Work

Archaeoastronomy and the alleged ‘Stonehenge calendar’

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: In a recent Antiquity article, Darvill (2022) proposed that the mid third-millennium BC Stage 2 sarsen settings of Stonehenge (comprising the Trilithon Horseshoe, Sarsen Circle and the Station Stone Rectangle) were conceived in order to represent a calendar year of 365.25 days—that is, a calendar identical in duration to the Julian calendar. In the present article, the authors argue that this proposal is unsubstantiated, being based as it is on a combination of numerology, astronomical error and unsupported analogy.

Source: Antiquity

DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2023.33

Authors: Giulio Magli, Juan Antonio Belmonte

Institutions: Politecnico di Milano, Universidad de La Laguna, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

Language: English

Topic: Historical and Architectural Studies

Subfield: Archeology

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: European Regional Development Fund, Agencia Estatal de Investigación

Awards: G6538310111, G8662443221