11 Sites Aligned to the Winter Solstice Moon Around the World

• The winter solstice has been a fascination for humans for a long time.
• Many cultures have found ways of incorporating it in their important sites. 
• These 11 locations are strangely aligned with solstice sun. 

The winter solstice falls on longest night of the year.

It’s the time when the world is tilted furthest awayThe sun rises, but also the time the days begin. getting longer.

People have been looking for this mysterious day for millennia. It often represents the beginning of winter, or a time when rebirth is possible. 

Archaeologists have discovered many sites that were aligned with the winter solstice. However, the purpose of these sites is often unknown. 

Here are 11 places that coincide with the winter solstice. Experts share their thoughts.

Nazca Lines, Lima’s southeast Peru

Scientists who studied the Nazca lines during the 1940s discovered that one of them was perfectly aligned with the southern hemisphere sunset July 21. 

Maria Reiche and Paul Kosok, who studied the phenomenon, believed that the mysterious lines could be a kind of astronomical calendar. 

This theory has been proven to be true since been discreditedWe still don’t understand the spiritual or practical purposes of these lines. Tourists around the world still find the idea appealing.  

Newgrange County Meath Ireland

Found 26 miles north Dublin NewgrangeIt is a huge circular structure that dates back to around 5000 years. This makes it more ancient than Stonehenge or the pyramids. 

“There are many Neolithic monuments with solstice and equinox orientations in the heart of their architecture,” Jennifer Wexler, curator of World of Stonehenge at the British Museum, told Insider via email.

Newgrange, one of these monuments, aligns with the winter solstice and may have inspired Stonehenge. She stated that they were often built by early farmers.

She said that understanding the seasons and the sun’s cycle was key to their survival. This would also dictate their farming year, which would be central to their religious beliefs.

The so-called roofbox, which can be seen below, is a horizontally placed slab of rock above Newgrange’s entrance. 

The winter solstice is when light enters through this tiny opening, creating a bright beam that travels through a passageway measuring 62 feet to an inner chamber.

The beam spreads out to finally illuminate the entire chamber. 

It is clear that this building was built to commemorate the solstice. Its remarkable architecture seems to be designed to capture that singular beam.

It was built in prehistoric time and no written records exist of its possible uses. It is possible that it was used only to mark the time. scientists suspectIt may have had a ritual or spiritual significance.

Sun temple, Machu Picchu, Peru

Machu Picchu in Peru is a famous example of ancient architecture aligned to the winter solstice. 

The southern hemispheres’ winter solstice is June 21. A beam of light will be visible. shines through a windowOn a temple dedicated to the sun god, it forms a rectangular shape on a slab made of granite. 

Machu Picchu also houses another monument to December solstice. It is called Intimachay or “the cave of the Sun”.For 10 days before and following the solstice, the sun shines on the back wall of the structure. 

Temple of Karnak Luxor, Egypt

Tourists flock the Temple of Karnak in order to witness the alignment of the winter solstice with the main-axis of the temple. 

The temple was built in Luxor over 4,000 years ago. It was the main spot of worship for Amun-Ra, the sun god. 

It was originally designed so that the sun would be perfectly aligned with its axis. one studyThe alignment was rearranged by half a degree, according to the Earth’s axis wobbling. 

This year, an ancient tomb was discovered in Qubbet el-Hawa (Egypt). 

A tomb may have been found in Qubet el-Hawa, Egypt’s necropolis. oldest tomb oriented to the winter solstice, scientists said in November. 

Light filters into the tomb, as seen above and on his back on the day before the winter solstice. The alcove was home to a statue of the local governor, built around 1830 BC. 

“The alignment of tomb 33 in Qubbet el-Hawa was INTENTIONAL and it was full of religious significance,” Alejandro Jiménez-Serrano, director of Qubbet el-Hawa Project from the University of Jaén, Spain, told Insider in an email. 

“From winter solstice the day are longer, which was a metaphor for rebirthing the dead,” he stated. 

Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, US

Pueblo Bonito is a settlement that appears to have been built in line with astronomical markers in order to maximize solar heating during the year. 

It was built by ancestral Puebloan peoples between 850-1150.

Two windows at the southeast end of this building from the second story have been inspected over the years. This window is only lit during the eight weeks when the sun shines through it. lead-up to the winter solstice.

Although it is possible that this was a coincidence scientists believe this could have provided people with a heads-up to the winter months. 

Hovenweep Castle is located in southeastern Utah.

The Hovenweep Castle was an ancestral Puebloan settlement. It was inhabited until the beginning of 14th century. 

It is thought that the openings on the face of the castle would line up with the equinox and winter-and-summer-solstice sun to allow Puebloans to trace a calendar as the light shone on the wall. 

Sun daggers, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, US

The ancestral Puebloan people lived in the US southwest. untilSpanish explorers arrived in 1540. They kept an eye on the sun as they depended heavily on agriculture for food.

You can spot the seasonal change by marking where they are. “sun daggers”By drawing petroglyphs in the rocks, certain shapes were drawn.

Fajada Butte is New Mexico’s most famous sundagger.

As seen above, a sundagger cuts through the middle of a spiral glyph during the summer solstice. Two daggers appear during the winter solstice. They perfectly bracket the spiral, as you can see in the presentation below. 

There have been some debateThere is no way to know if the carvings were placed there intentionally or if they were drawn randomly. Some were just positioned with the solstice lights. 

Mnajdra megalithic Temple, Malta

World heritage sites include seven megalithic temples located on the islands Malta and Gozo in Mediterranean. These monumental buildings prehistorically built were constructed between 4,000 BC to 3,000 BC.

Mnajdra, one of these temples is suspiciously aligned to the winter and summer solstice. Scientists aren’t surprised. still debatingIt is unclear if this was intentional. 

Stonehenge, southwest England

People flock to this iconic solstice site to see the sun line up with the stones. StonehengeOn the Salisbury Plain in England 

Insider was told by Wexler, a Stonehenge expert, that Stonehenge was designed to align with the sun at the solstices. 

“The winter solstice held a special resonance. It was a crucial time when the sun was returning to balance the earth. She stated that the celebrations were intertwined as much with ideas of rebirth as they are with their own mid-winter celebrations.

We don’t know what Stonehenge was used for because there is no written record. 

However, evidence suggests it was a site. brought togetherPeople from all parts of the country met together over the winter months for lavish feasts, and to build the huge stone structure. Insider previously reported.

Woodhenge, Durrington Walls, England

Stonehenge feasts would have been held in Durrington Walls, a nearby settlement. 

The settlement was comprised of hundreds upon hundreds of chalk houses and three large ceremonial structures made from wood pillars.

“Durrington Walls would have looked more impressive to anyone at that time than Stonehenge,” Michael Parker Pearson (lead archaeologist at the Durrington Walls excavation site, and author of the study), said. previously told Insider.

 “Like Stonehenge, Woodhenge and Durrington were aligned with the solstices,” Wexley said. 

“People came from faraway places in midwinter to enjoy feasting and celebrations. She said that Pilgrims began a choreographed procession towards Stonehenge. They started at Durrington and Woodhenge at midwinter’s dawn. Then they traveled by boat along the River Avon to arrive at Stonehenge at sunset.