The Prototype of Ancient Analemmatic Sundials (Rostov Oblast, Russia)

TL;DR

This study analyzes petroglyphs on a unique stone slab in Rostov Oblast, demonstrating its potential as a prototype for analemmatic sundials and exploring its use for developing sundial markup technology across different latitudes.

Contribution

The paper identifies the Varvarinsky slab as a prototype for analemmatic sundials and proposes its use as a model for sundial markup at various geographical latitudes.

Findings

The slab has elliptically arranged wells similar to those on Srubna burial plates.

Astronomical methods confirm the wells as hour markers for sundials.

The slab can serve as a model for sundial markup at different latitudes.

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of petroglyphs on a unique stone slab discovered near the kurgan 1 of the kurgan field Varvarinsky I (Rostov Oblast, Russia). During the study was done comparing it with plates of Srubna burials on which were depicted the petroglyphs. Similar features for all the considered slabs are elliptically arranged wells. Groove made to Varvarinsky stone slab, has the same parameters as the ellipse from the wells on the slab of the kurgan field Tavriya -1, discovered in the Rostov region, too. With the help of astronomical methods previously been proved that elliptically located wells on the Srubna slabs are hour markers of analemmatic sundial. By results of the use of similar methods to study complex of petroglyphs on Varvarinsky slab, it was concluded that the slab could be used for development of the technology of markup of sundial on different geographical latitudes. Also, Varvarinsky slab could serve as a model example for a markup of the ellipse on which subsequently extorted wells for latitudes, close to the latitude of the place of slab detection. Thus, Varvarinsky stone slab is the prototype of analemmatic sundials, discovered in the Rostov and Donetsk oblasts. analemmatic sundial, srubna burial, slab, wells, gnomon, model sample, archaeoastronomy.