Data 1. - is here to accommodate more info. or new features that may come available. New explanation, or clarifications, or better ways of describing info. already described.
(Part (A)):-
The Meridian within Stonehenge - How it is built into the design and comparatively easy to demonstrate.
Concerning astronomy and geography, the meridian is the 'Great Circle' upon the Earth's surface connecting north and south poles and zenith and nadir of any specific place upon that surface. It also cuts the Equator at right angles. It is part of the fundamental basis of any system of marking and fixing position of any place on the Earth surface. For astronomy it is also projected outwards on to the Cosmos as part of the same system for fixing position of any celestial object. Sighting along the meridian towards due north gives azimuth zero, and then any angular bearing clockwise from the meridian provides the azimuth bearing towards an object of interest, at ground level or upwards into the heavens.
For instance the Heelstone centre at Stonehenge is c. 51* east, or clockwise, from the meridian through Stonehenge and therefore has an azimuth bearing of c. 51*. Any object in the sky above the Heelstone centre also has the same azimuth bearing.
Zenith
North-point
It is therefore of fundamental interest to be able to demonstrate the marking of the presence of the meridian within the design and construction of Stonehenge. Such a presence would clearly show that the designer had that knowledge c. 2500 B.C., and that the ability was present amongst the builders to construct a monument that showed this.
It is comparatively simple to re-construct how the meridian would have fitted into the design.
Within the three diagrams opposite, the first, top, diagram shows a vertical cross-section through Stonehenge along the meridian and, vertically, through the arc of the Cosmic sky above, with Zenith point vertically above Stonehenge centre at altitude 90*. Also shown are Trilithon uprights nos. 60 and 54.
The arc is marked off at 10* intervals from horizon (altitude 0*) to zenith (altitude 90*.). At Stonehenge, latitude 51*, the north-point of the meridian is at altitude 51*. (There was not an exact Polestar at B.C. 2500 and therefore the north-point had to be an abstract concept which is an even more advanced astronomical picture!)
It can be seen that the vertical from the north-point intersection on the celestial arc down to horizontal Earth surface was through the Stonehenge Trilithon upright no. 60. No. 60 was the outermost and last Trilithon upright of the northern flank of the Trilithon Horseshoe.
Equal and opposite to the north upright no.60 and in the south direction is Trilithon upright no. 54. The main bulk of this upright does not quite match the equal and opposite vertical from altitude 51* in south direction. BUT, uniquely, upright no. 54 has a large and tall vertical bulge on its outer surface that makes it somewhat thicker than any other Trilithon upright, and this bulge just neatly matches to the 51* vertical. (It is worth commenting that the bulge of stone 54 is to the outside of the Trilithon horseshoe. This would be an inferior position relative to the inside. Therefore the knowledge and use of this north-south facet of astronomy and the Cosmos was not the most important to the design of Stonehenge - only important within the general context. There were more important considerations to be put into the design.)
Only two Trilithon uprights can stand on the meridian and both are now seen to match to altitude 51* on the celestial arc above. Therefore it seems safe to assume that this was intended.
The principle of 'As Above, So Below' for describing and fixing the position of celestial objects, above, on to a flat horizontal surface was believed to have been developed and present in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt before the 3rd millenium B.C., and so at least half a millenium before the construction of Sarsen Stonehenge c B.C. 2500. By this process a 'map' of the heavens for a specific location could be derived. The second picture, which is a circular 'grid' of the altitude units above, is derived when the altitude divisions are plotted, by this principle, on to the flat horizontal surface below. The spacing of the circles is at 10* intervals as for the arc above. (Note that the spacing increases as we move towards the centre. This is because we are representing a curved surface on to a flat surface.) The outside circle represents horizon, altitude zero, rising to the zenith point directly overhead, at altitude 90*. Now celestial points can be marked on to the grid as they occur, for specific time and date. (Because the sky is a dynamic system and is constantly on the move, specific locations on the grid are only correct for a defined moment).
