Last month I visited Nympsfield barrow, and then Hetty Pegglar's Tump (Uley).
Both barrows face East...
Well, 80 degrees.
This reminded me of the burials at the timber circles: Woodhenge and The Sanctuary.
The burial at Woodhenge isn't recorded at the site and the excavation notes don't tell us much, all we know for sure is that the young man was buried on the East side of the timber circle and at the bottom of the henge.
But the burial at The Sanctuary was recorded.
Up until now I had been content to ignore the fact that the position was not exactly East of centre. I put it down to inconsistencies in Sun and Moon positions when determining the equinox.
But what if the burial was placed specifically at 80 degrees?
Using a better bit of graph paper:
East (and West) is the position Sun and Moon cross over at the equinox (That needs to be a whole other post).
The equinoxes are the points in the year when day and night are equal length.
The equinox marks the beginning of summer or the beginning of winter,,,
But more specifically, why ten degrees to the North of East, at three sites?
And how many more sites have a similar alignment?
Uley Long Barrow has the added feature of a raised entrance.
You have to climb up, to get inside.
Was this original, or created in the restoration?
The drawing doesn't show an incline.
So, what happens at 80 degrees?
Well you can get an equinox full moon rising around 80 degrees, in February, March or September, October evenings.
You could see a waning Moon, reduced to a thin crescent around 3 in the morning in June or July, or a New Moon just before the sun rise at midsummer.
But the Moon wont rise at 80 degrees every year.
As to stars?
Venus sometimes, not every year.
The three bright 'triangle' stars of Vega, Deneb and Altair can be seen at night, Altair rising from about 75 degrees around 10 PM (this is for 3000 BC) at the equinox.
Capella is another bright star.
It rises close to the Milky Way in the Eastern sky during the summer- again, 3000 BC.
Spica is another contender, rising a few days after the winter solstice. Its name in Arabic was 'The grape-gatherer' making me wonder if Spica (wheat) wasn't once Dumuzi's sister.
Spica is eclipsed every eight years by Venus
And then there is the matter of shadows...
There are some extra long North East shadows to be found in February, March, April and May, then again October and November.
These long shadows would make the barrow seem even more ominous...
But is it significant?
Does it explain 80 degrees?
Don't think so...
 |
| Looking South at entrance to Nympsfield barrow. |
 |
| Looking East. |
 | ||
Nympsfield from West side of barrow.
|
 |
| Uley Long barrow. |
 |
| Looking towards the sky, Uley barrow behind me. |
Both barrows face East...
Well, 80 degrees.
This reminded me of the burials at the timber circles: Woodhenge and The Sanctuary.
The burial at Woodhenge isn't recorded at the site and the excavation notes don't tell us much, all we know for sure is that the young man was buried on the East side of the timber circle and at the bottom of the henge.
But the burial at The Sanctuary was recorded.
Up until now I had been content to ignore the fact that the position was not exactly East of centre. I put it down to inconsistencies in Sun and Moon positions when determining the equinox.
But what if the burial was placed specifically at 80 degrees?
 |
| The Sanctuary. |
Using a better bit of graph paper:
 |
| The Sanctuary. |
East (and West) is the position Sun and Moon cross over at the equinox (That needs to be a whole other post).
The equinoxes are the points in the year when day and night are equal length.
The equinox marks the beginning of summer or the beginning of winter,,,
But more specifically, why ten degrees to the North of East, at three sites?
And how many more sites have a similar alignment?
Uley Long Barrow has the added feature of a raised entrance.
You have to climb up, to get inside.
Was this original, or created in the restoration?
 |
| http://www.archive.org/stream/archaeologicaljo11brituoft#page/n367/mode/1up |
So, what happens at 80 degrees?
Well you can get an equinox full moon rising around 80 degrees, in February, March or September, October evenings.
You could see a waning Moon, reduced to a thin crescent around 3 in the morning in June or July, or a New Moon just before the sun rise at midsummer.
But the Moon wont rise at 80 degrees every year.
As to stars?
Venus sometimes, not every year.
The three bright 'triangle' stars of Vega, Deneb and Altair can be seen at night, Altair rising from about 75 degrees around 10 PM (this is for 3000 BC) at the equinox.
Capella is another bright star.
It rises close to the Milky Way in the Eastern sky during the summer- again, 3000 BC.
Spica is another contender, rising a few days after the winter solstice. Its name in Arabic was 'The grape-gatherer' making me wonder if Spica (wheat) wasn't once Dumuzi's sister.
Spica is eclipsed every eight years by Venus
And then there is the matter of shadows...
There are some extra long North East shadows to be found in February, March, April and May, then again October and November.
These long shadows would make the barrow seem even more ominous...
But is it significant?
Does it explain 80 degrees?
Don't think so...
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