30. Classifying ancient and sacred places according to properties of latitude
Updated: Sep 20
Many important places from the ancient world, or in the religious world, seem to be on very similar latitudes. I first began to look more deeply into this when I looked at Le Puy-en-Velay in the south of France, home to formidable, rocky structures dedicated to the Archangel Michael and the Virgin Mary. Le-Puy-en-Velay is famous for its chapel to Saint Michael, perched on top of a volcanic plug, and the huge red statue of Our Lady overlooking the city, even higher up. The cathedral there is a UNESCO world heritage site, and is on the pilgramage route to Compostela.
Le Puy is on a very similar latitude to the Sacra di San Michele, a religious complex on Mount Pirchiriano, in the Italian Alps, and the Sacro Monte di Crea, further to the east, and dedicated to Mary. The link between these places is as much in the latitude, as in the connection to high up or rocky places, and the dedication to the Archangel Michael and / or the Virgin Mary. The coordinates of these three places are:
Sacro Monte di Crea: 45° 5′ 41″ N, 8° 16′ 11″ E
Sacra di San Michele: 45° 5′ 52.92″ N, 7° 20′ 36.56″ E
Le-Puy-en-Velay: 45° 2′ 40″ N, 3° 53′ 5″ E
Specifically, at this latitude, on the the 15th May, which is the Phi point between the 17th March (day of equal day and night) and the summer solstice, daylight and night-time are in Phi ratio, with 14:49:58 hours of daylight. Phi is the golden ratio, approximately 1.61803, and it seems to make a double appearance here.
Number of days between 17 March and 21 June: 96
96 / 1.61803 = 59.33141
59 days after the 17th March is the 15th of May.
Number of daylight hours at Le-Puy-en-Velay on the 15th May 2023: 14 hours 50 minutes 51 seconds (according to www.sunearthtools.com)
Number of daylight hours at the Sacra di San Michele: 14 hours 51 minutes 9 seconds
Number of daylight hours at the Sacro Monte di Crea: 14 hours 51 minutes 7 seconds
If you were to divide a 24 hour period into two parts according to the golden ratio, or Phi, you would get one part of 889.97114 minutes, and the other of 550.03189 minutes, which works out as 14 hours 49 minutesand 58 seconds, and 9 hours 10 minutes and 2 seconds, respectively.
It seemed to me there was a trend for placing sacred places on elevated sites dedicated to the Virgin Mary or to the Archangel Michael along this latitude, characterised by a double Phi connection: a Phi ratio of daylight to night, at the Phi point in the year between the spring day of equal day and night, and the longest day, the 21st June.
The equinox is not the day of equal day and night, despite the name. The equinox is about the earth's axis being directly perpendicular to the Sun-Earth line, and is valid for all places on earth at precisely the same time and day. Whereas the day of equal day and night varies according to latitude, and occurs at a different date to the equinox. The day of equal day and night at this latitude, and for Europe generally, is on the 17th or 18th of March, depending on the year. In a year when the day of equal day and night is on the 18th March, the Phi point between this day and the first day of the solstice would be the "14.7th" May, so, basically the 15th also.
1. A Phi line through France and Italy
I was surprised then to find that the Basilica in Bordeaux, though not in a rocky place, but also dedicated to St Michael, and the Pic Saint Michel in the Alps, a simple mountain peak named after the Archangel, were also on very similar latitudes. What was more, the Pic was at the same distance from Le Puy as it was from the Sacra. Then I found that other famous rocky sites in France, Rocamadour and Notre-Dame-de-la-Roque-Gageac, also fitted in with all this, being on similar latitudes and built in rocky places, and all were dedicated either to the Virgin Mary or to Michael. Rocamadour is a famous sanctuary to the Virgin Mary, situated high up, overlooking a gorge. There is also a chapel to St Michael there, and a sword attributed to the Archangel, stuck in the rock face. Notre-Dame-de-la-Roque Gageac is a church built into the rock face, dedicated to Our Lady of the Rock.
When I realised the famous Lascaux caves were on this line, I checked the daylight hours there for the 15th May, I was pretty astounded to find it was an almost perfect fit, with 14 hours 51 minutes 7 seconds, the same as at Crea, in Italy. Because of the amazing paintings inside the cave, it is a UNESCO world heritage site. The wonderful art in these caves doesn't of course feature the Archangel Michael, but it does contain many bulls. Bulls are a feature of Michael places, and are part of the histories of the Mont Saint-Michel and Monte Gargano, because in both places, a bull chose the precise spot where the shrine was to be built, as interpreted by an archbishop. Bulls are also central to the imagery in mithraeums, which themselves are often found in proximity to a Michael shrine or church. So there was a possible link between a site featuring bulls and a site dedicated to the Archangel Michael, not to mention the presence of rock itself. However, not only did the connections between these places on a similar latitude involve lengthy distances, but there was a huge span also between time periods, which made the idea of a connection quite improbable. I coudn't help but wonder, though, if there might be caves with paintings of bulls under the shrines in the Piedmont.
