The archaeological record of the European Neolithic is marked by thousands of megalithic monuments of varied styles. Patterns in the orientation of similar megaliths betray a deliberate intent in their construction that can, in some cases, be related to topographic features or celestial events of prominence in the cosmology of their builders. A talk, by Dr Fabio Silva, entitled: Red Star and Snowy Mountain: Landscape, Skyscape and Megalithism in Neolithic NW Iberia, will introduce the field and methodologies of archaeo-astronomy, as complementary to other archaeological approaches. It will then apply them to the specific cases of the megalithic structures built in Northwest Iberia during the Mid to Late Neolithic (c. 4000 cal BC).
The talk is part of the Archaeology Society Malta lecture series, sponsored by APS Bank and will be held at the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, 173, St Christopher Street, Valletta on Wednesday, 29 March at 6pm.
Photo: The rising of the star Aldebaran at Cromeleque dos Almendres (Évora, Portugal) © Babak Tafreshi