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The diachronic study of orientations: Mérida, a case study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2011

A. César González-García  and
Lourdes Costa-Ferrer
A. César González-García
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias & Universidad de La Laguna, Vía Láctea s.n. 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain email: [email protected]
Lourdes Costa-Ferrer
Affiliation:
Independent Scholar, Tenerife, Spain email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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The study of orientations is a key ingredient in most archaeoastronomical research. Typically, a number of synchronistic monuments belonging to a given culture or cultural horizon are measured and studied in order to see if they share a similar orientation. If an astronomical orientation appears, we may apply other archaeoastronomical procedures to justify further conclusions.

On a few occasions we perform studies that compare, for a given site, monuments of different periods. At most two or three periods are usually compared to verify persistence or to check for evolution in customs of orientation. We argue here that it would also be interesting to study orientations from a diachronic point of view, in order to investigate the persistence/evolution of this particular conception of space through time.

Mérida (Extremadura, Spain) and the neighbouring areas present a rich and highly interesting monumental heritage spanning from the Neolithic to the present, with monuments belonging to several different periods and cultures.

In the present study we will review the orientation of the monuments in that area. We will present some conclusions on the evolution/persistence of customs of orientation and value the applicability of this method to other areas.

Keywords

orientationcomparative studiesmethodologyRoman towns
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 7 , Symposium S278: “Oxford IX” International Symposium on Archaeoastronomy , January 2011 , pp. 374 - 381
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2011

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