Heading further east, this line runs extends all the way to the Adriatic, taking in Pavia, Ferrara, Mantua, and Sant'Angelo di Piovo di Saco, all with Michael and / or Mary connections (Mantua has a cathedral dedicated to Saint Peter, who can definitely be considered associated with rocks). Cremona and Venice, with its island dedicated to Saint Michael, and Sant'Angelo di Piove di Sacco are not far off this line.
Here is a list of images and daylight hours for 2023 for these places, from west to east. All images from Wikimedia Commons.
Basilique Saint-Michel, Bordeaux
14th May:14 h 49 mins 36 secs (2023 value)
(An ideal Phi day would have 14 hours 49 mins 58.27 secs)
Eglise Notre-Dame-de-la-Roque-Gageac
14th May: 14 hours 49 mins 32 secs (2023)
Grotte de Rouffignac
15 May: 14 hours 50 minutes 39 seconds (2023)
Lascaux Caves
15th May: 14 hours, 50 mins 55 secs (2023 value)
Grotte de Font-de-Gaume
15th May: 14 hours, 50 mins 12 secs (2023 value)
Chapelle Saint-Michel, Rocamadour
15th May: 14 hours 49 mins 22 secs (2023 value)
Le Puy-en-Velay
15th May: 14 hours 50 mins 51 secs (2023 value)
Pic Saint-Michel (Vercors)
15th May: 14 hours 51 mins 6 secs (2023 value)
Sacra di San Michele, Piedmont
15th May: 14 hours 51 mins 9 secs
Sacro Monte di Crea, Piedmont
15th May: 14 hours 51 mins 7 secs (2023 value)
Basilica di San Michele, Pavia
15th May: 14 hours 51 mins 40 secs
Castillo Estense or Castillo San Michele, Ferrara
15th May: 14 hours 49 mins 34 secs
Beyond the Adriatic, more sites appear with similar characteristics.
Băile Herculane, Romania
15th May: 14 hours 49 mins 44 secs
Băile Herculane is a mountainous spa town, there are caves, and there have been many pre-historical finds there. Hercules was there. But there is no St Michael church. Moving further east, there were one or two interesting sites, such as this cluster of Michael churches, around Pitesti.
Also, the city of Kerch in Crimea, as it was once a Greek colony and has a hill in the centre called Mount Mithridat - though it appears not have been named after Mithras, but after a local ruler. There are two archaeological sites of interest nearby, also within the same daylight time, called Pantikapaeum, once the capital of the Kingdom of Pontus, and Nymphaion.
Ancient Pantikapaeum
15th May: 14 hours 52 mins 30 secs
However, all the sites after the Adriatic are a little too far from the line that runs through the places in France and Italy, and consequently, the daytime hours on a Phi day are slightly too long. Then, there's a large gap with nothing, until a ruined monastery in the Gobi desert, and a Japanese island, which suggests that beyond the Adriatic the line stops.
The ruins of Ongiin Khiid monastery in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia.
14 hours 50 mins 47 secs
Rishiri Island, in Japan, has several shrines on it.
Rishiri Island, Japan
14 hours 50 mins 47 secs
Going further west from France, the line goes through Montreal, a ancient underwater stone circle near Traverse City, and some Indian Mounds: Chambers Island mounds, and Rattlesnake and Indian mounds, St Paul, Minnesota. But here again, as east of the Adriatic, there are no more interesting sites than you would expect to find when tracing a random line.
Church of St Michael, Montreal
14:52:21 hours of daylight 15th May 2022
Indian Mounds, St Paul, Minnesota: 14:49:09
It is really just between the Atlantic and the Adriatic that the line seems to have all these sacred rocky stes along it, dedicated to Michael or Mary. What links all these places on the first line is that the days of the year when daylight and night time are in Phi ratio also falls at exactly the point in the year which is at a Phi point between the spring day of equal day and night (17th March) and the summer solstice, i.e. the 15h May. What this suggests is that the daylight to night ratio at certain key times of the year is a consideration when chosing to develop a sacred site.
I stumbled across another line that seemed to go through sacred sites. I looked at daylight to night ratios at various times of the year. The common thread seemed to be that there are close to 800 minutes of daylight on the 15th August, the feats of the Assumption.
2. A Second Line: 840 minutes of daylight on the 15th August (Feast of the Assumption)
Having read something about how the shepherds in the Croatian hills celebrate the 15th August, the Assumption, I looked up the daylight hours for that date and found that there were 14 hours, 1 minute and 43 seconds for 2021. That's within two minutes of being 14 hours, or 840 minutes exactly. Not the most impressive number on the face of it, but in seconds that's 100,800 / 2 = 50,400. It's also exactly 1440 minutes (of the full 24 hour period of a day) x 7 / 12. So this line goes through the Santuario della Madonna Bianca and the Church now dedicated to St Peter, on a site that was once a temple to Venus, in Porto Venere, then San Michele di Garfagnana in Lucca, the Santuario Maddonna dell'Acero, and the Abbey of San Mercuriale in Forlí. A combination of the Virgin Mary, Peter, Venus, Mercury and Michael, all of which seem to have rocky connections. In fact this 15th August 7/12 daylight / day ratio line goes through many interesting places. This line also goes west - though that side of the line is not as close a match to the 14 hours of daylight period.
