CHAPTER 8

Ancient Monuments to the Stars

Because astrotourism is a new field of travel, it continues to be defined; and what constitutes an astrotourist destination remains open to interpretation. Before the space age, there were no rocket launches to watch. As technology advances, the field of possibilities for today’s astro-adventure traveler continues to expand.

In Valerie Stimac’s recently published Lonely Planet guide, Dark Skies: A Practical Guide to AstroTourism (2019), research facilities are included, such as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, or CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) in Switzerland. Just as the stars are best viewed using one’s peripheral vision, so can the experience for the astrotourist be expanded by widening the field of vision. Like the space traveler, the astrotourist is an explorer who seeks new domains and locations to visit that are inextricably tied to the stars. From one perspective, it is not just about what happens in the sky but how what happens in the sky shapes humanity.

During their empiric reign, the Romans replaced Helios (the Greek sun god) with the Latin, Sol, a root word that continues to refer to the sun in the present day, as in the term “solar system.”¹ Some of the human’s greatest monuments, earthworks, and architectural creations are aligned with the stars—primarily the closest one, Sol. There is a new field of study called archeoastronomy, and it is described as such: “The study of ancient or traditional astronomies in their cultural context, utilizing archaeological evidence. The subject uses historical knowledge of our ancestors. Archeoastronomy also uses monuments and written records to evaluate astronomical traditions. The importance of archeoastronomy is that it allows us to understand something about prehistoric times and astronomy knowledge that flourished.”²

Archeoastronomy incorporates several sciences to create a picture of how ancient man tracked and studied the sky. As discoveries are made during digs, archaeology and anthropology are used to gain a comprehensive picture. It is also a historical and an astronomical undertaking, as archeoastronomy can be applied to all cultures and all time periods; the study and stories of the sky vary from culture to culture. Many of these places are heavily trafficked, like the Pyramids of Giza, Chichén Itzá, and Stonehenge.

We expand the definition of astrotourism, as these ancient monuments were designed, built, and intricately tied to celestial events. These monuments are an enduring embodiment of how many ancient civilizations knew about the stars and how much we continue to give them importance. Because astronomy is the oldest of our natural sciences, the practitioners were most likely revered and bore titles like the high priest, shaman, wizard, and magi (the origin of today’s word magician). To those who do not understand the movement of the stars, the ability to predict the rains, the movement of migrating animals, the time to plant and harvest, and when it was time for people to fish and hunt is enigmatic arcane knowledge.

Today, thousands of years later, even with all of our science and understanding of the workings of the universe, learning how to identify the stars and constellations for the uninitiated remains almost esoteric in its undertaking.

This sense of wonderment is ripe for cultivation in this new field of tourism. This understanding was so potent and essential that enormous structures were built to measure the earth’s subtle movements as it spun and wobbled back and forth on its axis. These megaliths are “bucket list” destinations that include various archeological sites around the world built with an astronomical correlation in mind by cultures that disappeared long ago. They are the keepers and markers of time over millennia; the astrotourist can stand in the same place, witness the same celestial phenomenon, and be part of a history that spans the ages.

The ancients understood that the equinoxes occur when the sun rose at due east and set at due west twice a year and that they were indicators of spring and fall. Watching the movement of our closest star, they could divide the year in a half. The solstices were known to be the longest and shortest days of the year. The equinoxes fell between those two astronomical events, the year now quartered. Between the equinoxes and solstices were cross-quarter days. These were the larger revelries of pre-Christian cultures: October 31, February 2, May 1, and August 2nd. These celestial celebrations persist to this day, but under different guises.

The ancients saw the season as heralded by the equinoxes and solstices but embodied and exemplified by flora and fauna six weeks later. An example is the spring equinox, which falls on March 21/22; in temperate zones, however, it is still wet and cold. Six weeks later into the season, temperate zones are in bloom, and spring is celebrated with May 1 festivities. Winter solstice falls on December 21/22, but the depth of winter is on February 2. Although Americans call this Groundhog Day and Catholics call it Candlemas, it originated with the Neolithic Celts named Imbolc (also called Brigid’s Day). They knew it fell about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.

When these solar alignments occur at many of these megaliths, they are noted by the first rays of the sun passing through a portal, extending the length of a passageway, going through two towers, or even shining a light on a tomb deep underground. Many of these destinations are designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites, like Persepolis’s ruins in Iran.

There has been speculation and debate over whether these ruins were a site for celebrating Nowruz, a spring celebration. According to Mary Boyce, a British scholar of Iranian languages and an authority on Zoroastrianism, “It seems a reasonable surmise that Nowruz, the holiest of them all, with deep doctrinal significance, was founded by Zoroaster himself.” It begins at the spring equinox, the moment when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are of equal length. Described by 11th-century Persian astronomer and poet Omar Khayyam as “the renewal of the world,” Nowruz dates back thousands of years³ and is perhaps one of the oldest celebrations the planet.

Perhaps more important than winter or summer solstice is the vernal equinox, as it portends the beginning of new life and the survival of another winter. In conjunction with the International Astronomical Union (IAU), UNESCO has created a resource with an interactive map that links the cyber explorer to numerous sites worldwide, both ancient and modern. It can be found on UNESCO’s Portal to the Heritage of Astronomy website.

The Megaliths

This is a limited list of megaliths and ancient monuments that could supplement the itinerary of an astrotourist who wishes to broaden the scope of their experience. The bracketed dates were when UNESCO designated these monuments a World Heritage Sites.