(In many places within this discussion of astronomy at Stonehenge I refer to the fixed time of summer solstice sunrise at B.C. 2340. This is because the specific time has to be stated for a celestial event. That is why it is so important for us to focus upon this time and why the creators of Stonehenge went to such lengths to fix this particular event and hence the specific time. It bypasses the need to identify clock time and calendar date so that an ancient culture can 'talk', at some time in the distant future, to a 'modern' culture.)
In our modern times we have divided and calibrated the sky equally into convenient units for calibration / recording of its features. In prehistoric times and for the purpose of passing information into the future it was only necessary to mark the idea and the thought in a solid physical form. All that mattered was relative position. That is one of the achievements of the design and construction of Stonehenge. It is up to us to now apply our intelligence and extract this information to create the 'picture' that they were 'drawing'.
With the concept of the altitude grid and with its perimeter (horizon 0*) marked by the inner faces of the Sarsen Circle, it is now possible to move on to the third diagram and super-impose the stones of Stonehenge on to the altitude grid. And then mark the relative position of the North Point on to the grid / on to the ground. We can measure the correct value with our modern numbering systems and place Trilithon upright no. 60 on the grid at 51*. The builders may not have known about numbering systems but they could derive the correct position by careful observation and come to the same conclusion for position. And, in fact, no. 60 does stand with its outer northern end upon grid value 51*.
Trilithon upright no.59 has long ago fallen and 60 was straightened in the 20th century. The site has been excavated in recent times, by professional archaeologists, and the original positions are fairly well established. Official plans show how this Trilithon stood when complete. On present evidence Upright no. 60 stands comfortably upon line 51* with its outermost rear corner close to the line. It would be specious and silly to argue that it cannot be proven to have stood upon line 51* because its precise position to the millimetre may have changed. We are dealing, here with massive rocks with widths and depths of metres whilst at the same time we are seeking the intention of the design. Therefore it seems that we can accept that no.60 was erected to comfortably touch line 51*.
If we now remember from earlier that no. 60 also stands with its outer northernmost end upon the straight line of the north-south meridian i.e. the intersection of these two clear markers of north in any astronomical measuring system then it would appear that the case for the knowledge and exploitation of north-south was present at Stonehenge. Furthermore it was planned and built into the original layout of the monument and demonstrates ability on the part of the builders. Therefore my original proposition at the start of this section is confirmed.
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Part (B) - A Principle Theme. Some primary astronomical and Binary number elements brought on to the Heelstone. Heelstone astronomy and 'artwork' linked.
This recently posted pic. on social media (August 2020) contained much fine detail of some basic themes for the understanding of the astronomy that leads to a solution for Stonehenge.
However, because of the need to carry out much editing and compression to get this pic to fit the space available on social media, clarity and resolution of some of the essential elements within the pic. may download with poor quality, possibly on some older device screens. Digits may be blurred and therefore data difficult to read. Therefore the individual elements of the pic are reproduced here at greater size. It is very important to be able to understand these elements as the whole story builds upon them.
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(Part (C)):-
This next section takes a closer look at the astronomy within the 'art-work' on the face of the Heelstone.
Stonehenge:- The Heelstone.
Date:- c. B.C. 2340
Time of day:- c. Summer solstice sunrise.
Stone aspect:- As seen from centre point of stone circles of monument. I.e. facing towards azimuth c. 50* 43'.
Pictures 1 and 2:-
This is the celestial configuration that took place at this date and time. The sun, as it rose , was encompassed by the Regulus Group of Regulus, 31 Leo, and 'Little stars' H833.1185 and 1062. This was a unique event to this epoch when Regulus and the sun were in conjunction at the solstice. It could not have happened in this way for many thousands of years before and may never repeat in this way again.
It is my proposition that this is why Stonehenge was built when it was and in the form of which we now see the remains.
