Introduction

Modern people have been intrigued by the numerous stone circles left by mysterious ancient cultures. Technological marvels of their time, modern scientists have spent a great deal of energy and resources trying to decipher not only the methods of how these monuments came into being, but why they were built in the first place. Studies seem to indicate that one purpose was to serve as an astronomical calendar which marked out important events in the night sky.

As part of our study into archaeoastronomy and to gain an appreciation for the intense involvement and dedication of these ancient astronomers, you, along with two other students, will be designing and constructing a scale model of your very own stone circle complete with astronomical alignments. Luckily for you, you have such instruments as computers and calculators to aid you in completing your design. To get you started, you will explore some of the ancient stone circles that have been built.

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You have a large job ahead of you. Your stone circle project has many components that need to be completed.

The circle must meet the following requirements:

• actual size: 15m - 20m
• astronomical alignments (this is a minimum, you may do more)
  • Polaris alignment
  • 4 solar alignments
  • 1 stellar alignment
  • 1 lunar or meteor shower alignment
• be aesthetically pleasing (You can have additional stones incorporated into the design which have no alignments whatsoever, if you choose.)

Your final project will consist of the following components:

• a completed Think Sheet
• a scaled blueprint of your circle
• a 1/50th scale model of your circle
• a typed narrative
• a typed materials list
• a webpage which includes the above information (I supply the following template for you to use.)
• a brief written, individual reflection paper

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This is what you need to do in order to complete this project.

1) First, you will be assigned to a team of three students.

2) You need to look at some ancient stone circles and complete the Think Sheet. You can do this by accessing some of the following websites or by looking up your own at Google or Yahoo.

• The Stone Circle Webring Site List *Updated*
• The Megalithic Map
• Stone Pages
• The Big Horn Medicine Wheel
• New England Antiquities Research Association
• The Gungywamp Society *Updated*
• America's Stonehenge
• The Prehistoric Web Index of Ancient Sites
• Archaeoastronomy, Middle East & Africa *Updated*
  
  

There are some books in the classroom to help you out too. You may not remove these from the classroom, as they are shared resources. You may find them very helpful, so don't forget about them! They are:

• Skywatching by David Levy
• Abell's Exploration of the Universe by Morrison, Wolff, & Fraknoi
• Ancient Astronomers by Anthony F. Aveni
• Stone Circles, A Modern Builder's Guide to the Megalithic Revival by Rob Roy

You may also want to look in the library for additional resources.

The Think Sheet also helps you figure out how to find the information you need for your next step.

3) You and your teammates will need to determine which alignments you will use in your circle. Research and calculate where your alignment choices will place your stones. At this point you may want to create a couple of draft sketches of some of your circle ideas. You may want to check a number of different alignments and choose the ones which work best into your circle concept. Don't forget that you must consider the overall look of your site. Some websites that might help you find information on solar, lunar and other alignments can be found here:

• Mid Atlantic Geomancy ArchaeoAstronomy Orthographic Projections Page *Updated*
• US Naval Observatory
• The Earth, the Sun, and the Moon *Updated*
• The International Meteor Organization *Updated*
• Sky & Telescope Meteor Page *Updated*
  
  

4) Create a scaled blueprint. You can choose the scale. All measurements must be metric.

5) Create your model. This should be as realistic looking as possible. The scale of the model needs to be 1/50th of the actual size.

6) Create a written narrative in Word which explains your choice of astronomical alignments and how they were determined. Be sure to include your calculations where necessary. Also, include a plan as to how you would actually go about constructing the circle. Will you do this by hand or use modern machines?

7) Create a materials list in Word which includes a general list of equipment needed to construct the circle. Also include the size and composition of the stones and approximate weight calculations. (Note: For vertical stones, 1/3 of the stone must be buried for stability.)

8) Complete your web presentation by using the given template. You will need to take a digital picture of your model and a picture of your team. You will also need to scan your blueprint. You can personalize the page if you want, but you must include all of the information requested on the template. It is easy to copy and paste the text from your Word document into the web template This should be a breeze and everyone will be able to see your great project!

9) Finally, write an individual reflective piece about what you learned in this project. Make sure that the following questions are answered. Has this changed your perspective of ancient archaeoastronomical sites? How has the study of astronomy changed over time? If you were to do this project again, what would you do differently? What worked well? Would you ever consider constructing a stone circle in the future?

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You will receive an individual grade on this project as well as a group grade on the finished pieces you are creating. These will be combined to create your overall grade. You can look at the project grade sheet on-line.

Individual Grade Components (50 points)

• Think Sheet
• Individual Log Sheets
  • You will need to keep a log documenting the amount of time you spend on the various tasks you do while working on this project. Logs will be checked on a regular basis and will count towards your individual grade. Please keep track of in class and out of class time. You will be given a log sheet to do this or you can find one on-line.
• Class Participation
  • Are you working during class time without being told? Are you participating during class discussions?
• Group Evaluation
  • You will be given a chance to evaluate yourself and your team members. You can see a sample of the group evaluation form on-line. Remember, just being a body in a group doesn't mean you should get full credit. You have to work.
• Reflective Writing

Group Grade Components (150 points)

• Blueprint
  • All Alignments Correct
  • Size Correct
  • Measurements
  • Neatness
  • Accuracy
• Scale Model
  • Accuracy
  • Correct Scale
  • Realism & Aesthetics
• Written Narrative
  • All materials & Calculations
• Materials List
• Webpage

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Hopefully, you will come away from this project with a better understanding of stone circles, astronomical alignments and the importance of both to our ancestors! Also, my wish is that you have a better understanding of how different sciences interact with other subject areas.

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I created the background and graphic for this page. I want to thank my last Earth, Moon and Stars class for trying my first draft of this project. Too bad I didn't do it this way before, it would have been much better!

Also, although the idea for this was put together before I ever read the Stone Circles book by Rob Roy, it has been invaluable as a resource!

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