Hollow rock in Sicily might be an ancient calendar rock

A rock with a round hole about 1 metre in diameter might have served as a calendar marking the beginning of winter to people living in Sicily 5000 years ago.

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The so-called calendar rock (by Giuseppe La Spina)

The carved-out rock, dated to the Neolithic, was discovered on a hill near a prehistoric necropolis six miles from Gela, on the southern coast of Sicily. Archaeologists, using cameras and a video camera mounted to a GPS-equipped drone carried out a test during the winter solstice in December. They found out that the rising sun at 7:32 during the solstice aligned with the distinct hole in the rock feature. The stone, measuring 7 metres in hight possibly marked a turning point of the year and the seasons, being also a a sacred place at the end of the third millennium BC. Nearby researchers discovered several intact burials known as grotticella tombs which are chamber tomb burials formed in rocks, typical for the Castelluccio culture that flourished in the Early Bronze Age in Sicily.

(Giuseppe La Spina & Seeker)

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