Was the Parta Neolithic sanctuary in Romania astronomically aligned?

Frincu, M ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1034-8409, 2018. Was the Parta Neolithic sanctuary in Romania astronomically aligned? Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, 18 (4), pp. 43-51.

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Abstract

Since its discovery, the Neolithic sanctuary from Parta, Timis county, Romania has been the subject of many archeoastronomical and ethnoastronomical studies. While interesting, the sanctuary itself is no longer visible in situ, with a scaled replica, based on original materials, accessible inside the National Museum of Banat in Timisoara. Studies have focused on its solar alignment, lunar and stellar symbolism, eclipses, and horizon astronomy. The lack of actual azimuth readings of the original sanctuary make any astronomical alignment studies challenging if not impossible. The only evidence lies in the original experiment performed in situ during the autumnal equinox sunset on 23 September, 1982, and on maps showing the direction of the North. Regarding eclipses, the high ΔT uncertainty in Neolithic times makes any eclipse study questionable. In this paper we critically review prior work and introduce our own hypotheses regarding some interesting aspects of the sanctuary. We also identify possible horizon markers for the WSSR and equinoxes.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry
Creators:	Frincu, M.
Date:	2018
Volume:	18
Number:	4
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.5281/zenodo.1472259 DOI 1393233 Other
Rights:	Copyright © 2018 MAA. Open access. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	09 Dec 2020 09:19
Last Modified:	31 May 2021 15:10
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/41812

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