Juan Manuel Caballero Suárez; César Esteban
Bibliographical reference
Complutum
Advertised on:
2023
Refereed citations
0
Description
We present the results of the monitoring of solar lighting inside cave n. 3 of the aboriginal archaeological site of Cuevas del Barranco de la Angostura (Agüimes, Gran Canaria). The cave has a cylindrical shape with a vaulted roof and topped by a skylight, similar to other caves where the existence of astronomical markers has been proposed. We find that the Sun illuminates the interior for only half the year, from about ten to eleven days before the autumnal equinox to ten to eleven days after the spring equinox. The most convincing result is the discovery of a striking marker of the winter solstice, since the first rays of the sun that illuminate the interior on that date do so just inside a small painted artificial hole located on the north wall of the cave. We also found a possible marker of the equinox or the half-day between solstices based on the behavior of the solar illumination pattern on those dates.
Related projects
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The main objective of this project is to study the importance of astronomy as a fundamental part of human culture and civilization from Paleolithic to the present day. Our interest is mainly devoted to the people of the ancient Mediterranean cultures from the Atlantic to the Middle East, with a special dedication to Spain, its geographical
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