Great Zimbabwe - Part 2

Surveys on the site regarding any astronomical relations were undertaken only in the later part of the last century; as such not much is know but there are some interesting alignments.

According to Laurance R. Doyle of SETI and Edward W. Frank, at the Great Enclosure a large curved passageway 6.5 feet (2m) in width and about 98.2 feet (30m) in length with an open top would allow an observer on the summer solstice to see the whole curved stretch of the Milky Way. Refer to the COELI Stella 2000 starmap below.

Left: Great Enclosure, Great Zimbabwe National Monument. Corel photo.

At the top of the complex 2 16 feet high (5m) stones formed a slit which might have acted as a solar equinox marker. These measurements though, have not been verified. As a World Heritage site, Great Zimbabwe is a complex ready only beginning to be read and understood, and only recently are more people ready to take up the challenge.

Read Laurance and Edward's article here.

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