Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Anthropology, Ethnology, Archaeology, 6.5 OTHER HUMANITIES
Abstract
This paper assesses the measured axial orientations and siting of Irish passage tombs. The distribution of monuments with passages/entrances directed at related tombs/cairns is shown. Where this phenomenon occurs, the targeted structure is invariably located at a higher elevation on the skyline and this could suggest a symbolic and hierarchical relationship in their relative siting in the landscape. Additional analysis of astronomical declinations at a national scale has identified tombs with an axial alignment towards the rising and setting positions of the Sun at the winter and summer solstices. A criteria-based framework is developed which potentially allows for these types of data to be more meaningfully considered and culturally interpreted within broader archaeological and social anthropological contexts.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21427/hct4-5q94
Recommended Citation
Prendergast, F. (2016) 'Interpreting megalithic tomb orientations and siting within broader cultural contexts' in Brown, D., ed., Journal of Physics: Conference Series 685, http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/685/1/012004/pdf: IOP Publishing, 1–25. doi:10.21427/hct4-5q94
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Publication Details
IOP SCIENCE
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 685
http://iopscience.iop.org/1742-6596/685/1