As we can see, in the first pic., the sun is in the 'Heelmark', Regulus is almost in the notch on the top left-hand edge of the Heelstone, and the long, upward sloping slit of the Heelstone holds 'Little Stars' in the cavity at the bottom, which just happens to be at the centre of the stone. I also contend that the slit. although looking natural to some extent, has the centre lower edge that looks very much as though it was straightened in antiquity. The angle of the slope is c. 31* which is correct for rising celestial objects at this time and location.
This is the celestial configuration that is central to my whole proposition for the creation of Stonehenge As we see in pic. 1, it fits very neatly to the features of the face. But at this time the sun is rising on its track as shown, and all other celestial objects are also rising with it. Therefore the Group, as a whole, is rising. And shortly after pic.1 they come to the edge of the stone as shown in pic. 2. The light of the sun breaks around the edge of the stone and it quickly moves on to half orb. But as it reaches this point, the 'Little Stars' reach the mouth of the slit and are 'born' into the open sky.
Regulus also moves out beyond the stone edge and also marks this moment. Therefore these apparently very important two celestial objects have been born from their secure and safe hiding place, shepherded into the open world by Regulus and with the whole event given the greatest possible 'announcement' by the rising sun. And the notable feature of the whole event is that the sun was at its high point for the year at the solstice.
(It should be born in mind that this whole event took place at a time of day when the sun was rising and darkness had ceased. Therefore it would be the case that all stars were completely invisible. But six months later at midwinter the celestial sky would be in opposition to the sun and these stars would rise half a day away from the sun, i,e, in darkness. At this time another marker would be needed for the 'Little Stars'. This would be Regulus which would still be accompanying the two stars. This whole concept requires that there was a fairly sophisticated knowledge of how and when the celestial system functioned. This is likely to be a contentious point with many.)
Picture 3:-
is a basic grid plan of Regulus Group and the sun for B.C. 2340, summer solstice. It is shown in this way to clarify the actual celestial pattern of the important features and how they fit together. For reference the pic. demonstrates the astronomy involved in the Stonehenge plan.
Pictures 4 and 5 :-
These two pics. show the same basic scenario as that shown in 1 and 2, but I have attempted to adjust for 'Proper Motion' during c. 4350 years back from our present epoch.
It is slightly uncertain to obtain accurate values for this as different star data sources give different figures but a result is shown here. The main result is that the relative position of Regulus has changed slightly. It is a fairly small change but the result is to change the 'Little Star' within the focus of the Heelstone. Consequently the primary focus is now H833.828. This makes little actual difference to the result as all three are seen to be very close in the sky. And, at this point in time they are all very distant and very obscure.
Changing the result in this way has put Regulus in a better fit to the top of the Heelstone. It now fits the notch at top left-hand and rises more exactly with Little Star, top right-hand.
There is uncertainty as to which star is 'Little Star' because of these considerations. However I believe that the result is accurate enough for a starting point towards resolving this matter. I believe that it is feasible to focus on this very tiny area intensively. That is where progress can now be made.
One further point I would make is that everything discussed here is described and discussed in much greater detail in the main manuscript document:- 'Stonehenge 2020 - The Way Forward' on page 2 of this website
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Data 1: - (Part (D).
Data relevant to the Face of the Heelstone (This follows on from the previous section.)
Much of this work discussing celestial events that are described within the construction of Stonehenge is the result of consideration and application of the visible features on the face of the Heelstone. These are seen from the central area of Stonehenge. It seems useful to re-visit this basic part of the story and refresh some basic measurements and data. Dimensions of Heelstone features used are a mix of actual on-site measurement, and measurement obtained by scaling from original photographic prints obtained from photographic negatives taken with old-fashioned roll-film. This was before the era of digital photography.
(It is worth commenting that pictures obtained or reproduced from modern electronic devices have been digitalised. Such digital images have often been filed, copied, scanned, edited, inserted elsewhere, etc. and may be subject to some distortion. Their relative proportions may have subtle changes from the original object. They are best treated with caution if measurement / proportion is needed.)
