The calendar circle
Approximately, 300
metres south of the
cattle grave is a stone
circle, which is another significant feature of
the site. Dating back at
least 7,000 years, the
stone circle is among
the oldest of archeoastronomical devices,
designed as a prehistoric calendar to mark
two significant celestial phenomena – the
summer solstice, which
is associated with the
onset of summer rains,
and the arrangement
of stars in the night
sky, which they used
to guide themselves
across the desert.
The stone circle, which
measures only four
meters in diameter, is
N
An outline of stone positions in the calendar circle
made up of a number of
stones, including four
pairs of larger stones,
and then a series of
smaller stones. In the
centre of the circle
9
are two rows of three
stones. Using satellite
technology, surveys by
Wendorf and University
of Colorado Professor,
J.
McKim
Malville,