Monday, January 22, 2024

Scientific test: Newgrange solstice indicator

A PROPOSAL:

HOW TO SCIENTIFICALLY TEST 
THE PRECISION AND ACCURACY
OF THE NEOLITHIC WINTER SOLSTICE DETECTOR 
AT NEWGRANGE, IRELAND
By Rick Doble

Diagram of Newgrange passage and solstice light from the side.
(Irish Art History Section, Professional Development Service for Teachers, P.D.S.T., Ireland)

INTRODUCTION

It is my belief that the passageway and specially designed baffled 'roof-box' at Newgrange Ireland could determine the specific day of the Winter Solstice in real time. And if this is true, it means that this Neolithic science was thousands of years ahead of its time and more advanced, in this regard, than Greek or Roman astronomy. Today we now have the tools to test this hypothesis scientifically. Later in this article, I spell out ways that it could be tested.

When the Winter Solstice sunrise lit the passageway at Newgrange Ireland around the time of the solstice, it probably had religious and ritual significance. However, it is important to understand that the Newgrange structure was also a scientific instrument. It accurately 'captured' the Winter Solstice light using the well-crafted baffled roof-box that lit the carefully made passageway inside the structure and only did so when the sunrise was close to the day of the solstice. And when it did capture this sunlight, it magnified it. 

It is not well understood today but determining the day of the Winter Solstice in real time was virtually impossible until recently. For almost a week there is only a slight difference in the sunrise position on the horizon, the length of the days only vary by seconds and atmospheric refraction can distort observation. So, at the time of the winter solstice, the sun barely moves (i.e., the sun's declination). In fact the word solstice comes from the Latin 'solstitium' meaning "point at which the sun seems to stand still" (dictionary.com). Please see the Afterword for more detail. 

The Greeks and Romans could and did determine the day of the solstice after the fact by observing the position of the sun many days before and after the time of the solstice and then interpolating the actual day. However, they could not determine the actual day in real time. 

Nevertheless, I believe the clever baffled roof-box and magnification of the light at Newgrange may have been enough to allow Neolithic experts to determine the exact day of the solstice in real time. 

NOTE: Since the roof-box could capture sunrise light from about two days before the day of the solstice and two days after, some have interpreted this to mean that these Neolithic people were only interested in an approximate identification of the time of the solstice and not the exact day (see the following quote). I feel this is a mistake. It is my contention that each day before, during, and after the solstice could be identified individually. But cloudy days would have caused a problem. Yet with five days to work with, there was almost always at least one clear day that could be identified and used to calculate the actual day.

CURRENT OPINION DOES NOT AGREE
THAT THE DAY OF THE WINTER SOLSTICE 
COULD BE DETERMINED IN REAL TIME

As I write this article there is agreement by experts that the time *around* the Winter Solstice could be indicated by Newgrange, but that's as much as they are willing to say.

The current opinion about the accuracy of Newgrange is expressed by T. P. Ray in his article about Newgrange. "Megalithic man was interested in marking the southern limits in declination of the sun and moon, albeit approximately. Such low accuracies suggest that ancient man's interest in these bodies may have been ritualistic rather than for the purpose of calendar construction."
Ray, T. P. The winter solstice phenomenon at Newgrange, Ireland: accident or design?  School of Cosmic Physics, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.

But, as I have said, I believe that careful testing will show that Newgrange was quite accurate and could determine the day of the Winter Solstice in real time. I think that my hypothesis can be scientifically tested. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROM THE MEDIA ABOUT THE PRECISION OF NEWGRANGE

Ireland, 3200 B.C.
On roughly four days every year, the Winter Solstice sun pokes through the top of this Stone Age monument and onto the floor of the interior chamber, filling the ancient temple with light for about 17 minutes. Built before Stonehenge, Newgrange was likely used to track the passing of the years with a precision ahead of its time. With an earthen mound and stone forming passageways and chambers inside Newgrange, the site likely also served as a passage tomb and ceremonial location as well as being a highly engineered clock.
Newcombup, Tim. Popular Mechanics, September 30, 2022.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a35867403/ancient-architecture/

The Winter Solstice Light December 2013.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2013_Solstice_Newgrange.jpg


GENERAL IDEAS AND CONCERNS
FOR A STUDY OF THE ACCURACY
OF THE SOLSTICE INDICATORS AT NEWGRANGE:


Nine years ago I wrote an article stating that it was possible that the passage tomb at Newgrange could determine the day of the Winter Solstice in real time. This article was reprinted in Newgrange.com. Now I believe new technology could, in fact, provide hard proof.

I think a university archaeological program or other such research group should write a proposal and get funding for a project that will prove or disprove the precision of the Newgrange passageway and roof-box.  

NEW TECHNOLOGY & ARCHEOLOGY 2.0: 
Today, using the tools of Archeology 2.0 such as photogrammetry and computer simulations, this could be studied with extreme precision. Photogrammetry is now capable of making a precise 3D computer representation, accurate to millimeters. Then simulations of the sunrise light on the day of the Winter Solstice plus simulations of the days before and after the time of the solstice could show how each particular sunrise was being displayed in the passageway.

