Recently reports have surfaced about carvings on stone panels in a Neolithic passage tomb known as “Cairn L,” on Carbane West, at Loughcrew, outside Oldcastle, in County Meath, Ireland which supposedly record an eclipse that happened in 3340 BC. I think this is another huge over-reach in interpretation, but you can read below and make up your own minds.
In 2013,
Dr. Frank Prendergast completed a detailed study of the monument and found no
reason to assign any such significance to any of the carvings.
“The chamber and passage are orientated east-south-east. There are no apparent distinctive topographical or monumental features on the horizon in this direction. This could suggest an alternative imperative for the orientation of the tomb. The summary astronomical investigation presented here was undertaken as part of a national survey of passage tombs undertaken by the writer. From that, the measured passage orientation (azimuth or direction relative to true north), the horizon altitude and the geographical location of Tomb L were used to calculate the indicative astronomical declination (δ). From δ, the likely dates of sunrise for the north and south azimuth limits of the tomb/passage and the central axis were determined. Although the azimuths were derived from compass bearings, above data are sufficiently accurate to allow for a determination of the dates and date ranges of solar illumination within the tomb to an accuracy of a few days. These should be consistent with what would be seen by an observer located in the chamber.” (Prendergast 2013)
“In assessing the significance and meaning of tomb orientation, numerous criteria/factors (including astronomical) can explain any possible intentionality and, thus, deliberate axial alignment. There is also the possibility that tomb orientation can be random. In the case of Tomb L, and in the apparent absence of any indicative/distinctive natural or built horizon feature that might have acted as a focal target, the tomb may have been simply built to face the rising sun.” (Prendergast 2013) Notice Prendergast’s conclusion that the tomb was built to face the rising sun, but not aligned with any specific landscape features.
“These phenomena are interpreted by the writer as not having had any calendrical significance in the prehistoric past and popular ideas of Tomb L being aligned towards the mid-quarter dates of November 5/February 4 are thus challenged here for several reasons. Although sunlight will penetrate to the edge of cell 6 around these dates, any claim for the alignment of the passage axis being calendrically significant in an early prehistoric context has little basis in fact. Tomb L was built in the Neolithic and, as such, predates (by almost three millennia) any late Iron Age/early Medieval evidence for calendrical subdivision of the solar year.” (Prendergast 2013) Prendergast found no significant archeoastronomical orientations at Tomb L. He also made no mention of any of the stone carving supposedly portraying an eclipse. Prendergast’s conclusion is that this tomb, and thus its carvings, have no celendrical significance. Brennan (1983) conducted an extensive study of Irish Burial Mounds, including Tomb L, and found numerous carved images that he identified as lunar images.
But then, the theory popped up that the carved boulder at the end of the passage in Tomb L portrays the earliest known record lf a solar eclipse. “Our ancient Irish ancestors carved images of an ancient eclipse into giant stones over 5,000 years ago, on November 30, 3340 BC to be exact. This is the oldest known recorded solar eclipse in history.” (Hayes) I believe that this extraordinary claim can be first attributed to Dr. Philip J. Stooke, Philip J. (1994) who stated “The historian Diodorus Siculus (writing shortly before the time of Christ but quoting Hecataeus, some five centuries earlier, 'and certain others') wrote of the 'Island of the Hyperboreans' ... ‘there is also on the island both a magnificent sacred precinct of Apollo and a notable temple which is adorned with many votive offerings and is spherical in shape... They say also that the moon, as viewed from this island, appears to be but a little distance from the Earth and to have upon it prominences, like those of the Earth, which are visible to the eye. The account is also given that the god visits the island every nineteen years....’ The nineteen year period is presumably that between almost identical eclipses.” (Stooke 1994)
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and I have been unable to find any explanation of this claim except Stooke’s reference to Diodorus Siculus who had never, of course, visited Ireland. Another citation sends us to “Irish archaeo-astronomer Paul Griffin has announced the confirmation of the world's oldest known solar eclipse recorded in stone, substantially older than the recordings made in 2800 BC by Chinese astronomers. This finding was made at the world's oldest lunar eclipse tracking multi cairn site at the Loughcrew Cairn L Megalithic Monument in Ireland, and corresponds to a solar eclipse which occurred on November 30, 3340 BC, calculated with The Digital Universe astronomy software.” (Colomba 2020) Now I do not doubt that there was an eclipse then if astronomers agree on it, I just doubt that these petroglyphs have anything to do with it.
