jmm@bonnie.UUCP (Joe Mcghee) (07/21/84)
In my last article, "American Stonehenge", I mentioned a number of solar alignments occurring at the site in North Salem, New Hampshire without much analysis. Those are: February 1 sunrise February 1 sunset May 1 sunrise May 1 sunset August 1 sunrise August 1 sunset November 1 sunrise November 1 sunset While it has been argued that these alignments, combined with the solstices and equinoxes, divide the year into eighths; this argument is rather weak because a much neater division into eighths could have been accomplished by picking slightly different dates. Consider the following: Date day of year difference ---- ----------- ---------- Feb. 1 32 49 days Mar. 21 81 ---------------------------> (vernal equinox) 41 days May 1 122 52 days Jun. 22 174 --------------------------> (summer solstice) 40 days Aug. 1 214 53 days Sep. 23 267 --------------------------> (autmnal eqinox) 39 days Nov. 1 306 51 days Dec. 22 357 --------------------------> (winter solstice) 40 days Feb. 1 As you can see, the interval between these dates varies from 39 days to 53 days. This is not precise enough for a division of the year into eighths and I'm sure that if they had wanted to divide the year into eighths; they could have done this with one or two days error at most. The irregularity of these dates puzzled me and so about a week ago I looked them up on the Celtic calendar. This is what I found: Feb. 1 Imbolc Feast of goddess Brigit (Brigantia), mother goddess, Universal Celtic Fertility Day May 1 Beltaine Feast of the god Bel, sun god Aug. 1 Lughnasa Feast of the god Lugh, father god, a thirty day agrarian feast with this day at its center. Nov. 1 Samhain Beginning of the Celtic year. Most important holiday. Without a doubt these days are the most important days on the Celtic calendar and these alignments alone are compelling evidence to identify this site and any others where these alignments occur as Celtic. bonnie!jmm J. M. McGhee
chongo@nsc.UUCP (07/25/84)
GET THIS STONEHENGE OUT OF net.{astro,sci,physics}!!!!! chongo <arghhhh> /\!!/\