Final Proof: British Megaliths Were Astronomically Aligned With The Sun And Moon 5,000 Years Ago

MessageToEagle.com – It has now been proven that British megaliths were deliberately astronomically aligned with the Sun and Moon about 5,000 years ago.

All across the world there are several ancient pyramids and temples that were precisely aligned with the direction of the rising or setting sun, moon, a star or a planet on an important day of the year.

A new study of the earliest standing stone monuments of Britain, reveals ancient builders raised the great circles specifically in line with the movements of the Sun and Moon. There is no doubt ancient megalith builders were great ancient astronomers as well.

At Callanish, the monoliths were quarried from local gneiss stone and erected them carefully in a circle. The stability of the monument was clearly important and low mounds of earth and stones were added to the base of each upright because of the problems of digging sufficiently deep sockets. Credits: Scottish Heritage
At Callanish, the monoliths were quarried from local gneiss stone and erected them carefully in a circle. The stability of the monument was clearly important and low mounds of earth and stones were added to the base of each upright because of the problems of digging sufficiently deep sockets. Credits: Scottish Heritage

Examining the oldest great stone circles built in Scotland (Callanish, on the Isle of Lewis, and Stenness, Isle of Orkney ─ both predating Stonehenge’s standing stones by about 500 years), the researchers found a great concentration of alignments towards the Sun and Moon at different times of their cycles. And 2000 years later in Scotland, much simpler monuments were still being built that had at least one of the same astronomical alignments found at the great circles.

Stenness on the Isle of Orkney
Stenness on the Isle of Orkney. Image credit: www.bradshawfoundation.com

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The stones, however, are not just connected with the Sun and the Moon. The researchers discovered a complex relationship between the alignment of the stones, the surrounding landscape and horizon, and the movements of the Sun and the Moon across that landscape.

“Nobody before this has ever statistically determined that a single stone circle was constructed with astronomical phenomena in mind – it was all supposition,” says project leader and University of Adelaide Visiting Research Fellow Dr Gail Higginbottom, who is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Australian National University.

The great stone circle, Stenness on the Isle of Orkney
The great stone circle, Stenness on the Isle of Orkney. Image credit: Credit: Douglas Scott

This research is finally proof that the ancient Britons connected the Earth to the sky with their earliest standing stones, and that this practice continued in the same way for 2000 years,” says Dr Higginbottom.

Examining sites in detail, it was found that about half the sites were surrounded by one landscape pattern and the other half by the complete reverse.

“These chosen surroundings would have influenced the way the Sun and Moon were seen, particularly in the timing of their rising and setting at special times, like when the Moon appears at its most northerly position on the horizon, which only happens every 18.6 years,” Dr Higginbottom says.

“For example, at 50% of the sites, the northern horizon is relatively higher and closer than the southern and the summer solstice Sun rises out of the highest peak in the north. At the other 50% of sites, the southern horizon is higher and closer than the northern, with the winter solstice Sun rising out of these highest horizons.

“These people chose to erect these great stones very precisely within the landscape and in relation to the astronomy they knew. They invested a tremendous amount of effort and work to do so. It tells us about their strong connection with their environment, and how important it must have been to them, for their culture and for their culture’s survival.”

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