De Vlaamse literatuur op onbegane wegen

Scheltema, T. W. L.; Weisgerber, Jean

doi:10.2307/40099181

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“…38 This former Dutch ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom is very critical of astronomical proposals because there are in reality too many different directions, even within one particular field. He cherished for some time the idea that the dolmens were built in parallel to the slope of the hill or wadi on which they stand (which is indeed not the case on many occasions, see for example Figure 1), but he defends the idea that an orientation to a cult centre, as in Matabi, as the most likely hypothesis, although not proven or even useful in particular cases.…”

Section: The Current Status Of the Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Orientation of Megalithic Monuments of the Transjordan Plateau: New Clues for an Astronomical Interpretation

Belmonte

González-García

Polcaro

2013

Journal for the History of Astronomy

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Orientation studies have recently received considerable attention in the archaeological domain as a source of information that may shed light on a number of anthropological issues, such as belief systems or landscape and territory understanding by past cultures. This is especially important in those cultural contexts, such as the megalithic phenomena, where there are no written sources. Megalithic monument orientations can in many instances be explained only within an astronomical context, as has been shown by extensive archaeoastronomical fieldwork surveys and by statistical approaches to the problem. 1 Most of the surveys so far have been concentrated on the western Mediterranean and the European Atlantic façade. However, in present day Jordan, on the plateau to the east of the Jordan River valley are some of the largest and most attractive groups of dolmens in the Levant. 2 These stand comparison with the best exemplars of the West (see Figure 1). There have been a couple of preliminary attempts to analyse the orientation of these groups, but nothing systematic or conclusive has been produced so far. 3 This is especially troubling because specialists are now faced with the rapid destruction of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan's megalithic heritage, due to the building expansion which has converted several of the zones where the necropolises are located -and even the monuments themselves -into gigantic quarries, so as to obtain stone for construction and urban development. Figure 2 illustrates the situation. Being partially aware of this, 4 the authors planned a rescue campaign in the field in December 2011 to document the precise orientation of as many dolmens as the circumstances would permit, in a number of conspicuous and well documented necropolises.Since the nineteenth century, the British Palestine Exploration Fund has carried out archaeological surveys and expeditions on the eastern bank of the Jordan River, around the main ruins of Rabbat Ammon, the modern Amman, and in the area

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Section: The Current Status Of the Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%