Archaeologia Baltica

In this work we conduct a study of the orientations of 12 megalithic enclosures in the Alentejo (southern Portugal). Some of these sites date back to the sixth or fifth millennia B.C., and so are among the oldest stone enclosures in Europe. The results of the survey show a pattern of easterly (rising) orientations. In particular, we relate our results to previous studies by Michael Hoskin and colleagues, on the orientations of the seven-stone dolmens in this area, which have shown the existence of a possible sun rising orientation custom.

This paper presents a preliminary approach to the problem of royal tomb orientation in ancient Egypt from the early dynastic mausoleums at the necropolis of Umm al Qab to the impressive subterranean chambers of the tombs at the Valley of the Kings (Biban al Muluk). This clearly shows that the correct orientation of the monuments, from the earlier mastabas to the later hypogea, was mandatory and that the sky plays a key role in understanding ancient Egyptian funerary monuments.

Spread over south-eastern Bulgaria, northern Greece and the European part of Turkey are a large number of megalithic tombs. These dolmens were built from around the twelfth century BC to about the sixth century BC. The monuments were built with well cut slabs, defining a rectangular space with a roof. A small hole marks the entrance. A dromos is also present in some dolmens and all of these structures used to be covered by a tumulus. We present the first results from a series of campaigns devoted to measuring the orientation of these structures. The first campaign was carried out in the Strandja Mountains where 31 dolmens (among other monuments) were measured. The dolmens are not orientated at random, and a particular pattern of orientation has been found for the entrance of these monuments. Several tentative explanations are attempted and supported with information provided by contemporary Greek sources.