Abstract
The hypothesis that many prehistoric standing stone sites in Britain were set up, in relation to natural horizon marks, as astronomical observing instruments has been controversial for the past two decades. Although based primarily on statistical arguments, whether or not it stands will depend on the outcome of practical tests; it must prove able to predict at some sites the occurrence of archaeological features which can then be found by excavation. We report here on the findings at Brainport Bay in Argyllshire of artificial features pointing towards the midsummer sunrise that have been dated suitably early and of another feature indicating alignment towards the sunset at the equinox, that was first predicted and then discovered. These results seem to provide strong support for Thom's hypothesis that calendrically useful solar markers existed in Scotland at least as early as the Bronze Age.
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MacKie, E., Gladwin, P. & Roy, A. A prehistoric calendrical site in Argyll?. Nature 314, 158–161 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/314158a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/314158a0
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