San Miguel de Breamo
15th August: 13:57:43 hours of daylight
Monastery of Santa Maria La Real de Obona, Wikimedia Commons
15th August 13:58:08 daylight hours
Ermita de San Miguel, Olea
Daylight hours 15th August 13:56:31
Starting with San Miguel de Breamo, a templar church in Galicia, Spain, though here the daylight hours are 13 hours 57 minutes and 43 seconds (according to ww.sunearthtools.com), so just under 14 hours but within two and a half minutes. All along the north coast of Spain, there are sanctuaries and churches, many dedicated to the Archangel Michael and Mary, such as: Ermita de San Miguel de Buscalte, Capela de San Miguel, Lugo, San Miguel de Reinante, Monastery of Santa Maria La Real de Obona, Plaza San Miguel, Gijon, San Miguel Asturias, Ermita de San Miguel d'Eros, in fact there are too many to mention, there are so many ermitas de San miguel around the Cantabrian coast - see image below.
Perhaps the most important site in this region is Altamira cave.
Bison, Altamira Cave, Wikimedia Commons
13 hours 57 mins 39 secs on 15th August (just within a 2.5 minute margin of 14 hours)
The earliest paintings date from around 36,000 years ago.
The Altamira cave was the second cave to appear on a possible line, famous, like Lascaux, for it's stunning art. There is no reason to suppose that the people who decorated this cave did so because it fitted with certain parameters to do with day to night ratios, but it is not impossible.
Moving up the Basque coast is the cathedral at Bayonne, dedicated to Mary. This cathedral is in fact at the end of a Michael line itself, linking the Mont Saint-Michel and Stonehenge. Heading towards Italy, Moissac Abbey and Bruniquel come next. Here we come back to an exact 14 hours of daylight (to within 40 seconds). Once more, an ancient cave seemed to link itself up with important Christian centres. Bruniquel cave is the site of the oldest yet found human construction.
Bruniquel Cave, earliest human-made structures known, Wikimedia Commons
Bruniquel Castle
Bruniquel 15th August 2022 14:01:07 hours of daylight
The abbey of Moissac, important stopping point on the route to Compostela.
15th August 2022 14:01:19 hours of daylight
Next are Alès, Nîmes, and the Palais des Papes at Avignon, where the popes once resided, also exactly 14 hours daylight. Then a whole load of Michael churches and chapels scattered around, including Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire, Saint-Michel-de-Cousson, le Col Saint-Michel, Chapelle Saint-Michel de Clans, Eglise Saint-Michel-de-Gast, then further south to include Vence, and on the Cote d'Azur, Cannes, Villefrance-sur-Mer, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Eglise Saint-Michel-de-la-Turbie, and the basilica at Menton, all dedicated to the Archangel. A little north of that is Sospel Cathedral, on a Place Saint-Michel, and Olietta San Michele. Then a Michael chapel in La Brigue and a Michael church in Alto. Albenga Cathedral is on a Pizza San Michele. This brings us back to Porto Venere.
Would a random line drawn across France and Italy go through a similar number of sites dedicated to the Archangel Michael or the Virgin Mary?
3. Baba, Mother Earth
Velebit Mountain has many very old chapels. I looked for a long time for a Michael chapel in this area, as I had read that there was one near Vratnik mountain pass, but couldn't find any trace of it online. I found a great blog post on these chapels here, called Old European Culture, with an emphasis on the "replacement of the Mother Goddess, Mother Earth, Baba with Mary, the Holy Mother."
The stone walls, which were built using dry wall building technique, were 1.3 meters thick. The most unusual thing about this chapel is the altar stone. The altar is actually bedrock, which existed there before the church was built. Bedrock is in the Balkans known as "kamen živac, živi kamen, živa stena" (living stone, living rock) and is venerated as sacred. They are called so, because they are believed to be still part of the living body of the Mother Earth. These types of stones are also known as "baba" stones. The fact that the altar stone was carved out of bedrock shows that this was an ancient pre Christian altar stone which was later encased inside of the Christian church, surrounded by the thick church walls in order to have it's "evil" power contained.
This idea of the living stone fits in so well with the many sites dedicated to Mary and Michael in rocky places. Yet not all hills and mountains are considered scared. Is their latitude the key? The author of this blog cited above informs us that Sveto Brdo, also near the Croation coast, is a holy mountain. I placed it Google Earth, curious to see if it would be on a similar latitude to all the places so far, from Bordeaux to Venice, but it was much too far south. But then I looked again and it was in fact on a similar latitude as the majestic rocky coastal church in Porto Venere. Porto Venere's name refers to the goddess Venus, and it seems to be on the Michael line from Skellig Michael, via Saint Michael's Mount and the Mont Saint-Michel ( a winter Phi day line).
