Ancient Tombs May Have Doubled As Telescopes

Ancient graves like Dolmen Pedra da Orca in Gouveia, Portugal may have also enhanced the view of stars. (Credit: Vector99/Shutterstock) Ancient astronomers may have used tombs to probe the heavens. New research suggests that prehistoric humans may have relied on long dark chambers in igloo-shaped structures known as 'passage graves' to see the rising stars. The extended narrow entrances of the graves, which are scattered across Europe, may have amplified a viewer's night vision, allowing them to detect stars rising at twilight sooner than they would otherwise be able to. "By using these passage graves, the observer would have sat in complete darkness, with only the opening to the passage grave in front of them showing the part of the sky where the star rises," Kieran Simcox, an undergraduate student at Nottingham Trent University in England, told Discover by email. Led by Daniel Brown, also of Nottingham Trent, and Fabio Silva, of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Simcox studied passage graves' potential as astronomical instruments. He presented the results Thursday at the National Astronomy Meeting in England.