The Solstice and Rome

Roman amphitheater of Medellín (Badajoz) with the medieval castle in the background. Credit: Nicolas Yazigi.
Roman amphitheater of Medellín (Badajoz) with the medieval castle in the background. Credit: Nicolas Yazigi.
Advertised on

Next Thursday, June 21st at 10:07 the Earth will pass through a special point in its orbit around the Sun: the June solstice. The height of the Sun at mid-day will be a maximum in the northern hemisphere, where the summer solstice will be celebrated, and a minimum in the southern hemisphere, where it will be the winter solstice, marking the beginning of summer and winter respectively. The position of the Sun will hardly change for several days, which is why it is called a solstice (from the latin solstitium, derived from sol and sistere, to remain still). In practical terms, the day of the summer solstice is the longest, in terms of daylight, in the year. Around that date we find the day when the Sun rises earliest, and the day when the Sun sets latest. In the southern hemisphere, this occurs in December.

Rome and the sky

The study of the orientation of the Roman cities in the Iberian Peninsula shows that the spatial arrangement of the main roads in a settlement was not arbitrary. On the contrary in a number of cases it reflects symbolic factors using the position of the Sun on important dates in the Roman calendar, such as the traditional day of the founding of Rome (21 April) or the summer and winter solstices. This latter case explains the orientation of the main road (the decumano maximo) of Metellinum, present day Medellín. The main road in this Roman town, which followed the course of what today is the Calle Palacios, had a special orientation. It pointed towards sunrise at the winter solstice, and sunset at the summer solstice.

The longest and shortest days of the year have been used as time markers, and they have been used as important festivals in a variety of cultures throughout history. In this region the layout of the roads could have been based on these astronomical events both in the Roman and the pre-Roman calendars.

Live from Medellín

Within the initiatives against light pollution(LPI) of the European STARS4ALL project, (stars4all.eu) and with the collaboration of the Office of the Director General for Tourism of the Government (Junta) of Extremadura the sky-live.tv channel will broadcast live the sunset from Medellín (Badajoz, Extremadura).

The broadcast will include the participation of the IAC researcher Andrea Rodríguez, a specialist in Roman cities and camps, who is a member of the Archeoastronomy group of the IAC. “We are sure that the Roman architects were familiar with the sky and Medellín is a clear example” says Rodríguez, and in more detail “In Metellinum, present day Medellín, we find a clear example of a city oriented by the solstices”

The date is next Wednesday, 20th June at 19:15 (UT), (20:15 Canary local time, 21:15 Central European Standard Time)

“After our visits to the monumental complexes in the area of Cuzco, and to Luxor, the neuralgic centre of ancient Egypt, a visit to a Roman city in the Peninsula was a must. From Medellín we can understand the celestial orientations of Roman towns” comments Miquel Serra-Ricart, the astronomer of the IAC who is in charge of the broadcast.

STARS4ALL is a project funded by the H2020 Programme of the European Union under agreement number 688135. In STARS4ALL eight institutions are participating (UPM, CEFRIEL, SOTON, ECN, ESCP, Europe, IAC, IGB, and UCM), from six countries. The project “Good Night, Extremadura” is in the framework of the Night-time strategy of the Government (Junta) of Extremadura (Extremadura 2030).

In addition three Spanish Supercomputer Centres: the Extremadura Centre for Advanced Technology (CETA-CIEMAT), the Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya (CSUC) and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), who collaborate in the distribution and broadcasting of the website sky-live.tv.

Contact at the IAC: Miquel Serra-Ricart, investigador del IAC, mserra [at] iac.es (mserra[at]iac[dot]es)

Channels:

News type
Press release
General public
Communications media

It may interest you

  • An artist’s concept of the exoplanet SPECULOOS-3 b orbiting its red dwarf star. The planet is as big around as Earth, while its star is slightly bigger than Jupiter – but much more massive. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
    Press release
    Astronomers discover Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting ultra-cool star
    An international scientific team, with the participation of researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has found a new world similar in size to our planet orbiting an ultra-cold red dwarf located about 55 light-years away. Observations from the SPECULOOS telescope network, which includes the ARTEMIS telescope at the Teide Observatory in Tenerife, have made this discovery possible. The Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, has also played a key role in confirming the discovery, providing some of the most accurate ground
    Advertised on
  • Fernando Clavijo, Diana Morant y Rafael Rebolo
    Press release
    El Consejo Rector del IAC nombra a Valentín Martínez Pillet futuro director del centro
    La ministra de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Diana Morant, ha presidido esta mañana la reunión anual del Consejo Rector del Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) en la Sede del IAC, en La Laguna, en la que ha anunciado que el físico solar Valentín Martínez Pillet será el próximo director de este organismo público de investigación. Los miembros del Consejo han agradecido a Rafael Rebolo la labor desarrollada durante sus 10 años al frente de la institución y han destacado su categoría profesional y su labor de gestión. Además de la ministra, a esta reunión también han asistido
    Advertised on