Omaha daily bee., 1907-02-10

built over an earlier monument to the
May-Eovember year Most British monu-
ments, on the other hand. have their princi-
pal sight lines set for the more primitive
year beginning early in May. These are,
70 which have been added sight lines for
| the observation of the solstices and .edui-
noxes. Not only in the British Isles. but
| also across the Chanel in Brittany, the sun
| rise for May determined the location OF
the chief stone blocks or earth mounds.
The Egyptians told time at night by the
stars. running sight lines on the more
prominent ones which happened TO be near
enough the pole to be visible nearly all
night. So, too. did the druids. And be-
cause a star is a far better mark to sight at
| than the sun. and because the positions Of
the stars are more conveniently computed
for past dates than positions OF the sun,
Loclxyer has been able TO determine the
dates OF British stone monuments to within
ten years.
Eleven different sight lines In Cornwall
alone are set to use Arcturus as a clock
star. The earliest date thus fixed at
Tregaseai is $50 B. c. Five more come
between this date and 5000 Then follow
1880. 1900 1880 1720. and so on down to 1850
and 1870 B. c.
Capalla. though It has only four known
sight lines. was used as late as 1sD B. c.,
while the pleiades served as clock stars IN
iz7o and 1880 OF the older era Most OF
these clock stars were chosen because
they rose an hour or two before the sun
on one or other Of the festal days and
gave warning Of the approach Of day
Thus the star also. as well a. the sun, dif-
ferentiltes the cults.
Il III "a.
near Penzance the Merry Maidens," sight
ing points sometimes a quarter mile or
more away, mark the points on the horizon
! where Arcturus rose In August OF 1850
B. c. and CapeIla IN February Of A6o
Two more lines mark the setting Of the
Plelades In May Of 1866 and AntaFes In
May Of 1s10.
-Four more lines are now too vague 10
be used for computations. though at least
three Of these also are related to the May
year. This. then, was q temple Of the
hawthorn-ash tree cult Stonehenge also
has a line on the rising Pleiades. In 1850.
an Inheritance evidently from the older
structure.
It is possible. therefore, by means Of
Astronomical methods not only TO deter
mine with much accuracy the time At which
some prehistoric stone monument was set
up. but also IN general way how long
the temple OF which it is a part remained
in use. For as the clock stars shifted
their apparent position and no longer rose
or set at convenient points or times. the
early astronomers adopted other stars In
| their places.
They also built new observatories OF. Il
the change was small. ran new sight
line from an old one Thus at the HurIers
IN Cornwall three circles. evidently from
their conditions OF different ages. are placed
nearly. but not quite. In straight line.
The southsrnmost Is the Oldest
From Il sight lines on distant points
mark on the horizon the sunrise and sunset
for November. while the same lines. taken
In the reverse direction. give approximately
sunset and sunrise for May. To the north
runs a sight line 70 the point Whsra
Arcturus. rising. cut the horizon In mo
But IN about 100 years Arcturus had
ceased 70 keep accurate time on the old
basis. The Druids. therefore built a new
circle, with It's center On the old sight line,
and ran new line three degrees farther 10
the east 70 hit the rising Of the star Ia
2os0 Once more they repeated the process.
building the third circle on the sight line
OF the second. and locating their line By a
barrow some 4,0oo yards away. This was n
lSoO.
OF the shin after the next hundrsd years
there b now no sign In HO. however.
they located the rising Of Betslgeuse By a
line running nearly east; and twenty years
LATER another line. little south q west
marked the setting point q Antzrss. while
a stiu later line marked the rising % SIRIUS
n lGa These four sight lines. then. start