astronomical knowledge and attached great importance to it. Also, according to the researchers, there is no doubt that the representatives of the people who created the Great Circles were very close-knit and had the deepest respect for their culture, since it took incredibly hard and painstaking work to maintain it.
The results of the study were published in the journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
The great stone circles were erected 500 years earlier than Stonehenge and are considered the oldest megaliths in Britain (structures made of huge boulders).
Dmitry Erusalimsky