INTERVISIBILITY, SIGHTLINES AND ALIGNMENTS

Abstract

During the fieldwork on Danish megalithic monuments it became more and more clear that the type of megalithic monuments known as passage tombs (i.e. passage graves, passage mounds or dolmens with a passage) can be linked to tomb-to-tomb relations. Often these relations can develop into very complex structures in the landscape. The same situation is seen in Ireland where clusters of passage tombs have been investigated by Dr. Frank Prendergast, which show similar features as the Danish clusters. Probably this line relationship has a more widespread international character. This can be demonstrated by using data sets from other areas where data for megalithic monuments are available. The idea is to extract the directions between units from the UTM coordinates where the measured direction of the passage or opening of the tomb indicates a tomb-to-tomb relation. The example here uses data from Swedish passage tombs in the Falbygden area. Investigations from other sites around the Mediterranean show similar characteristics for ancient megalithic monuments, which also include the Egyptian pyramids. Sometimes geometrical patterns are identified. The conclusion is that lines/sightlines could have been very important for societies through Neolithic times and antiquity.