Astronomical orientation analysis of three proto-historical sites in Friuli - Italy
Ferdinando Patat, Susi Corazza

TL;DR
This study used digital elevation models to analyze three proto-historical earthwork sites in Friuli, Italy, testing for astronomical alignments, but found no significant solar or lunar orientation patterns.
Contribution
The paper provides a detailed re-analysis of site orientations using digital models, challenging previous claims of astronomical alignments.
Findings
No systematic solar or lunar alignments detected
Digital elevation models used for precise orientation analysis
Previous hypotheses of astronomical alignments not supported
Abstract
In this paper we present the results of an archaeoastronomical survey of three proto-historical sites located in the high Friulian plain (Galleriano, Gradisca and Savalons), dating from the end of the Early Bronze Age (1900 B.C.) to the end of the Late Bronze Age (950 B.C.). These structures, commonly indicated as castellieri, are earthworks of quadrangular shape, with sides ranging from 140 to 250 m. At present the perimetrical earthen embankments reach a maximum base width of 18 m and an elevation of more than 5 m the surrounding plain in their best preserved parts. These three sites were often reported in the literature to have the corners aligned to the cardinal directions. Aveni and Romano (1986) included two of them (Galleriano and Gradisca) in their study of earthworks in Veneto and Friuli (Italy), tentatively proposing astronomically relevant alignments for some sides and…
Peer Reviews
No public reviews on file for this paper yet. If you reviewed it on a platform where reviews are public (OpenReview, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML), you can paste yours below so the community can read it here.
Videos
No videos yet. Explain this paper in a talk, walkthrough, or lecture? Add one.
Taxonomy
TopicsHistorical and Architectural Studies · Historical Astronomy and Related Studies · History and Developments in Astronomy