I have written a few times on RockArtBlog about eclipses (check the cloud index at the bottom). The thing that is really unique and impressive about a solar eclipse is that most partial eclipses would have been missed, the sun is partially eclipsed but it is still too bright to look directly at so all the viewer would notice is the world around him is not as bright for a while. A total solar eclipse, on the other hand, is a tremendously impressive with its blackout and the ring of fire. It is my belief that the ring of fire, by far the most impressive part of a solar eclipse, is what would be shown by someone recording the event. To see a record of a total solar eclipse I would expect to find an empty circle with no internal details, but externally some rays or markings could represent the solar coronal glow and discharge. These markings at Cairn L just don’t look right to me to be a record of a total solar eclipse. And I have been unable to find any explanation of that claim. Now concentric circles just might represent a sun, but not one being eclipsed.
But
this is not the most extreme claim made for the astronomical symbolism at Cairn
‘L.’ ”Just
on the left, as you enter the chamber, is a lovely little design of nested
arcs, some 13 in all, radiating out and down from what seems to be a rising
heavenly body. Close by is another smaller set of nested arcs. Martin Brennan
has suggested that this image may represent an image of a transit of Venus.” (Fr. O’Flanagan History Center) Now
we are supposed to accept that 5,355 years ago ancient Irish astronomers made
naked eye observations of a transit of the planet Venus in front of the sun’s
disk? To believe that they could see that is even more preposterous than the
eclipse claims. The first transit of Venus recorded in history was on 4
December 1639 by English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks (Naeye 2012) so I have to
be skeptical about the Cairn ‘L’ claim to that as well. All in all these claims
appear to be a whole load of fantasy with apparently no proof to back them up.
NOTE 1: I contacted the Fr. O’Flanagan
History Center asking for clarification and information but I have received no
reply. I have also failed to find Irish Archaeo-astronomer Paul Griffin’s paper that
apparently leads to the conclusion involving the portrayal of an eclipse. My
search for that paper online leads to a dead end every time. My negative
conclusions are based on a lack of confirming data.
NOTE 2: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Ancient Pages, 2015, Ancient Irish Were First To Record An Eclipse – 5,355 Years Ago, 31 July 2015, https://www.ancientpages.com. Accessed online 12 May 2023.
Brennan, Martin, 1983, The Stars and the Stones, Ancient Art and Astronomy in Ireland,
Thames and Hudson, Inc., New York.
Columba, Iona, 2020, Ireland in History Day by Day, 30 November 2020, https://irelandinhistory.blogspot.com.
Accessed online 26 July 2023.
Fr. O’Flanagan History Center, The art within Cairn L at Loughcrew, Old RIC Barracks, Cliffoney, County Sligo, Ireland, http://www.carrowkeel.com/sites/loughcret/cairnlart.html. Accessed online 11 June 2023.
Hayse, Cathy, Loughcrew (Irlande): Ancient Irish were first to record an eclipse – 5,355 years ago, http://www.archeolog-home.com. Accessed online 30 June 2023.
Naeye, Robert, 2012, Transits of Venus in History: 1631-1716, 1 June 2012, https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/transits-of-venus-in-history-1631-1716/. Accessed online 30 July 2023.
Prendergast, Frank, Dr., 2013, Tomb L, Carnbane West, Loughcrew Hills, County Meath – an archaeoastronomical assessment, 18 January 2013, Unpublished internal report available on www.academia.edu. Accessed online 12 May 2023.
Stooke, Philip J., Dr., 1994, Neolithic Lunar Maps at Knowth, https://knowth.com/lunar-maps.htm.
Accessed online 13 November 2022.
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