It is my guess that for two days before the Winter Solstice and two days after the light was distinctly different from the exact day of the solstice light. Furthermore, thee days surrounding the day of the solstice were distinctly different from each other. I also believe there was a reason for knowing the characteristics of the light in the days before and after. If the sky was cloudy on the day of the solstice, the day itself could still be determined by knowing the characteristics of the other days around the time of the solstice, and knowing which day was which.

Detailed drawing of Newgrange passage showing the precise placement of stones and the shaft of solstice light. Used with permission:
http://www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk/irelandnewgrange.htm 

As I point out in my article, the setup at Newgrange with the roof-box and passageway yielded a lot of information such as the width of the light, the intensity of the light, the speed of the light as it moved down the passageway and retreated, the furthest reach of the light, the way that the stone walls and spiral engravings were lit, etc. The design magnifies the light and its movement -- and magnifications yield much more information. I believe that this amount of information would be enough to distinguish one day from another.

Another important point is the time of each sunrise before, during, and after the solstice. The times would be different and could possibly be detected based on the position of the stars.

While making a computer model of the passageway is, today, not all that difficult, simulating the solstice light could be quite difficult. Because, for this kind of simulation, the most important element will be the precision of the light coming through the roof-box and the way this simulated sunlight lights up the passageway. This must be as accurate as possible otherwise the project is pointless. 

Passage leading towards chamber of Newgrange passage tomb in Ireland.
Passage leading out from chamber of Newgrange passage tomb in Ireland.

The angle of the light is especially important as there is a very slight change in that angle with each sunrise. When the light is magnified and enters the passageway at a low angle in relation to the stone walls that make up the passageway, there could be a marked difference from day to day. I am a professional photographer who has written three books on photography. I know that the angle of light in relation to the surface of an object can reveal subtle details that can be quite different with just a small change in the angle of light.

State-of-the-art composite videos, made from dozens of cameras placed along the passageway during the time of the solstice, could be used as a reference both in the timing and the accuracy of the shaft of light. This might be the best way to ensure that the simulated light matches the actual light around the time of the solstice.

Also when building a model, it is also important to take into account the change in the sun's position about 5000 years ago. See NASA's assessment next:

Today the first light enters about four minutes after sunrise, but calculations based on the precession of the Earth show that 5,000 years ago, first light would have entered exactly at sunrise.
Document of the US space agency NASA. 
https://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/SED11/P8Newgrange.pdf

All solar simulations should match the earlier times of sunrise, when Newgrange was functioning, based on NASA's calculations.


Triple spiral carved in a stone in the chamber at the end of the passage. According to legend, the light from the sun illuminated these triple spirals on the day of the solstice. 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Celtic_spiral.jpg

SPECIFIC WAYS TO TEST MY HYPOTHESES


HOW TO TEST:
Once the photogrammetric and computer simulation of the solstice light are created, it may be possible to objectively test the ability of the Newgrange passageway and roof-box to indicate the day of the Winter Solstice.

While I am hardly an expert when it comes to designing experiments, here are suggestions about how this could be tested.

PLAN A:
A number of professional people (I would suggest photographers or people who work with lighting) could view a simulated computer sequence of light coming into the passageway and then retreating with each day clearly labeled. I suggest using professionals because we can assume that the Neolithic viewers of these sequences were also professionals. After today's viewers have become familiar with these sequences, they could then be tested by viewing each sequence at random without a label and stating which sequence it was. 

PLAN B:
Another way to test this could be to make a large light that would accurately simulate the angle, the movement and the brightness of the Winter Solstice sunrise, along with the sunrise light from the two days before and after. This light would shine through the roof-box and down the actual passageway. As with Plan A, experts could, at first, view the light in a clearly labeled sequence. Then experts could be positioned in the passageway as the light was shown at random to see if they could tell the difference. 

THE FINAL RESULT:
Based on the correctness of the experts' ability to distinguish between these random showings, a scorecard could be created that would tell us whether they were able to identify the day of the solstice and if they were able to distinguish between the days before and after the solstice.

PLAN C:
A stand-alone computer model could be created. Then a computer rating system could be devised that would rate each one of the lighting effects every 15 seconds such as the width of the light, the speed of the light's movement up the passageway, the length of the shadows, the depth or darkness of the shadows, the illumination on the walls, etc. Then the furthest reach of the light would be logged and followed by a rating of these same characteristics as the light retreated. The final task would be to put this data altogether to determine if there was a significant difference from day to day.

PLAN D:
A combination of the above or another approach I have not thought of.

MY ARTICLE:
As I said, in 2015 I wrote an article which has been reprinted in the Newgrange.com website, about the accuracy of the Newgrange passageway in determining the Winter Solstice.

