Today history and scientific research prove in every possible way that our distant ancestors possessed unique knowledge in the field of astronomy. Observatories discovered all over the world indicate that ancient civilizations made amazingly accurate astronomical observations. Thanks to the correct determination of the movement of heavenly bodies, scientists of the past could keep track of time and engage in astrological forecasts. Ancient astronomers also invented a calendar for farming. With the help of the simplest instruments, they determined that the Moon, the Sun and other cosmic bodies were moving along the most complex trajectory. In addition, solar and lunar eclipses were noted, the appearance of new stars was determined, and even catastrophes were predicted. In past centuries, just like now, the observatory served to collect information,was a workshop and storage of valuable instruments.
More recently, scientists have concluded that many monuments of ancient architecture had the goal of observing the heavenly bodies. Such structures are being studied by a fairly young science - archaeoastronomy, which combines two directions - archeology and astronomy. The oldest solar observatories have been found all over the world: America, Asia, Europe and Africa.
Unusual observatory "El-Karakol"
This structure was erected around 900 AD, when the knowledge of the Mayan civilization was at the highest level. The main purpose of the observatory was to monitor the movement of one of the planets of the solar system - Venus. This is surprising, because the main objects of research at that time were the Sun and the Moon. Why, then, exactly for the red planet was such a huge observatory built? As it turned out, the Maya people considered Venus sacred. She was called the planet of war, and also the sister of the supreme deity of Kukulkan. Scientists managed to find out that the Maya accurately determined the planet's circulation - 584 days. The marks discovered by scientists in "El-Karakol" testify to the vast knowledge of ancient astronomers. Locals were familiar with the origin of 20 of the 29 astronomical phenomena that are major for their territory.
An unusual building is located in Mexico in the most ancient cultural center of the Maya and Toltec Indians. Translated from Spanish, the name of the observatory is translated as "snail". It appeared as a result of the similarity of the internal spiral staircase with the shell of a clam. The observatory has a tower and small windows that "look" at certain space objects. Perhaps this explains the asymmetric arrangement of the windows, which was originally included in the project. This structure is the largest of such complexes found on the Yucatan Peninsula.
The construction of the observatory "El-Karakol" is well preserved, despite all the hardships of the past millennia, and is considered the highest achievement of the architecture of the Mayan civilization. Perhaps it was in it that the Mayan calendar was compiled, which ended in 2012, later interpreted as "the end of the world." Here, observations of the night sky were carried out, astronomical calculations were made, solar eclipses, equinoxes, and also the phases of the moon were predicted.
Today, the upper part of the tower has collapsed, and the observatory began to resemble a structure with a dome. However, this building was erected in the shape of a cylinder and ancient astronomers moved around the observatory between observation windows, observing the starry sky.
Promotional video:
History of the ancient European observatory "Makotrzha square"
This building was discovered by archaeologists in Czechoslovakia in 1961. Its age is approximately 5.5 thousand years. Scientists cannot explain how the inhabitants of that time were familiar with the theorem, which after hundreds of centuries was called the "Pythagorean Theorem". Ancient astronomers used in their calculations a single measure of length, which today is called the megalithic yard. Calendars were also compiled and complex calculations of the movements of space objects were made.
Scientists, using a proton magnetometer in their study, found that the structure was found at the end of the Stone Age and was in the shape of a square. There were gates in the western and eastern parts of it. All straight lines connecting the exit on the east side of the square and its southern part are 302 meters long. This is 365 megalithic yards, and one yard equals 0.83 meters (average human stride). Thus, 365 yards can indicate the number of days in a year.
Modern astronomers have seen another interesting detail in the "Makotrzha square": if you draw a line passing through the centers of the western and eastern gates, it will point to the place where Betelgeuse, the brightest star in the constellation Orion, set 6 thousand years ago. The line from the rectangle to the middle of the eastern gate showed the location of the northern moonrise observed every 18 years. And the line from the east gate of the square to the southwest corner indicated the point of the summer solstice.
Collecting all these facts, scientists came to the conclusion: the "square" was built not by "beginners", but by people who know very well geometry and astronomy. However, to date, not all the secrets of the "Makotrzha square" have been solved by experts. According to scientists, this observatory is one of the oldest found in Europe.
Goseck circle: one of the oldest observatories on the planet
This ancient structure was found by chance in 1991 in Germany. Flying in an airplane over wheat fields, representatives of the land administration saw several round signs and reported the find to one of the local universities. However, it was only in 2002 that specialists began excavating the structure.
Examining the Goseck circle, scientists have come to the conclusion that it is unique in every way. This large-scale construction was aimed at determining the summer and winter solstice. And although today we know about the main purpose of the circle, there are still many unsolved moments.
The Gosek circle looks like several circular ditches of impressive size with three gates located around the perimeter. Sunlight passed through them on certain days. Every year, on the shortest day, the rays of the rising celestial body penetrated exactly the center of the small gates of the observatory. Archaeologists believe that it was built by residents of the Stone Age. The ancient sanctuary is 75 m in diameter and is surrounded by wooden rings of two rows 3 m high.
Although the observatory was built by the farmers who inhabited this plain, everything spoke of them as capable individuals, versed in mathematics and astronomy. Some scientists argue that the structure found was not only an observatory. On its territory, magic rituals were performed that modern researchers cannot decipher.
The unusual find originally consisted of 4 circles, one mound, ditches and gates located in the north, southeast and southwest directions. However, the priests used only two gates to observe the movement of the Sun. For what purposes the third ones were used remains a mystery. Fragments of ceramics found at the excavation site only confirm that the observatory was built about 7 thousand years ago. In addition, astronomers used it to create a lunar calendar related to agriculture.
Another interesting fact was the discovery of the remains of animals and decapitated human skeletons, whose flesh was torn from the bones with scrapers. It is possible that bloody sacrifices took place here. No traces of natural disasters, catastrophes, wars or epidemics were found at the excavation site. Therefore, scientists remain a mystery of the reasons why the sanctuary was abandoned.
Some time later, archaeologists found a disk near Gosek, which was a display of cosmological ideas about the world of that time. Experts have no doubt that the find with images of space is the result of the work of ancient astronomers who have been observing celestial bodies and other stellar objects for hundreds of years.
Whatever goals were pursued by the ancient astronomers who built such observatories, their structures remain a real miracle for modern man. An architectural monument, simple from an architectural point of view, but at the same time complex in functions, is a brilliant idea of ancient civilizations.