Archaeoastronomical study of Christian churches in Fuerteventura

TL;DR

This study investigates the orientations of Christian churches in Fuerteventura to determine if astronomical factors influenced their construction, revealing most are aligned with solar positions, differing from other Canary Islands.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed archaeoastronomical analysis of Fuerteventura's churches, highlighting a predominant solar alignment pattern distinct from neighboring islands.

Findings

Most churches are oriented within the solar azimuth range.

Orientation patterns differ from those on Lanzarote and La Gomera.

Results suggest possible astronomical or cultural influences on church placement.

Abstract

We present an archaeoastronomical study of the orientations of the colonial Christian churches on the island of Fuerteventura, in the Canary Islands, Spain, mostly built from the period of the Norman conquest in the 15th century to the 19th century. Our goal is to analyze the possible astronomical influence on the orientation of these churches. Preliminary results suggest that the vast majority of the island's religious constructions have their axes oriented within the solar range, between the extreme azimuths of the annual movement of the Sun as it crosses the local horizon. This differs from what was found on the islands of Lanzarote and La Gomera (also in the Canaries) previously studied.