Re: A clean slate? (or should that be granite?) | Forum

Trethevy Quoit 11

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A clean slate? (or should that be granite?)

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cerrig May 3, 2011 17:21:10

Replying to Horsedrawn

I was just wondering about whether you had taken into consideration the Equation of time, given that these are solar timings you are investigating. I don't think that there is more than a minute ot two difference on the dates you quoted, but that's now. Would this have been the case thousands of years ago, and would it make any difference?
I would be very interested to know more about this, as it's relevant to some sites that I am looking at.

Horsedrawn May 3, 2011 18:07:12

Replying to cerrig

The short answer is yes. The rising sun lights the underside of Stone 8 (the capstone) through two apertures towards the East. One is bigger than the other, and I suspect this is due to an understanding of the Equation of Time. This subject is under study. The differences between the extremes; midwinter and midsummer, that is, how the 'daggers' of light play upon the capstone's underside, and other places, suggest strongly that the principles of the Equation of Time were understood and taken into account. I emphasise here that none of this is conclusive, but I would add that such things were understood well at the same time in Mesopotamia, so why not here?

David Kane.