See our gallery of amazing ancient observatories
THE in Athens, the elaborate temples of in Cambodia, and the stone statues of tiny , home for 1000 years to the most isolated human community on Earth. These are among the 878 (both cultural and natural) protected by UNESCO as places of 鈥渙utstanding universal value鈥� to humankind. As such, each contains extraordinary creative masterpieces from lost cultural traditions. And each represents a vestige of the past that stands out as a powerful source of inspiration to people across the planet.
Yet one aspect of our cultural heritage 鈥� astronomy 鈥� is woefully under-represented on the World Heritage List. To those of us in the modern, lit-up world, the first time that we see a truly dark night sky can be breathtaking. But until relatively recently, most people experienced this spectacle every clear night, wherever they lived. If we want to appreciate the beliefs and practices reflected in the architecture of ancient temples and tombs, we cannot ignore their relationship to the sky.
Advertisement
The World Heritage List does contain a few ancient sites and monuments with links to the sky, but these were selected because of their broader archaeological and cultural significance. They include the Neolithic passage tomb of in Ireland, aligned so the sun shines in only for a few minutes after sunrise on the shortest days of the year. This shows that people 5000 years ago saw a link between ancestors and the sun.
There鈥檚 also in Wiltshire, UK, with its well-known connection to midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset; in New Mexico, featuring the Fajada Butte 鈥渟un dagger鈥� that splits a spiral carving at noon on the summer solstice; and several pre-Columbian sites in Mexico, including , and . The Mesoamerican preoccupation with solar, lunar and planetary cycles and conjunctions is manifested in inscriptions, alignments, and the existence of 鈥渮enith tubes鈥� down which the light of the sun shone at noon on the two days in the year when it passed vertically overhead.
Despite these examples, there have never been any clear guidelines for nominating World Heritage Sites based on their relationship to astronomy, and this leaves many key sites vulnerable to neglect and irreversible damage. To try and fix this, UNESCO is now encouraging member states to put forward astronomical nominations, and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) will be working with UNESCO throughout 2009 to come up with clear criteria for judging the merits of these sites. It is a fitting task for the International Year of Astronomy, which celebrates the 400th anniversary of Galileo鈥檚 first use of a telescope to gain an unprecedented view of the sky.
As well as prehistoric sites, this will include sites related to the history of modern astronomy, such as observatories, instruments and places where key discoveries were made. This is an important part of science heritage in general (also poorly represented on the World Heritage List). Again, a few examples are recognised, but mostly as part of sites that have broader significance. These include the 15th-century observatory of in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the 18th-century observatory of in Russia, and the Old Royal Observatory in , UK.
When protecting sites, UNESCO recognises that they did not exist in isolation, though it may seem that way when we visit them in the modern landscape. They stood among all the places where people lived, worked and died. Hence the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site includes not just the two monuments, but the entire 鈥渃ultural landscapes鈥� in which they were situated, replete with evidence of Neolithic settlements, farming practices and places of burial.
In the same way, astronomical heritage sites we should also protect and preserve the crucial remaining part of the visible environment 鈥� the dark night sky. This links the Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative with other efforts to protect the night sky from light pollution, such as through the establishment of Starlight Reserves. At Stonehenge, for example, we can hope that the proposed re-routing of nearby roads might not only restore this monument to its landscape, but also to a darker, more starry, night.
Every human culture has a sky, and strives to interpret what people perceive there. The understanding they develop forms a vital part of their knowledge concerning the cosmos and their place within it. So astronomy is not just a modern science but a reflection of how all peoples past and present, see themselves in relation to the universe. With the globalisation of human culture proceeding at relentless pace, safeguarding our astronomical heritage is a vital part of the race to save the more fragile aspects of our common cultural heritage before they are lost forever.
鈥淓very human culture has a sky, and strives to interpret what people perceive there鈥�
