The nuraghic well of Santa Cristina, Paulilatino, Oristano, Sardinia. A verification of the astronomical hypothesis: work in process, preliminary results
Volume 10 (2008): Astronomy and Cosmology in Folk Traditions and Cultural Heritage, pp. 155–162
Pub. online: 20 December 2008
Type: Article
Open Access
Open Access
Received
29 October 2007
29 October 2007
Revised
20 September 2008
20 September 2008
Published
20 December 2008
20 December 2008
Abstract
The Nuraghic well of Santa Cristina, Sardinia has been regarded as a ritual monument built to receive moonlight on its water mirror at the time of the meridian passage of the moon when it reaches its highest point in the sky during and around the major northern lunistice. In this paper we investigate the precision that could have been achieved and conclude that the well could indeed have served as an instrument for measuring the lunar declination during half of the draconic cycle of 18.61 years.