Goseck,+Germany+(Astronomical+Site)

One of the most prominent ancient-astronomical finds in Europe was discovered and rebuilt in Goseck, Gemany. Called the German Stonehenge, the site, a set of circular ditches 75 meters across with a few gates and inner rings, is considered the world's first (and surprisingly accurate) solar observatory, based on what has been found. It was built around 5000 B.C, while Stonehenge was built around 3100 B.C. The site at Goseck was originally made of wood instead of rock, and rotted away long ago, but is still considered one of the best preserved sites from around the same era.

Many structures similar to the one found at Goseck have been seen from the air, but resouces are given to only research a few, about 10%, of them. It was originally thought that the Goseck observatory was a fence of sorts, but there were no traces of anything inside to protect.

The walls' three gates face North, Southeast, and Southwest. During the winter solstice, the sun would rise through the southeast gate, and would set in the southwest gate. It is possible that certain ceremonies were performed here, as a headless skeleton, animal bones, and traces of fires were found.



About 20 kilometers from the site at Goseck is the site where the Nebra Sky disk was discovered. At first thought to be a forgery, it is, effectively, the oldest portable calendar. It has a diameter of 32 centimeters, and is around 3600 years old, compared to the Goseck Circle's 7000. There is yet a link to be described between the two.

In this picture of the Nebra Sky Disk, the arc in the far right marks the angle of the suns rising and setting range throughout the year, from the summer solstice to the winter solstice. This was accurately measured by the ancient observers to be 82 degrees. It serves the same purpose as Stonehenge and Goseck-like circular ditches: to tell when the farmers were to plant and/or harvest their crops. The circle represents the sun or full moon, the crescent represents the crescent moon, and the dots are stars. It is speculated that the "rainbow" arc at the bottom represents either the Milky way or the "Solar Barge," a ship that was believed to carry the sun across the sky.

References: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,942824,00.html http://starryskies.com/articles/2003/12/german.observatory.html http://www.archaeology.org/0607/abstracts/henge.html http://www.donsmaps.com/skydisc.html

Diane Ramic