Mayes Creative
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      • Lizard Beacons events >
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    • Dartmoor Residency March 25
    • Boscastle Residency Feb 25
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    • Spring In The Woods: Immersive Analogue May 23
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    • Cot Valley Residency Nov 22
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Learning Zone: Natural Navigation

Picture
Picture
Archaeoastronomy
Just as we do today, the people of the Neolithic and Bronze Age would try to make sense of the motions in the sky. The stone monuments in our landscape leave us clues as to how they did this. Many, we know, have been aligned to indicate positions of objects in the sky, the most common being stones that are aligned to the solar cycle, such as the Heel Stone at Stonehenge marking a solstice point.  Other stones are linked to the lunar cycle and some are suggested to have links with other celestial objects such as planets and stars. Archaeoastronomy attempts to understand the secrets that have been locked into the stones by studying the position and design of the monuments and linking them to the sky and landscape around them.
Motion of the Sun
We all learn at school that the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west and this is true for the equinox dates in March and September. As the Sun approaches its summer solstice position it will rise (in the northern hemisphere) at its most northerly position, arching high in the sky. The opposite is true at the winter solstice; at this time the Sun will rise in its most southerly position, staying low in the sky and setting after a few hours. The daily displacement of the Sun along the horizon follows this pattern over the course of a year, the time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun.

The change in the position of the Sun along the horizon is due to the tilt in the Earth which is currently 23.5°. In the Bronze Age this would have been even more pronounced as the Earth had a larger tilt of 24⁺. This means that the Sun at the solstice in the Bronze Age would rise and set another degree further along the horizon than it does currently. Sites which are linked to the solar cycle are Boscawen-ûn and Tregeseal stone circles.
Creative Production * Participatory Artwork * Performance * Experimental Film *
Contact Us
Our current programmes are supported by: National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, Feast Cornwall and Cornwall Council.
  • Home
  • ABOUT
    • Privacy Policy
    • Who We Are
    • Our Partners
    • Contact
  • PROJECTS
    • Mary Lockyer: Starlight >
      • Mary Lockyer Story
      • Star Stories - oral histories
      • Stithians Starry Campout
      • NLO Interview
    • Artist Opportunities >
      • Sonic Signatures Film Call
      • Workshops & Events >
        • Recent workshops
        • Station to Station & Star Train
        • Destination Dartmoor Okehampton Station Day 24th September
        • King Arthur's Hall Pinhole Camera Workshop
        • Watching The Sun: Residency
        • Seeing the Landscape: Creative Observations
        • Seventeen Suns
        • Measure To The Moon
    • Current Projects >
      • Destination Dartmoor
      • King Arthur's Hall
      • Dark Skies Wild Seas
      • Above and Below >
        • Above and Below Walks
      • Measuring The Universe
      • Watching The Sun
    • Projects Archive >
      • Starlight | Virtual Artist Residency 24th to 28th May 2021 >
        • Starlight: participants
        • Starlight: speakers and facilitators
        • Starlight: resources
      • Measure to the Moon
      • Dark Skies Bright Stars >
        • Stars & Stones: Sound & Film Jams
        • Deep Time: Filmmakers' opportunity
        • Immersive Film
        • Laila Diallo Choreography Day
        • Library events
        • Art Science Learning Events
        • DEEP SPACE: Performance
        • Full Circle: Immersion Weekend: Dance, voice, film
        • Full Circle: Film Workshops
        • Deep Time: Meteor Film Pod
        • 100ft of Deep Time Films
        • Sea Salts & Sail Festival
        • Call for Images
        • Call for Dance Performers
        • DSBS Bodmin Moor
        • 400 Light Years
      • Joanna Mayes - early projects >
        • Moon Journeys
        • The Grasses are Singing
        • The Public Record
        • The Star Project
    • WORKSHOP ARCHIVE >
      • Following The Light: Screening
      • Following The Light: Residency
      • Walking The Universe
      • Lizard Point Residency Exhibitions
      • Lizard Point Networking
      • St Ives Sept Festival
      • Poltesco: Drawing workshop/walk
      • Semaphore Stories
      • Lizard Wireless: Drawing workshops
      • Lizard Beacons events >
        • Lizard Point Artist Residency
        • Kids Invent Stuff
      • Lands End: May Film Weekend
      • Workplace Wonders: Spring Equinox Edition – Inspiration for the creatively curious >
        • Spring Equinox Short Course
      • Loop the Loop with Cornwall Libraries
      • Rays of Sunshine
      • Education >
        • Penzance Schools
        • Water From The Moor
      • Kelly Mine
      • Community >
        • Remapping St Ives Website
        • Remapping St Ives
      • Cafe Scientifique
      • Twinkle Twinkle, St Ives
      • A Festival of Wishes
  • Residencies
    • Dartmoor Residency March 25
    • Boscastle Residency Feb 25
    • Cot Valley Residency Jan 24
    • Cot Valley Residency Nov 23
    • Spring In The Woods: Immersive Analogue May 23
    • Dartmoor Residency Jan 23
    • Cot Valley Residency Nov 22
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Residency FAQs
  • Resources
    • The Learning Zone >
      • Natural Navigation
      • Everyday Astronomy
      • Astronomy Manga
    • Publications
  • Services
    • Artist Support Service
    • MC Technology
    • Remote Live Streaming Service