The author of the blog "Old European Culture" adds a couple of very interesting things, both in relation to the orientation of the one of the chapels towards the winter solstice sunrise, and about the importance of stone traditionally:
She quotes an article by Andrej Pleterski, "Nekateri topografski vidiki obrednih mest [Some Topographic Aspects of Ritual Places ]":
"One of the diagonals of the church is aligned exactly to the east west line. The longitudinal axis of the church has azimuth of 123,5° (angle from geographic north). This means that the church is oriented towards the local point of the Christmas sunrise. Therefore, it is very likely that the original orientation of the pagan temple which was replaced with the church, was towards the winter solstice sunrise."
This fits with many of the lines.
The author goes on to say:
Next to old bedrock altar lies a large stone slab. The locals say that this slab marks "the grave of an innocent child". Every year on the 15th of August, on the day of the Assumption of Mary the shepherd's used to drive their flocks over this slab in order to cleanse them from decease and evil.
On it there is a similar stone block which local shepherd's called "Baba". On the arrival, shepherd women used to bring food offerings and leave them on the stone. They also used to lite candles on the stone on various holy days. The stone was also known as "the altar".
According to the local informer Dara Babac :) , who was 80 years old when she was interviewed, Baba stone on Malo Rujno was blessed by a priest from Lika region, and this is why this stone is also called Babin kuk (Baba's stone, kuk being another word for rock, boulder) or Popov kuk (Priest's stone). Women who couldn't have children were praying to the Baba stone to help them to stay pregnant and give birth to a healthy child. During this prayer they were kissing the stone. After the second world war, the stone lost it's cultic importance, but the act of kissing the Baba stone was transferred to kissing any old woman. Young girls which were earlier urged to kiss the Baba stone "for their own good" were urged to kiss any old woman that they see, also "for their own good". The kissing ritual was also transferred from the Baba stone to its Christian replacement, the statue of the Holy Mary. During the prayer in the chapel on Veliko Rujno, women circled the altar on their knees. At the end of the prayer they would kiss the feet and the dress of the statue. They were also kissing the picture of the Holy Mary during the procession which circled the church.
I actually believe that both of these last two chapels, the one dedicated to St Jacob and the other one dedicated to St Antun, were originally dedicated to Holy Mary and were only later "rechristened". The same was done with the chapel on Jezera, which is today called the chapel of St Antun, even though it is known from interviews with the locals, that the church was originally dedicated to the Holy Mary...Is this being done to remove the link between the original Baba worship and its Christian replacement, the worship of the Holy Mary? I believe so.
It seems that the shepherd's from south Velebit, both Orthodox and Catholic, preserved many pre-Christian traditions, customs and ceremonies until the mid 20th century. The most important set of these pagan rituals is linked to the veneration of the Mother Goddess, the female symbol of fertility and wealth - Baba, Mother Earth. These rituals were performed on and around protruding amorphous lumps of bedrock which are in this region, as well as in many other parts of the Balkans, known as Baba stones, like this one.
(...)
The fact that Baba (stone, mountain, earth) was specially venerated on Velebit can be seen from a large number of toponyms with the root Baba which are found in immediate vicinity (20 km radius)
Babin kuk (Baba's hip or baba's rock), Bobički kuk (Baba's hip or baba's rock), Babin kamen (žrtvenik), Babino jezero (Baba's lake), 3 mountain tops called Babin vrh (Baba's peak), Babino brdo (Baba's hill), Babin dolac (Baba's valley), Babino vrelo (Baba's well), Babac, Babica,
So what happened after the local population was Christianized? The same area became the most important center of the Marian cult. Coincidence?
It seems that the shepherd's from south Velebit, both Orthodox and Catholic, preserved many pre-Christian traditions, customs and ceremonies until the mid 20th century. The most important set of these pagan rituals is linked to the veneration of the Mother Goddess, the female symbol of fertility and wealth - Baba, Mother Earth. These rituals were performed on and around protruding amorphous lumps of bedrock which are in this region, as well as in many other parts of the Balkans, known as Baba stones, like this one.
It seems that ancient rituals based around Mother Earth, Baba, which went on until around eighty years ago, in tandem with Christianity, because this resonates perfectly with many things connected to the worship of Mary, of Michael, of Mithras, and of course, many other divine figures such as the Buddha. The belief that bedrock or any kind of rock was sacred must account for many of the megalithic constructions, and go some way towards explaining why the stones used had to be so big, despite the great impracticality of moving and raising them.
Was it possible that there was an ancient widespread system whereby sacred places were positioned according to a key number of hours of daylight at a key time of year, either because the number was considered sacred, or because the ratio of daylight to night was considered sacred, such as Phi? After several years of looking into ancient sites, as well as reading work by researchers such as David Warner Mathisen and Jim Alison, I had no trouble in believing in the possibility of sophistication in our ancestors, as well as the idea of a system that was very widespread, across countries and continents. However, this idea of latitude lines was perplexing. When I found that a row of rocky mountain temples and monasteries in the Himalayas all shared similar latitudes, and all had a summer solstice day which was in √3 ratio to the full 24 hour period, I felt convinced that there was more to it than coincidence. In fact, this could be the mark of a very old and highly sophisticated culture that has been forgotten. From then on I started routinely checking the properties of latitude in terms of daylight hours of every ancient or sacred site I came upon.
