Overview

This study of archaeoastronomy looks at more than 2,500 communal tombs and sanctuaries from around the Mediterranean. After a brief discussion of Hoskin's aims and the methodology for his fieldwork, individual chapters focus on evidence from particular regions: Malta, Gozo, the Balearics, Iberia, southern France, Corsica and Sardinia, Sicily and Pantelleria, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. The author concludes that in most of these regions the monuments faced sunrise, or more generally the sun when it was rising or climbing in the sky. Along the Mediterranean coast of France, however, there is a reverse sunset custom; in North Africa tombs faced downhill and in a Minoan cemetery on Crete all the tombs faced moonrise and look towards a mountain on whose peak was a sanctuary probably sacred to a lunar god. ` adorned with dozens of beautiful photographs, technical diagrams, and an extraordinary Corpus Mensurarum.....a living masterpiece in the field of archaeoastronomy ' - Juan Antonio Belmonte, Instituto de Astroficia de Canarias `

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9780954086718

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Reviews

'This much-anticipated synthesis of Michael Hoskin's extended study of Mediterranean temple and tomb orientations delivers new insights into the study of evolution of prehistoric calendars and timekeeping.' - Anthony F. Aveni, Colgate University '...adorned with dozens of beautiful photographs, technical diagrams, and a extraordinary Corpus Mensurarum.......a living masterpiece in the field of archaeoastronomy' - Juan Antonio Belmonte, Instituto de Astrofiscia de Canarias

Author Information

Michael Hoskin is a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, and before his retirement was Head of Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge University. He is the editor of The General History of Astronomy, The Cambridge Illustrated History of Astronomy and The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy.

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