[NatureNS] Fw: 60 post Neolithic ring; very long

From: David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com>
To: NatureNS@chebucto.ns.ca
Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 16:33:31 -0300
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Sent by accident to DW hence forwarded.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David & Alison Webster" <dwebster@glinx.com>
To: "David and Alison Webster" <dwebster@glinx.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2014 4:31 PM
Subject: 60 post Neolithic ring; very long


> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Stephen Shaw" <srshaw@Dal.Ca>
> To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
> Sent: Monday, August 18, 2014 2:25 AM
> Subject: RE: [NatureNS] Neolithic stone rings etd.
>
> But subunits of 60 segments are not part of this series, so that remains 
> rawhide-unexplained too.
>> Steve (Hfx)
>
> Hi Steve & All,                                    Aug 23, 2014
>    Before launching into the 60 post circle I wish to make clear that I am 
> in no position to say that these circles were installed as observatories 
> nor divine how they located the positions for these posts.
>
>    But I think it is fair to say that such circles could have been used to 
> record the apparent motion  of the sun back and forth along the horizon in 
> the course of the year and if they were astute enough to build this circle 
> around a NS baseline then their records would be symmetrical, easier 
> therefore to grasp and less vulnerable to recording errors (West & East 
> readings should agree within measurement error).
>    In addition, if your survival depends upon crops grown then a calendar 
> (or some persons dedicated to keeping track of the seasons) is vital. And 
> in case those persons forget to carve a notch for a given day or two then 
> the observatory plus records would jog their memory. In a crude way such 
> circles could also be used to tell time with reference to sunrise (after 
> sunrise) or sunset (before sunset).
>    But most of all, there was not much leisure time back then so why would 
> they have put so much time and effort into building these rings if they 
> were of no practical use ? If not for analog calendar and perhaps trying 
> to understand the pattern or sun movement (& perhaps moon movement) then 
> why do it ?
>
>    Getting back to the 60 post circle one would as before lay out a NS 
> baseline and then, taking a new tack, install two posts at right angles to 
> this baseline. Each of these quarters would eventually have 15 spaces 
> between posts on the circumference. The distance between all four posts 
> (N-E-S-W-N) should be equal and the astute ring designer would check these 
> distances and make necessary adjustments before proceeding.
>
>    The number 15 can not be divided by halving so, assuming that formal 
> math was unknown, other ways must be used that require only a crude 
> counting system and a bit of logic from first principles. I soon realized 
> that a stone age method to divide a hypothetical 6' diameter marble disk 
> into 360 degrees would be impractical for dividing a large ring into 60 
> parts so took a different tack. This became too involved to follow without 
> a figure so I filed an image on Flickr at---
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/91817127@N08/15011112022/in/photostream/
>
>    First of all what is being divided ? Initially only the arc of the 
> radius running between two of the posts (e.g. North and East) is known so 
> that is the problem: how to divide this arc of unknown length into 15 
> equal lengths. And to do this readily one must derive a unit of measure 
> that is equal to unit edge of a 60 sided regular polygon that just fits 
> within the circle (these terms are for communication by e-mail not for 
> doing the practical job).
>
> Materials for measuring the arc between two corner posts e.g. North and 
> East:
> 1) Four boat shaped measuring sticks about a foot long with a pointed prow 
> and a notched stern to receive the point of boat behind it; call these 
> boatlets. The working length (prow tip to notch point) should be the same 
> for all four.
> 2) The radius strand that was used to locate the North & South posts.
> 3) A leather shoulder bag with pebbles for use as counting and recording 
> aids (pacing along the arc would indicate roughly the number required). 
> and an empty basket to record each time a boatlet is placed along the arc 
> by moving a pebble from the bag to the basket.
> 4) a wedge shaped slab of wood or rock coming to a point at one end and 
> not less than a boatlet wide at the other end.
> 5) Four staff:
>    one to walk from the East post to the North post, just ahead of the 
> other three, with the radius strand pulled tight,
>    one to place  boatlets along the arc defined by the radius strand 
> (stern notch to prow),
>    one to move a pebble from the bag to the basket whenever a boatlet is 
> placed and
>      one to hold the string of three or four boatlets and pass the rear 
> one forward to the placer.
>
>    Unless by some fluke the arc length were exactly equal to some whole 
> number of boatlets there will be gap between the prow of the last boatlet 
> and the near side of the North post. Insert the wedge into this gap so one 
> edge touches the prow and the other touches the post and mark these two 
> points on the wedge so this length can be measured. On a scrap of flat 
> stone record the approximate radius of the North and East posts (This is 
> needed because the arc has been measured between proximal sides of the 
> posts.)
>
>    Now the full length of the arc is known as the recorded number of 
> boatlets (the number of pebbles in the basket) + the wedge line + the two 
> post radii. The next task is division of this total length into 15 equal 
> parts.
>
> Materials for division of arc:
> 1) a straight edge about 5' long.
> 2) a flat rock about 14" x 14" squared on one corner for drawing right 
> angles.
> 3) a flat slab of rock not less than 3 boatlets long and one boatlet wide 
> on one end or both ends.
> 4) a scrap of hard rock (flint or quartzite) that is flat near a sharp tip 
> for inscribing lines on #3.
> 5) Fifteen isolated compartments (bowls, areas of hide segregated by flat 
> rocks, hollows in sandy soil etc.) into which pebbles from the basket can 
> be transferred after the full arc has been measured.
>
> Methods for division of arc:
>    Using the above straight edge, chose the longest side of large flat 
> slab (#3) that has a surface most free of humps and hollows, chose this to 
> be the lower edge of the slab and inscribe a straight line near this edge 
> (slab baseline). Using the square (#2), draw a line that is perpendicular 
> to the baseline, of length equal to or greater than a boatlet and near the 
> end of greatest slab width [for ease of description assume this to be near 
> the right end of the baseline]. Call this corner B and mark on the 
> perpendicular the exact working length of a boatlet measuring from corner 
> B to upper point A.
>   Take a linen thread that is slightly longer than the baseline and fold 
> it back on itself four times, mark this length (1/16 of the