4. Maps
I've put together a map which rows of sacred or ancient places which have connections to hills of rocks, or to the Archangel Michael, or are simply very important. It's far from being an exhaustive list of places, and so far I don't have too many places in the southern hemisphere. All the places on the lines are there because they correspond to whatever property that line has, generally daylight hours at one of the solstices, or some other date, to within two and a half minutes.
Above is the key for the most northerly part of the northern hemisphere, and below are some details from the map across North America, Europe and Asia.
Middle East and Khazakstan:
Here is the key for the next rows:
Northern Africa:
Here is the row of Himalayan temples and monasteries, from Mohenjo Daro in the west:
Japan:
Here is the key for the southern hemisphere:
South America and Easter Island:
Australia, so far not so many places.
4. Jim Alison's Great Circle
Jim Alison's spectacular great circle goes through several of the places above, see his article here.
Easter Island, Nazca, Ollantaytambo, Paratoari, Tassili n'Ajjer and Giza are all aligned on a single great circle. Additional ancient sites that are located within one tenth of one degree of this great circle include Petra; Perseopolis; Khajuraho; Pyay, Sukothai and Anatom Island.
Near Ollantaytambo, Machupicchu and Cuzco are within one quarter of a degree. The Oracle at Siwa in the western Egyptian desert is within one quarter of a degree. In the Indus Valley, Mohenjo Daro and Ganweriwala are within one quarter of a degree. The ancient Sumerian city of Ur and Angkor temples in Cambodia and Thailand are within one degree of the great circle. The Angkor temple at Preah Vihear is within one quarter of a degree.
Many of these sites have interesting latitudinal properties.
Easter Island: Summer Solstice has 24/√3 hours of daylight
Nazca: Summer Solstice has 780 mins of daylight
Machu Picchu & Ollantaytambo: Winter Solstice has 700 mins of daylight
Perspolis, Petra, Giza all on similar latitude: 844 mins daylight at summer solstice, and 800 mins on the 1st of May.
Khajuraho on similar latitude to Lao's Buddhist Temple (Wat Lao Bhuddhagaya International
Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India), Qiongzhu Temple (China), Guandu Temple and other temples in Tapei City, Taiwan, and to the East, Karachi (many temples & Cathedral) & Chaukhandi tombs (Pakistan), Jumeirah Mosque (Dubai), Temple of Edfu, Apollinopolis, (Egypt), Tassili n'Ajjer, and on to the Bahamas, with 820 mins daylight in summer solstice, or winter solstice daylight period is 24 hours divided by √(36/7).
And Preah Vihear Temple is at a similar latitude to Ayutthaya Wat Phra Si Sanphet, the former capital of Siam, Yerragudi Gooty in India, The Great Mosque in Zabīd - Yemen, and Copán, Mixco Viejo, and Kaminaljuyu in Central America, all have very close to 13 hours or 780 minutes of daylight at the summer solctice (so one hour more than the equinox). In fact in the Guatemala, there are other sites that also fit this, such as Quiriguá, El Portón, Takalik Abaj, Izapa, Paso de la Amada, La Blanca, Ujuxte, Chocolá, El Baúl, and Monte Alto, all within 2.5 minutes of a 13 hours daylight period at the summer solstice.
Finally Angkor Wat has 700 minutes of daylight (and 17 seconds) at the winter solstice.
5. Another line: 13 hours or 780 minutes of daylight at the summer solstice
Here are some of the places on the '13 hours daylight period at the summer solstice' line:
Yerragudi Gooty, Site of one of the Major Rock Edicts of the Indian Emperor Ashoka. The author of a blog named Journeys across Karnataka desribes the site as follows:
I parked my car at the end of the road where a foot path leading to the hillock began. At the entrance is a pair of granite slabs installed by ASI Kurnool Sub Circle. The English board reads as follows: The great Mauryan emperor Ashoka issued the rock edict at this place during 3rd century BC. The rock edict was inscribed in Brahmi script and Prakit language. The inscription refers to Dharma as follows: Thus saith the beloved of Gods you should act as instructed by the beloved of the gods. You should order the Rajukas in their turn should order the people of the countryside as well as the local officers called Rastrikas in the following words. "Mother, Father and elders are to be loved, living being should be treated with kindness. Truth must be spoken."
(...) The Yerraguidi inscriptions contained in 28 parts on nine rocks which advocated that one should be obedient to one’s parents, one should likewise be obedient to one’s elders, one should be kind to living beings, one should speak truth, one should propagate the attributes of dharma, no-living being be slaughtered for sacrifices. The rock edict says “on the roads, trees have been caused to be planted and wells dug for the enjoyment of animals and men.” The edict declares that “these records related to dharma have been caused to be written by me (Ashoka) for the purpose that it may last and that my sons and grandsons may exert themselves for the welfare of all men.” Dr. Abdul Khader, historian and principal of S.J. College, has said the rock edict could be considered the first law enacted for the welfare of wildlife in the entire world. In fact they were directive principles of state policy of Mouryan Kingdom. He underscored the need for preserving it for posterity and exposing the site to school and college students in Kurnool district.
