[blam]

GGG Ping.

[BenLurkin]

Let me guess . . . .

[elfman2]

"A white crystal rock was placed to catch the moon's rays at this point and its white glow may have played a role in some mystical experience, particularly if it had some chemical help! "

I’ve never heard of this before. That doesn’t mean it’s not true, but I suspect someone in Bangor Main who created this story did a lot of embellishment.

[ClearCase_guy]

Does the Moon orbit Earth so regularly that a great earthen mound can reliably pick out the "standstill moment" year after year? I would think that standstill would occur at a slightly different spot in the sky each year -- but I'm no astronomer.

[Verginius Rufus]

I have found Comet Machholz in binoculars a couple of times but it is faint and you have to know where to look. There was a chart showing its day-to-day path posted on FR on 1/11/05: "Heads up North America..." (www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1318867/posts).

[seppel]

So psychedelic hippies were the first inhabitants of France. Kinda explains some things.

[KarlInOhio]

The mound's connection to the heavens was established when it was found that a line, running from the chamber to a stone at the entrance, points to the southernmost moonrise at "major standstill." This means the full moon is at its highest point at midsummer and appears to temporarily halt before resuming its motions.

This hurts my head. At the summer solstice the full moon will be at its lowest point. It closely follows the same path in the sky the winter sun does - rise in the southeast, barely get up into the sky, and set in the southwest.

Next, since the lunar cycle isn't synchronized with the solar cycle, the full moon nearest the summer solstice could be up to 1/2 month away from the solstice itself. Further, the location of the full moon varies by about 5 degrees above and below the ecliptic.

Next few years of moon rise locations for the full moon nearest the summer solstice:

6/21/2005 128.0 degrees (90 = east, 180 = south)
6/11/2006 128.2 degrees
6/30/2007 125.9 degrees
6/18/2008 126.6 degrees
6/ 7/2009 125.5 degrees
6/26/2010 120.5 degrees
6/15/2011 120.7 degrees

All calculations are based on Dayton, OH.

(Astronomy geek with way too much time).

[Jaxter]

Don't you just hate it when Uranus gets lost in the sun's glare for an entire month.

[Cowboy Bob]

What immediately catches the eye are the walls that are covered with etchings of concentric rings, curves, chevrons, and serpentine wiggles.

Sounds like the world's first billboard. There was even an ad for Chevron Oil...

[mikrofon]

In 3500 BC, it must've been chariots...

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Blam.

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Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)