WIDTH;- Measuring the Heelstone width with a tape measure is not as easy as it sounds. Like every other aspect of the Heelstone, nothing is straight or square. 'Effective' width, seen from the central area, is required. Therefore the opposite side to the circles (back side) is measured as it is sighted past the bulk of the Heelstone. At the time the back side was quite tight to the boundary fence and access was awkward.
The full width was measured at a point below the 'Slit' exit and also as low as was feasible with line of sight to the Trilithon central Arch position. Results of this were:- Effective width of Heelstone at height c. 5 ft. -- 3.2 metres (3200 mm.)
at height c. 2 ft. -- 3.33 metres (3330 mm.)
DISTANCE TO HEELSTONE;- Generally I have used the distance from the Great Trilithon Archway to the Heelstone for a number of reasons:-
1)-The Archway is where the two axes of Stonehenge appear to diverge, the sunrise axis to the N.W. edge of the Heelstone, and the main stellar axis to the N.E. edge.
2)- When we measured the azimuth of the Heelstone using the shadow from Great Trilithon upright No. 56 cast by a low winter setting sun, we used the edge of this Trilithon upright that formed the inner edge of this archway. Therefore our Heelstone azimuth measurements originate from this point.
3)- There does not seem ever to have been any other fixed point marked within the central area. It would not do to measure a fixed feature such as this distance from a vague 'X-marks-the-spot' point just because it 'seems' better.
Distance: Trilithon Archway to Heelstone widest point 87 metres
This distance forms the radius of a Great Circle with the Heelstone on the circumference.
By simple arithmetic this gives:- Angular width of Heelstone :-- at 5 ft. high 2* 6.45' (126.45 arc minutes)
at 2 ft. high 2*11.6' (131,6 arc minutes)
For calculation purposes within the main text I have therefore used a value for Heelstone width of 130 arc minutes.
From these results can be scaled the significant features of the Heelstone:-
1)- The Heelmark is taken to represent the sun on its rising track across the face.
Width of Heelmark obtained:- 00* 31.2'
Sun diameter at this point - range 00* 30' to 00* 32' -- Therefore the Heelmark width is correct.
2)- Perpendicular width obtained between Heelmark centre and Heelstone 'Slit' straightened lower edge:-
00* 53.3' B.C. 2340 sun track declination: 23* 57.4'
-subtract obtained value: 53.3'
therefore calculated value for Slit straight edge: 23* 4.1' Trilithon Binary value 23405
3). Width obtained, by scaling, between sunrise track and Regulus 'notch' on top N.W. edge of Heelstone.
00* 50.7'
Sun track declination: 23* 57.4'
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total: 24* 48.1'
B.C. 2340 Regulus declination: 24* 46'
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difference: 00* 02.1'
Difference 00* 02.1' is very small. There may be a difference in the Regulus track over 4500 years due to Proper Motion. Otherwise the result is still very close.
These results are very close to calculated values and values used generally throughout my main document. They also tie in well with the declination value assumed for the Heelstone Slit of 23* 4' derived from the Trilithon Binary Value of 23405.
Comment:-
1):- It was very fortunate that the Stonehenge builders chose to place the Heelstone at such a numerically significant distance from the Trilithon archway that produced all of these astronomical results. It could very easily have been placed several metres differently in either direction - a lucky chance?
2);- It was fortunate that they selected a stone with the rising slit at the correct position and rising towards the N.E. edge at c. 31* that matches the rising orbit tracks. And then placed the Heelstone just correctly to bring the Slit into the astronomical function that we can now see. ( Curiously I have personally never seen any other Sarsen with a natural slit even remotely like the one in the Heelstone.)
3):- It was fortunate that the Heelmark just matches the diameter of the sun. And that it is just at the correct distance above the 'track' of the Slit. And that the Heelmark front edge is just above the cavity at the bottom of the Slit.
4): Also that the slope of the Heelstone upper N.E. edge matches so well the alignment of Regulus, sun, 'Little Star', and 31 Leo as they rose c. B.C. 2340 summer solstice.
5): Finally (for now) that the notch in the upper N.W. edge closely matched the rising track for Regulus.
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