The great Mosque of Zabid. Zabid is one of the oldest towns in Yemen and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Daylight hours on summer solstice: 12 hours 59 minutes 38 seconds (22 seconds short of 13 hours.
Copán. Wikimedia Commons
13 hours and 40 seconds of daylight at the summer solstice.
Mixco Viejo. Wikimedia Commons
Daylight hours at summer solstice: 13 hours and 35 seconds.
Parque Arqueológico Kaminaljuyu. Wikimedia Commons
Daylight hours summer solstice: 12 hours 59 minutes 41 seconds (19 seconds short of 13 hours)
El Baúl, Guatemala. Wikimedia Commons
Summer Solstice daylight hours 12 hours 58 minutes 45 seconds
6. A line of places with 800 minutes of daylight on the 1st of May
Here are some of the places on the 800 minutes daylight on the 1st of May line:
Pyramids of Giza
13:19:51 hours of daylight, 1st May 2022 (9 seconds short of 800 minutes)
Step Pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara
13:19:27 hours of daylight, = 799 minutes and 19 seconds, on 1st May 2022
Petra
13:20:57 hours of daylight = 800 minutes and 57 seconds, on 1st May 2022
Persepolis
13:19:37 hours of daylight = 799 minutes and 19 seconds, on 1st May 2022
Tomb of Cyrus the Great, Pasargadae
13:20:25 hours of daylight = 800 minutes and 25 seconds, on 1st May 2022
Kerman, Iran
13 hours 18 minutes 9 seconds of daylight = 798 minutes and 9 seconds, on 1st May 2022
Harappa
13:21:37 hours of daylight = 801 minutes and 37 seconds, on 1st May 2022
Haridwar.
13:19:31 hours of daylight = 799 minutes and 31 seconds, on 1st May 2022
Haridwar is an Indian city with a mythological connection: Ujain, Nashik and Prayagraj (Allahbad) and Haridwar are the four sites where drops of the elixir of immortality, amrita, accidentally spilled over from a jug while being carried by the celestial bird Garuda during the samudra manthan, or churning of the milky ocean. Brahma Kund, the spot where the amrita fell, is located at Har ki Paur, the most sacred ghat of Haridwar. Every year, millions of people gather the sacred water of the Ganges there and carry it to Shiva shrines sometimes hundreds of miles away, as offerings to Shiva.
Paramarth Temple, Haridwar
Neelkanth Mahadev Temple. Mountainside temple, mythological site where the Hindu deity Shiva consumed poison from the sea.
13 hours 19 minutes 34 seconds = 799 minutes and 34 seconds, on 1st May 2023
Tsurphu Monastery (Tibet). Founded in 1159, the complex was totally destroyed in 1966 during the cultural Revolution, and rebuilt in 1981.
13:18:27 hours of daylight = 798 minutes and 18 seconds, on 1st May 2022
Drepung Monastery (Tibet). Founded in 1416, Drepung is the largest of all Tibetan monasteries and is located on the Gambo Utse mountain. It's one of the three great university monasteries of Tibet, the others being Sera and Gande, all on a similar latitude.
13:17:55 hours of daylight = 797 minutes and 17 seconds, on 1st May 2023
Sera Monastery,
13 hours 17 minutes and 55 seconds hours of daylight = 797 minutes and 55 seconds, on 1st May 2023
Ganden Monastery, Lhasa.
13:18:33 hours of daylight = 798 minutes and 33 seconds
Samye Mighur Lhundrub Tsula Khang, Shrine of Unchanging Spontaneous Presence, built 763-779, and rebuilt again in 1988 after the Cultural Revolution. The building of Samye marked the foundation of the original school of Tibetan Buddhism, the Nyingma.
13:17:16 hours of daylight = 797 minutes and 16 seconds, on 1st May 2023
Mount Galonga and Galong Temple
Sacred Seijila Mountain
Also, Litang Xian Pangphuk monastery, Pao Ma Mountain, Tagong Monastery.
Nanwu Si Monastery
13:19:21 hours of daylight = 799 minutes and 21 seconds, on 1st May 2023
Emeishan City, Leshan. Sacred Buddhist mountain with two temples at its peak called Golden Summit Jinding Mountain mountain top temple, Huazang Temple, Leidongping.
13:19:21 hours of daylight = 799 minutes and 21 seconds, on 1st May 2023
Xixiang Chi temple, one of the most important Buddhist temples on Mount Emei, Sichuan.
13:19:21 hours of daylight = 799 minutes and 21 seconds, on 1st May 2023
Fuhu Temple ancient Buddhist temple located in the foothills of Mount Emei.
13:17:55 hours of daylight = 797 minutes and 55 seconds, on 1st May 2023
Baoguo Temple, a former Mahayana Buddhist temple, from the 16th century in the foothills of a holy mountain, in the Jiangbei district,
13:19:21 hours of daylight = 799 minutes and 21 seconds, on 1st May 2023
Leshan Giant Buddha, 13:19:21 hours of daylight = 799 minutes and 21 seconds, on 1st May 2023
Wuyou TempleBuddhist temple on top of Mount Wuyou, in the Shizhong District of Leshan, Sichuan.