Computing the Winter Solstice at Newgrange:
Was Neolithic Science Equal To or Better Than Ancient Greek or Roman Science?

THE DISCOVERY PROGRAMME "3D MODEL OF SOLSTICE AT NEWGRANGE":
The Discovery Programme in Ireland has already made a "3d Model Of Solstice At Newgrange". 


Overhead diagram of Newgrange passage and solstice light.
(Irish Art History Section, Professional Development Service for Teachers, P.D.S.T., Ireland)

PUTTING A PROPOSAL AND STUDY TOGETHER


HERE IS WHAT I SUGGEST: 
An archaeological or research program should write a specific proposal and acquire funding. I have written a number of proposals in the past and would be glad to write a suggested draft of the proposal. Or I could work together with members of an academic team. I can also write the finished draft. After that I would be glad to work on the project if it is funded in any manner that would be helpful.

HOW I SHOULD BE CREDITED:
I would need to be credited for the idea if it is put together and also for writing the proposal if I do some or all of the writing. If the proposal is accepted, I would be glad to work with people in the project.

MY INTEREST:
I have a Master's Degree in Communication with a minor in Anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, plus a B.A. in English with Honors in Creative Writing, also from UNC-CH.
I am an independent researcher who is interested in this subject because I have been writing a blog for over eleven years about the human experience of time. I have always felt that ancient people were much smarter than they have been given credit for and also that a concept of time was very important to them. So, when I studied Newgrange, I felt that I had found an important example of these ideas.

PLEASE NOTE:
While other people have suggested that the Newgrange design could determine the day of the Winter Solstice in real time, I do not believe they have gone into detail nearly as much as I have to make the case. For example, I have covered the difficulty of measuring the day of the solstice, the design and construction of the roof-box and passageway as a scientific instrument, its ability to magnify the sunlight's angle and movement and the wealth of information that resulted.

As I have said the Greeks and Romans could not determine the day of the Winter Solstice in real time. In my 2015 article, I believe I am the first person to make this point. They could determine it after the fact but not in real time. The Roman Saturnalia Festival, for example, occurred during the week of the solstice but it did not celebrate a particular solstice day. 
 
So this means that in this particular case at least, in Ireland and during the Winter Solstice, Neolithic science and technology might have been more advanced that of the Greeks and Roman's 3000 years later. And if this is true, it signals a major change in our perception of Neolithic culture and its level of technology.

"Sketch of a cross section of the Newgrange passage grave
made by William Frederick Wakeman."
Quote from commons.wikimedia.org
Wakeman's Handbook of Irish Antiquities (1903). p. 85.
 http://www.archive.org/details/wakemanshandbook00wake


_______________________________
AFTERWORD

PLEASE SEE MY FULL DETAILED ARTICLE IN THIS BLOG

ABOUT THE WINTER SOLSTICE IN GREECE AND ROME

I have made the point in many other articles that prehistoric people were smarter than previously thought and they did remarkable things when they were necessary. The very short winter days in Ireland meant that knowing the day of the Winter Solstice was important as it signaled the beginning of the new year and so allowed accurate yearly planning for agriculture. 

In Greece and Rome the days were much longer in the winter and the weather less severe, so they did not feel the same urgency.

SCIENCE IN THE NEOLITHIC ERA

“In the case of Neolithic astronomy, we are dealing
not with the prehistory of science,
but with science in prehistory.”
McClellan, James E. III, Dorn, Harold. Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction, Edition 2. JHU Press, June 2006, page 23. 

I believe the specially designed baffled roof-box and passageway at Newgrange created a well developed scientific instrument. Furthermore, the alignment of the entire structure with the Winter Solstice sunrise was precise. Plus the well constructed structure provided a reliable environment that was stable and consistent year after year. 

“Measure what can be measured, and make measurable what cannot be.”
Galileo Galilei

The creation of the solid passageway, walls, floor and ceiling meant that there were clear consistent points that allowed a comparison of the light from one day to the next and one year to the next. And comparison is one way to measure.

One of the standard requirements of experimental science is to eliminate all variables other than the phenomena that is bing studied so that the outcome is due to the experiment and nothing more. The Newgrange baffled roof-box and passageway provided an unmovable stable environment so that the manipulation of the light by the Newgrange instrument on consecutive days could be reliably compared.

[Left} The special roof-box is on top above the passageway. During the winter solstice, it is light through the roof-box that illuminates the passageway NOT light from the passageway entrance.
[Right] Close-up of the roof-box. It is set back so that the walls act like a baffle and only allow light through the roof-box during the solstice.


PERSONAL NOTE
As I was studying pictures of Newgrange and the solstice light, it struck me that several very modern devices have used/use a beam of light in a similar was. A beam of light shown down a long pathway was used in Newgrange but also in the famous Michelson-Morley experiment that proved Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity plus the very modern Gravity Wave detectors that have just proved Einsteins ideas about gravity in his General Theory of Relativity.






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