Archeologists discover "cosmic clock" in Canary Islands

Madrid, May 26 : Archeologists have discovered a piece of stone 44 centimetres high and 34 wide in the Canary Islands, which they have dubbed as a "cosmic clock".

According to a report by Tenerife News, the stone was found on the rarified heights of Cabeceras de Izcagua in La Palma, at an altitude of 2,140 metres, on a site inhabited by the Awaras, as the original inhabitants of that island were called.

It is thought that the stone was instrumental in calculations to mark the equinoxes.

An equinox in astronomy is that moment in time (not a whole day) when the centre of the Sun can be observed to be directly above the Earth's equator.

As the stone has symbols of the sun facing north-east scratched upon it, it is estimated that it was used to mark the equinoxes.

The system used depended upon the alignment of three piles of stones with a facing mountain, from behind which the spring and autumn equinoctial sun rose - and still does.

ANI