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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Alignment Of Passage Tombs In Ireland – Horizons, Skyscape, And Domains Of Power, Frank Prendergast
The Alignment Of Passage Tombs In Ireland – Horizons, Skyscape, And Domains Of Power, Frank Prendergast
Book/Book Chapter
Neolithic passage tombs are one of four main types on the island of Ireland. This paper considers their orientation within a statistical and phenomenological framework and finds twenty-three examples which face the rising or setting sun at key times in the annual solar cycle, notably the solstices. The discussion reflects the current archaeoastronomical view that intentional solar alignment was of low precision because of the mostly crude architecture of the tombs. Any calendrical function, such as tracking time, should therefore be viewed as secondary. More significantly, astronomically aligned passage tombs are perceived to embody broader cultural and cosmological beliefs most …
An Architectural Perspective On Structured Sacred Space—Recent Evidence From Iron Age Ireland, Frank Prendergast
An Architectural Perspective On Structured Sacred Space—Recent Evidence From Iron Age Ireland, Frank Prendergast
Book/Book Chapter
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