13:17:52 hours of daylight = 797 minutes 52 seconds on 1st May 2023
The Pagodas of Chongqing, Tazi Mountain, Jianbei District
13:17:52 hours of daylight = 797 minutes and 52 seconds on 1st May 2023
Baodingshan, a sacred area known for dozens of centuries-old Buddhist sculptures carved from rock in a grotto. Also called Mount Baoding, Precious Summit Mountain, and Summit of Treasures), it is a Buddhist site World Heritage Site, with a mile and a half of carvings, numbering over 6000 total.
13:17:52 hours of daylight = 797 minutes and 52 seconds on 1st May 2023
Fengdu ghost town a large complex of shrines, temples and monasteries dedicated to the afterlife located on the Ming mountain
13:17:52 hours of daylight = 797 minutes and 52 seconds, on 1st May 2023
Mount Lu. There are many temples here, such as the Immortal Caverns, and the Bamboo Temple. The mountain and the surrounding region is also one of the "spiritual centers" of China, containing many Buddhist and Daoist temples, and Confucian landmarks. It is a
UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
13:17:51 hours of daylight = 797 minutes and 51 seconds on 1st May 2023.
Puji Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in Mount Putuo, the temple is also the main temple enshrining Guanyin. It is known as "Front Temple" since it located in the southern foot of Lingjiu Peak.
13:19:06 hours of daylight = 799 minutes and 6 seconds on 1st May 2023.
This line of 800 minutes of daylight on 1st May sites is incredible, as it links Giza, Saqqara, Petra, Persepolis, Kerman, Harappa, Haridwar, a number of mountain temples in Nepal and China, the famous giant Buddha in Leshan, and three sacred Buddhist mountains. It is curious how many of these sites are just under the 800 minutes, as if now suggesting that centuries ago, when the obliquity of the earth was slightly greater, the match may once have been perfect. Many of the sites are around 40 seconds short of 800 minutes, and the ones closest to the east are around 8 to 9 seconds short.
Mount Emei, Mount Putuo and Mount Jiuhua are particularly interesting, because they are sacred mountains, and echo the rocky, elevated places of the very first line, through France and Italy, as if they were all once part of a single system that venerated mother earth.
Three of the four Buddhist mountains in fact have close to 800 minutes daylight on May 1st: Mounts Emei, Putuo and Jiuhua. this could be part of their significance. Mount Hernon in the Middle East is an important sacred mountain. It is located in Syria, the Lebanon and Israel. On the summer solstice there are 14 hours 23 minutes and 49 seconds of daylight there, which is 11 seconds of 864 minutes (using this location 33° 42' 54.331" N 36° 23' 34.217" E). This means that on the summer solstice daylight is 3/5 of a 24 hour period.
You can draw a huge circle on Google Earth going through: Moral Reforma and Xtampak, and Chichen Itza in Mexico, Robert's Island Mound and Three Forks Marsh Mound in Florida, Skellig Michael in Ireland, Stonehenge in England, Worms Cathedral in Germany, Nemrut Dagi in Turkey, Harireh, Jumeirah Mosque, and Ruined Tanuf.
7. A line with daylight at the summer solstice is in root 3 ratio to the full 24 hour period
Perhaps the most mysterious latitude of all is where daylight at the summer solstice is in root 3 ratio to the full 24 hour period. Not only is such a ratio very surprising for the ancient world, as it is not commonly believed that irrationals such as the square root of three were known about long ago. But also, it seems such a crazy notion, to place a temple according to such a ratio of daylight to night, or daylight to the full 24 hour period. Yet, the temples and ancient cities are there, right on the line. Geometrically, the square root of three is relevant to the cube (its diagonal, with sides equal to 1) and to the triangle: the height of an equilateral triangle with sides of length 2 equals the square root of 3. This could be symbolic of the female principle, or of the connection between earth and sky.
