Chinese archaeologist said they found the worlds earliest observatory dated back to some 4,100 years ago, in north Shanixi province.
The remains of the observatory, in shape of a semicircle 40 meters in diameter in the main observation platform and 60 meters in diameter in the outer circle, were maid by rammed earth in three circles. Archaeologists inferred that 13 stone pillars at least 4 meters tall, stood on the foundation of the first circle originally, forming 12 gaps between them. The ancient people observed the direction of sunrise through the gaps and distinguished the different seasons of the yaer.

It seems very interesting to me every time there are more and more clues discovered about the study of astronomy in ancient history. This news seemed very interesting to me because i usally like to read about the study of astronomy in ancient times. Especially about the ancient egyptcians, that were knowned for aligning there pyramides to certain constellations or stars.

http://sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=39023


Titana.........

So only virgins were involved in the construction?

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Titana.........

That's a very interesting link. Thanks.

Isn't Stonehenge both older and arguably used as an observatory for certain events?

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I was precisely thinking the same thing. Yes, indeed, Stonhenge are used as an observatory for certain events. And not only that but i can recall an article i read some time back that mentioned something about a bronze disk and an observatory that were found somewhere in Germany. The article stated that the observatory was built about 7,000 years ago ,although i dont know if it was exactly confirmed. Also, there are Stonhenge that have been stated to be between 6,000 and 7,000 years old, like the one knowned as Napta, that if i remember right is located somewhere in Egypts Sahara Desert.


Well, having that said, If the observatory found in China is stated to be only 4,100 years old then it may be the oldest one found in China but not the oldest one in the world as stated in the article...




Titana..........

Thanks for the link and info.

Just a nitpick. they didn't find the world's earliest observatory. what they found was the earliest observatory found to date. There could be numerous older observatories that have no remains to be found or ruins of which remains are yet to be found or recogniozed to be an observatory.

Interesting comments above about Stonehenge. Everytime I read about Stonehenge the dates are different.

Maid should be made in your first post.

Watch out for Maksutov. His IQ is huge.

Uppps, i did not notice sorry........




Titana.............

Did this seriously bother you enough to mention the distinction? I mean, seriously, do you honestly think anybody reading about this thought this discovery represented the earliest observatory ever constructed?

I do wish the article mentioned some more detail about things like how they inferred that the pillars existed. The choice of words indicates they were not uncovered in the dig, so how would one infer that they were there? Same for the assumption that it was used for sacrificial rites. I do wish such articles were more thorough, but I suppose that can go in the box with my other wishes.

Thanks, for pointing it out that way......



Titana...........

Pillars leave holes, which get filled in with soil, usually of an other colour.

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IIRC, one of the ideas about Stonehenge is it was built and rebuilt multiple times. Here is the wikipedia article on it - it indicates that the earliest structures at the site date from about 8000 BC, but that the first circle is from about 3100 BC.

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Thank you. That would certainly be the kind of explanation I was hoping for. Better would include information about the kind of soil discovered and what evidence existed that these were not simply pits dug for some ceremonial purpose that were subsequently filled in. If they found the pillars in disarray at the site and inferred that they were originally placed in the holes due to shape/size, that would be nice information.

I have a mental problem, I'm sure, because I like to read scientific articles as if I know them to be absolutely false and must simply disprove it in my head to save the world, or something like that. So it bothers me when articles are too vague to do that with. I wasn't complaining; I was just observing.

For the record, I am not a very successful debunker of peer-reviewed works, but that doesn't mean I can't try

another very old one in Ireland - ancient astronomical Irish site called newgrange, originally built c. 3,200 BC according to the most reliable Carbon 14 dates available, it is aligned so as to allow the first rays of the rising sun to penetrate the inner chamber at the winter solstice - this date makes it more than 600 years older than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, and 1,000 years more ancient than the Stonehenge trilithons. The tomb is exactly positioned so that at dawn on Winter Solstice, a shaft of light penetrates the passageway and illuminates the inner chamber.
http://www.arvendalstudios.com/eire/...w/photo39.html
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/ironag...6000619-L.html

Yes, i beleive i have came across that information before , but just did not remember until you mentioned it. There is also an interesting site called:
The ancient astronomers of Newgrange.


http://www.mythicalireland.com/astro...tronomers.html