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winter solstice

The Sun rises behind the El Xihuingo volcano during the summer solstice. 	Source: Rafael Morales Orozco, retouching by Arturo Montero/ INAH

Teotihuacan's Pyramid of the Moon is Actually Aligned with the Solstice Sun

A new study reveals that the Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacan, Mexico, marks the astronomical orientation axis of the ancient city. The research team, coordinated by Ismael Arturo Montero García,...
Images of the Ancient water clock, the Egyptian Clepsydra. Source: Left; Archivist/Adobe Stock, Right; Egypt Museum

As Old As Time: Ancient Invention of the Water Clock

Today, the ability to keep track of time seems to be taken for granted. One just simply needs to glance at a watch, clock, or mobile phone to know the exact time, even down to the nearest second...
Fig.1 The experimental henge “Nesshenge” as it looked in 2008. Source: Dr John Hill

Nesshenge Revisited: How Does the Reproduction Neolithic Henge Look 15 Years On?

It is not every day that one gets the opportunity to build a replica Neolithic henge earthwork. Moreover, after 15 years of “weathering”, one is amazingly surprised to see that it not only survives...
Father Christmas enjoying the Christmas tradition. Date: circa 1860. Source: Archivist / Adobe Stock

Favorite Christmas Traditions PLUS Those You May Never Have Heard About

Every year as December rolls in, some 2 billion people start to feel the Christmas cheer. While the celebration is now primarily a Christian one honoring the birth of Jesus, its traditions merge with...
A sunset at Stonehenge, perhaps not the Winter Solstice. Source: Nicholas/Adobe Stock

Stonehenge Activates On the Winter Solstice Sunset, Not Sunrise

Today, as the northern hemisphere experiences the Winter Solstice, English archaeoastronomers remind us that Stonehenge was built to honor the sunset on this crucial date, and not just the Summer...
The Pilar Shrine a Karahan Tepe with the portal entrance at the back and the face in the middle of the right wall . ( Image: © Hugh Newman)

Can Winter Solstice At Karahan Tepe Explain A Shamanic Christmas Origin?

Ancient megalithic sites all over the world are still visited in celebration of winter solstice , to welcome the sunrise on the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. From Newgrange in...
Winter Solstice at Newgrange Tomb in Ireland.	 Source: Declan Hillman/Adobe Stock

The Winter Solstice at Seven Amazing Megalithic Sites

The winter solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the annual cycle centered around 21st December; a turning point of the year venerated by ancient cultures worldwide. Accurately built...
The Inca sun temple or Qorikancha in Cusco city during Inti Raymi, hence the solar disk. Source: SL-Photography/Adobe Stock

Ancient Astro-Architecture of the June 21 Winter/Summer Solstice

Even the most well-read history buffs among us often go cold when they read about ancient cultures calling today, 21 June - the “winter solstice”. Let’s delve into solstice mechanics, and explore why...
Stonehenge ( Gail Johnson / Adobe Stock)

Dark Lords And Winter Queens Of Solstice

Christmas is for obvious reasons a thoroughly Christian holiday, that overlies the darkest time of the year around the Winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year with the least light in...
Planets Align To Form ‘Star of Bethlehem’ This Winter Solstice

Planets Align To Form ‘Star of Bethlehem’ This Winter Solstice

This year, as dusk gives way to darkness on the night of the Winter Solstice (December 21 st 2020), residents of the United States, the United Kingdom, and other nations across the Northern...
Stonehenge Druids Pledge Sacrifice To Try To Stop Tunnel

Stonehenge Druids Pledge Sacrifice To Try To Stop Tunnel

Stonehenge Druids in England are planning to lie in front of bulldozers to prevent the new Stonehenge bypass tunnel. When the Romans invaded Britain in the early 1st century AD the island of Anglesey...
An archaeology student has made an incredible discovery within the architecture of the 5000-year-old Maeshowe burial chamber on mainland Orkney. Source: Mo_Ali / Adobe Stock

Functioning Portal To The Otherworld Discovered at Maeshowe

Maeshowe is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on mainland Orkney , the world-renowned, ancient monument-peppered archipelago located off the north east coast of Scotland...
Archeologists have identified about 40 previously unknown monuments near Newgrange. The Boyne to Brodgar Project is examining connections between the Boyne Valley and the Orkney Islands. Source: Dr. Davis / UCD School of Archaeology.

Survey Identifies Neolithic Monument Aligned With the Winter Solstice at Brú na Bóinne

The Newgrange Stone Age monument in Ireland is of great archaeological importance and it’s extent keep reaching new bounds. In recent years many historic remains have been identified in the area...
The sun strikes the exact center of the figure at right at noon on the winter solstice.

A thousand years ago, Native Americans aligned drawings with solstice sun

Hundreds of years ago, Native Americans in what is now West Texas drew more than a thousand glyphs in red pigment on rocks on a cliff. Every winter solstice at noon, the sun strikes the center of one...