Newgrange, Republic of Ireland, circa 3200 BC [1993]

Newgrange is best known for the winter solstice sun illuminating its underground passage and burial chamber. Above the entrance to the passage of the mound is an opening called a roof-box. Access to the chamber on the solstice mornings is decided by a lottery, which takes place at the end of September each year.⁴

Pyramid of Giza, Egypt, circa 2550 BC [1979]

The Great Pyramid of Giza is nearly perfectly aligned along with the cardinal points—north, south, east, and west—with “an accuracy of better than four minutes of arc, or one-fifteenth of one degree.”⁵ An archaeologist has determined that Egyptians may have aligned the monument almost perfectly using the fall equinox.⁶

Chichén Itzá, México, 1000 CE [1998]

An international poll was taken in 2007 of more than 100 million people who voted this destination as one of the “New 7 Wonders of the World.” The late afternoon sun creates the illusion of a snake slithering slowly down the northern staircase on every equinox.⁷ Video of this phenomenon can be found on YouTube.

Stonehenge, England, 3000 BC [1986]

There is an ongoing debate on Stonehenge’s architecture and its meaning. In 1963 American astronomer Gerald Hawkins proposed that Stonehenge had been constructed as a “computer” to predict lunar and solar eclipses; other scientists also attributed astronomical capabilities to the monument. Many of these speculations have been rejected by experts,⁸ but it does not diminish the popularity of this iconic site.

Maeshowe, Orkney, Scotland, 3000 BC [1999]

Considered Europe’s finest chambered tombs and an extraordinary example of Neolithic architectural genius as it was designed and built to align with winter’s solstice. The rays of the setting sun pierce the narrow passageway and traverse its length, illuminating a burial chamber inside.⁹

Uxmal, Yucatan Mexico, 600–900 CE [1996]

The Pyramid of the Magician had an alignment specific to Venus’s movement in the sky and was a bellwether of the coming rains. A portion of the grounds was designated as a ball court, with a vertical hoop for a ball to pass through, not unlike basketball. The game had always been connected to mythical and cosmic themes, with the ball symbolizing the stars’ movements.¹⁰

Chaco Canyon, New Mexico USA, 850-1250 CE [1987]

Chaco’s major center of ancestral Pueblo culture is remarkable for its monumental buildings and its distinctive architecture. An ancient, urban ceremonial center may be found there that is unlike anything constructed before or since.¹¹ The two- to three-meter sandstone slabs at Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon cast shadows of the morning and midday sun, which indicate both solstices and equinoxes on a spiral petroglyph.¹² Of the 1,121 UNESCO World Heritage sites worldwide, Chaco is one of only 20 sites in the United States. Since 1991, the park has offered an astronomical program.

Karnak, Egypt, 2000 BCE [1979]

The Temple of Karnak is dedicated to the god Amun. During the solstices, the sun’s rays pass through the entire temple’s entire length and into a room devoted to this Egyptian deity.

Chankillo, Peru, 500–200 BC [2013 Tentative List]

The 13 towers of Chankillo, situated between two observation platforms, spanning the sun’s entire annual rising and setting arc. Over the year, the sun’s path gradually shifts along the horizon, passing over each tower. The inhabitants of Chankillo would have been able to determine the date, with an accuracy of two to three days, by watching the sunrise or sunset from the correct observation platform.¹³

Cahokia Mounds, Illinois, circa 800–1400 CE [1982]

This is the largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico. It is the pre-eminent example of a cultural, religious, and economic center of the Mississippian culture. Situated there is an astronomical observatory, Woodhenge, consisting of a circle of wooden posts that marked the solstices and equinoxes.¹⁴

Machu Picchu, Peru, 1450 CE [1983]

Machu Picchu is among the greatest artistic, architectural, and land use achievements anywhere globally, making it the most prominent and tangible legacy of the Inca civilization.¹⁵ There is a giant stone at the top of this sacred mountain, Intihuatana, which means “the place when the sun gets tied.” It is positioned, so each corner sits at the four cardinal points (north, south, east, and west). As a result, the stone is a precise marker of the two equinoxes; at midday on the equinox, the sun is directly above the stone, creating no shadow.¹⁶

Mnajdra, Malta, 4000–3000 BCE [1980]

This megalith is an effective year-round calendar. During the equinox, the sun rises in perfect alignment with the main doorway; sunlight floods into the central corridor, traveling into the megalith to the innermost apse. The solstices are marked by the narrowest slivers of light that pass through the sides of the main doorway, shining onto the furthest edge of the apse.¹⁷

Angkor Wat, Cambodia, 1100 CE [1992]

Angkor Wat is one of the largest archaeological sites in operation in the world.¹⁸ The builders of Angkor Wat created a reminder of the greater cosmic order, reflected in both the passage of time and in the changing rays of the sun. Angkor Wat encoded calendrical, historical, and cosmological themes into its architectural plan for the temple. The sun rises during equinoxes, perfectly aligned to the central and tallest tower in the complex.¹⁹

Hovenweep, Colorado-Utah Border, 1200 CE

The Ancestral Puebloan people may have used Hovenweep’s towers as astronomical observatories, recording the seasonal wheel’s turning for agricultural and ceremonial purposes. There is a portal at Hovenweep Castle that aligns to the equinox and points to the sunrise azimuth four days after the vernal equinox. This orientation was determined by halving the number of days between the winter and summer solstices.²⁰

Mudumal, Telangana, circa 5000 BCE

This site probably holds the distinction of being one of India’s oldest megalithic structures, dating back 7,000 years. In fact, archaeologists note that this is one of the rare sites where a star constellation depiction has been found. The site consists of 80 massive menhirs (tall upright stones) and about 2,000 alignment stones, making it one of the largest concentrations of menhirs excavated anywhere in India. The constellation depicted has been identified as Ursa Major.²¹ Many cultures worldwide recognized a bear in that same grouping of stars, substantiating the interconnectedness we all have with the night sky.