It is especially clear in Asia, that the major temples of the regions such a latitude crosses are exactly on this line. Important sites on this latitude are:
Mohenjo Daro, meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men' (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Pakistan
The city of Jaipur (the pink city of India, UNESCO World Heritage Site), including Birla Temple & Charan Mandir Temple, Amer fort and Jantar Mantar, India
Bhangarh Haunted City with Temples & Yogi Bharthari Nath Temple - Hindu temple Alwar, India
Kankali Tila (also Kankali mound or Jaini mound) & Kesroli Kesroli , Viratnagar & Yogi Bharthari Nath Temple, India
The Taj Mahal (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Agra Fort (UNESCO World Heritage Site) & the city of Agra, India
Three places sacred to Buddhism: Sankassa, Shravasti (also referred to as Saheth-Maheth) and Lumbini (UNESCO World Heritage Site), birthplace of Prince Siddharta. At Shravasti, there are many temples, including: Jetavana Monastery & Sri Lankan Buddhist Temple, Cambodian Monastery; Lumbini also has many temples, and ancient ruins, and is also a Hindu pilgramage site. Shravasti is also important to Hinduism and Jainism, and was at the junction of three major trading routes in ancient India. Both Shravasti and Lumbini are important Buddhist pilgramage destinations. (India & Nepal)
Paro Taktshang Buddhist temple is a cliffside monastery built around a cave. The Indian Guru Padmasambhava meditated there in the 8th century. He arrived there from Tibet on the back of Yeshe Tsogyal, whom he transformed into a flying tigress. The cave is one of thirteen Tiger's Nest caves in historical Tibet in which Padmasambhava taught and practised Vajrayana. (Bhutan)
Jangtsa Dumtseg Lhakhang Buddhist Monastery. According to a local legend, the Lhakhang was built to subdue a "serpentine force", it was built "on the nose of a hill that looks like a frog in order to counteract Sadag (earth-owning spirit) and Lunyen (powerful naga spirit). It is said that the hill, by which the temple is built, is a black vicious snake moving downwards. (Bhutan)
Rinpung Dzong - large Buddhist monastery and fort (in Bhutan's Tentative List for UNESCO inclusion)
Tashichho Dzong/Tashichö-dzong, large Buddhist monastery and fort, and the seat of the Bhutan government since 1968. The site has thirty temples, chapels and shrines, and the royal palace.
Dechen Phodrang Buddhist Monastery meaning"Palace of Great Bliss", built on a ridge above Tashichö-dzong.
Semtokha Dzong / Simtokha Dzong, meaning "Palace of the Profound Meaning of Secret Mantras") also known as Sangak Zabdhon Phodrang Fortress Monastery
Druk Wangyel Monastery Buddhist temple & Dochu La mountain pass, with 108 memorial chortas or mounds for meditation.
Lungchutse Goemba Monastery
Wangdue Phodrang Dzong monastery
Gangtey Monastery, located on a spur, linked to the establishment of the Vajrayna tradition of Buddhism, by Guru Rinpoche. Gangten means top of the mountain.
Trongsa Dzong, largest dzong fortress in Bhutan, built on a mountain spur. Headquarters of the government of the Trongsa District and major monastery. Listed as a tentative site in Bhutan's Tentative List for UNESCO inclusion.
Domkhar Lhakhang - Buddhist temple
Sombrang (Sumthrang) Lhakhang - Buddhist temple
Ura Lhakhang - Buddhist temple
Lhuentse Dzong & Jangchubling Monastery
Tawang Monstery, the largest monastery in India, on the top of a mountain.
Golden Pagoda Namsai
Wat Khao Tham Phra - Buddhist temple
Shangri-La,
Golden Peak Mt. Fanjingshan
Fenghuang
In Egypt the ancient city of Asyut is right on this line also.
1440 minutes (a 24 hour period) divided by the square root of 3 gives 831.384388 minutes, or 13 hours 51 minutes 23.06326 seconds.
In the US, Pilsbury Temple Mound (Bradenton County, Florida) is also on this latitude. In the southern hemisphere, Easter Island also fits. The website www.sunearthtools.com gives: 21/12/2022: 13:51:21 hours of daylight. This is roughly two seconds short of the 24 hours period divided by √3.
Below are some images of temples and other sites listed above that lie on the 24/√3 hours of daylight on summer solstice latitude.
Mohenjo Daro,13:52:05 hours of sunlight 21 June (every year of our epoch)
Yogi Bharthari Nath Temple, www.sunearthtools.com: 13:52:25
Yogi Bharthari Nath Temple, Alwar, www.sunearthtools.com, 21/06/2022, 13:51:02 hours of daylight, summer solstice.
Taj Mahal
21/06/2022:13:51:25 hours of daylight
The most important places in Buddhism are situated in the plains of Northern India and Southern Nepal, in the area between New Delhi and Rajgir.
Sankassa: 13:52:09 hours of daylight, summer solstice
Shravasti, 13:52:57 hours of daylight, Summer solstice
Lumbini:13:52:50 hours of daylight at summer solstice.
Paro Taktsang, 13:52:52 hours of daylight on summer solstice.
Jangtsa Dumtseg Lhakhang 13:52:36 hours of daylight summer solstice
Rinpung Dzong 13:52:52 hours of daylight summer solstice
Tashichho Dzong, 13:52:52 hours of daylight summer solstice.
Dechen Phodrang Monastery hours of daylight at summer solstice
Simtokha Dzong 13:52:37 hours of daylight summer solstice
Dochula Pass:13:53:06 hours of daylight at summer solstice.
Gangteng / Gantey Monastery 13:52:55 hours of daylight at summer solstice
Trongsa Dzong, 13:52:54 hours of daylight at summer solstice
Wangdue Phodrang: 13:53:06 hours of daylight at the summer solstice
Lhuentse Dzong 13:53:41 hours of daylight at summer solstice
Tawang Monastery, 13:53:18 hours of daylight at summer solstice.
Namsai, 13:53:54 hours of daylight at summer solstice.
Asyut: 13:51:24 hours of daylight for the 21st June.
There are many other lines that travel across the earth linking sacred or ancient sites along a particular latitude, and it seems that the are linked by their day tonight ratios at certain key times of the year.
