13
lithic pillars in the form of a T, within a series of dry-stone enclosures. They were
built by a completely unknown pre-ceramic, hunter-gatherer society, beginning
more than 11,000 years ago. Individual sanctuaries of this series were built presumably one after—and even upon—the other. Each one of them would have remained
in use for centuries, perhaps millennia, but was deliberately buried by the progenies
of their own constructors for unknown reasons. This is a very peculiar fact that has
certainly contributed to their excellent state of preservation despite of their great
antiquity. These monuments are mostly ellipsoidal in form and had megalithic
accesses mostly open to the S-SE that might define a preferred orientation (Fig. 1).
A series of mutually contradictory ideas have been put on the table (see Belmonte,
González-García, Rodríguez-Antón, & Shaltout, 2016).
However, what is undeniable is that between the series of monumental structures, there is one on the top of the hill, which has nearly rectangular walls almost
perfectly aligned according to the cardinal directions (Fig. 1). This circumstance
alone would force us to think that we are faced with a society that had looked at the
sky and used it as a guide to find appropriate ways of orientation in space and,
almost certainly, also in time. In this context, additional exercises could be performed, analysing the profuse T-pillar decoration where totemic representations of
animals are present. These might remind atavistic constellations, such as Leo,
Taurus or Scorpius, that can be recognize in the skies of other evolved cultures in
the region several centuries later. Besides, one of the pillars of the cardinally orientated hall, which was framing an altar on the eastern side of the structure, has a
representation of a lion; and Leo was rising with the vernal equinoctial sun precisely
at east in the epoch of construction of this particular shrine (Fig. 1). Are we facing
the genesis of the ‘equinox’ concept? Was this concept born in the plains of
Mesopotamia? This is indeed a most interesting point to be discussed but far from
the scopes of this essay (see, however, Steele, this volume).
2.1 ‘Megalithic’ Equinoxes
In the line of argument of the previous paragraphs, Clive has consistently argued
that: ‘it is far from self-evident, then, that any fundamental concept similar to our
equinox had any meaning, let alone any importance, to people in prehistory’
(Ruggles, 1997). This is an especially sensitive argument when megalithic monuments are considered. It would be farfetched to focus here on the many different
occasions that the equinox has been claimed to explain the orientation of certain
megalithic monuments in agreement to what has been termed the ‘megalithic equinox’ (Ruggles, 1999: 54), seldom interpreted as the day midway between the solstices. Hence, we will concentrate in three major examples: the large tumulus of
Knowth in Ireland, the dolmen of Viera in Antequera (Spain), and the temples of
Mnajdra in Malta. The tumulus is Knowth is a nice example of data overinterpretation. The two main corridor tombs located inside the tumulus are roughly orientated
east and west, respectively, and have accordingly been interpreted as equinoctially
What Equinox?
lithic pillars in the form of a T, within a series of dry-stone enclosures. They were
built by a completely unknown pre-ceramic, hunter-gatherer society, beginning
more than 11,000 years ago. Individual sanctuaries of this series were built presumably one after—and even upon—the other. Each one of them would have remained
in use for centuries, perhaps millennia, but was deliberately buried by the progenies
of their own constructors for unknown reasons. This is a very peculiar fact that has
certainly contributed to their excellent state of preservation despite of their great
antiquity. These monuments are mostly ellipsoidal in form and had megalithic
accesses mostly open to the S-SE that might define a preferred orientation (Fig. 1).
A series of mutually contradictory ideas have been put on the table (see Belmonte,
González-García, Rodríguez-Antón, & Shaltout, 2016).
However, what is undeniable is that between the series of monumental structures, there is one on the top of the hill, which has nearly rectangular walls almost
perfectly aligned according to the cardinal directions (Fig. 1). This circumstance
alone would force us to think that we are faced with a society that had looked at the
sky and used it as a guide to find appropriate ways of orientation in space and,
almost certainly, also in time. In this context, additional exercises could be performed, analysing the profuse T-pillar decoration where totemic representations of
animals are present. These might remind atavistic constellations, such as Leo,
Taurus or Scorpius, that can be recognize in the skies of other evolved cultures in
the region several centuries later. Besides, one of the pillars of the cardinally orientated hall, which was framing an altar on the eastern side of the structure, has a
representation of a lion; and Leo was rising with the vernal equinoctial sun precisely
at east in the epoch of construction of this particular shrine (Fig. 1). Are we facing
the genesis of the ‘equinox’ concept? Was this concept born in the plains of
Mesopotamia? This is indeed a most interesting point to be discussed but far from
the scopes of this essay (see, however, Steele, this volume).
2.1 ‘Megalithic’ Equinoxes
In the line of argument of the previous paragraphs, Clive has consistently argued
that: ‘it is far from self-evident, then, that any fundamental concept similar to our
equinox had any meaning, let alone any importance, to people in prehistory’
(Ruggles, 1997). This is an especially sensitive argument when megalithic monuments are considered. It would be farfetched to focus here on the many different
occasions that the equinox has been claimed to explain the orientation of certain
megalithic monuments in agreement to what has been termed the ‘megalithic equinox’ (Ruggles, 1999: 54), seldom interpreted as the day midway between the solstices. Hence, we will concentrate in three major examples: the large tumulus of
Knowth in Ireland, the dolmen of Viera in Antequera (Spain), and the temples of
Mnajdra in Malta. The tumulus is Knowth is a nice example of data overinterpretation. The two main corridor tombs located inside the tumulus are roughly orientated
east and west, respectively, and have accordingly been interpreted as equinoctially
What Equinox?