2009.01.09 - In 1991, I first noted the arc distance between Ohio's ancient Newark and Marietta earthworks equaled circumference (cir) of the earth divided by days per year. In part, excitement about this finding prompted improvement of my crude method, simply measuring maps. I was soon employing spherical trigonometry and traveling to University libraries, seeking out site plans and topographic maps to derive accurate coordinates. I confirmed the arc distance equaled cir/365.25, and I later noted the degrees longitude difference matched.

I took a great leap forward in methods in 2005, traveling to Ohio for GPS readings on the mounds, then confirming the GPS positions in Google Earth. Coordinates and site codes are appended below in Appendix A and the figures herein display the site codes. Technology had caught up with my hypothesis, so to speak, and using GPS data I repeated and expanded on a preliminary 2001 study, Possible Geodetic Properties and Relationships of Some Monumental Earthworks in the Middle Ohio Valley. Several Newark Octagon to Marietta relationships presented astronomical constants accurately. Not unlike grinding and polishing a lens, with each step in methods improvement arc distances resolved more accurately in relation to astronomical constants. An ancient geodetic codex is now unveiling with some clarity, and this article discusses those research results. I compiled the Newark results in a Google Earth file.

Marietta Conus Mound and Ellipse

Initial Findings

Initially I observed, on a National Geographic 1:267,000 map, the Newark-Marietta arc distance equaling circumference divided by days per year. With GPS coordinates and trigonometry, I also noted the arc distances from the Octagon to the two truncated pyramids in Marietta Square, the Quadranau (maqum) and Capitoleum (macam) mounds (Figure 1), match two lunar orbit values (Table 1). Significantly, lunar theory correlates to a capacity for navigation and longitude determination.

The Octagon centerpoint datum (nocp) is the average of the GPS readings for the eight embankment vertices. From the Octagon to Capitoleum Mound, arc distance and degrees E - W (longitude difference) are equal. From the Octagon centerpoint the arc distance cir/365.24 and the same longitude difference converge within 250 feet of the center of Marietta Square, one of the largest Hopewell squares (1510' per Romain). The arc distance cir/365.01 and the same longitude difference from the Octagon converge atop Marietta Capitoleum mound, the high point of Marietta Works.

Figure 1. Marietta Earthworks

There are 10,000 rotations in 365 lunar orbits
and in 366 there are 10,000 days.  

Calendar keepers count days and years, or rotations, or moons. Astronomers count all these and more. Three fundamental astronomical motions, earth rotation and lunar and solar orbits, present the following ratios in integers; there are 10,000 rotations in 365 lunar orbits and in 366 there are 10,000 days. The two lunar orbit numbers, 365 and 366, are repeated in the Octagon to Marietta arcs, with Octagon-Quadrana arc equaling cir/366 and Octagon-Capitoleum equaling both cir/365 and E-W cir/365 (Table 1). A primer on fundamental astronomy in the Archaeogeodesy pages discusses formulas and precession. Appendix B below references the astronomy code terms and abbreviations herein.

Marietta Quadranau Mound deskpicture

The Ancient Earthworks of Eastern North America pages provide photo galleries, site descriptions, collected data, survey maps, references cited and placemark and data file links. Google Earth users can view earthwork survey drawings using Eastern Woodlands placemark overlays of Squier and Davis 1848 survey maps.

Newark Latitude and Longitude

The Figure 2 ground plan represents the actual spatial relationship of the Octagon and Great Circle features of the Newark works. Newark Earthworks has been termed the largest geometric earthwork in the world. The Octagon is certainly the largest single geometric earthwork form at 2898.5 feet long. While several earthen circles in Ohio are larger in diameter, Newark's Great Circle probably represents the largest circular work in labor investment. The Great Circle (ncec) is actually an ellipse, measuring 1189 by 1163 feet (mean 358.4 m), while the Octagon's Observatory Circle (nocc) is nearer a true circle at 1059 by 1050 feet (mean 321.4 m). The Newark circles are centered over a mile apart, at about 1,934 meters.

Figure 2. Newark Earthworks ncec-nocp   N-S = 0.01366° = 0.0005 S22 ncec-nocp   E-W = 0.01319° = 0.0010 C27

The Newark circles align to Marietta's Capitoleum Mound (Figure 2), with an angle of 180.02° on Eagle Mound (nccm) near the center of the Great Circle (ncec). The Capitoleum Mound to Eagle Mound ratio of arc distance to degrees longitude difference is 1.0 to 0.9966. From the Octagon centerpoint (nocp) the ratio is 1.0 to 0.9999, hence local latitude to longitude ratio at Newark is also accurately expressed by the Marietta relationship. Arc distance equaling longitude difference may have function when comparing astronomical observations from two positions, both mathematically and for time keeping. At the same diurnal time of night in the two locations the cosmos is precisely one day apart in overhead position.

At the Octagon latitude, linear measure of latitude (N-S) equals 1.3012 times equal angular measure of longitude (E-W). The Octagon latitude-Capitoleum longitude intersection is eastward from the Octagon 1.3011 times the distance northward from the Capitoleum. Possible builder intention expressing Newark's latitude to longitude ratio is even more convincing in the relationship to Serpent Mound, where the dimensions match the actual latitude:longitude triangle by having the long dimension expressed along the meridian distance (N-S).

Serpent Mound

2009.01.13 - Serpent Mound undulates across a ridge, from a spiral at the tail to open maws facing an oval mound. The centerpoint of Serpent Mound Oval Mound is one degree (cir/360) west of Newark's Great Circle centerpoint (ncec-smom E-W = 1.00001°). Eastward from the oval mound to the longitude of the Great Circle compares to their latitude difference in the ratio 1.0 to 1.30067. The longitude to latitude ratio at Newark Circle is 1.0 to 1.301024. At the apex of the Octagon, the ratio was 1.0 to 1.3013 during the Hopewell epoch. The Octagon to Great Circle E-W to N-S ratio is 1.0 to 1.3034. The tangent of a 3.65010 to 1.0 right triangle equals 1.3034 radians. The ratio approximates the lunar illumination variance due to elliptical orbit; apogee to perigee ratio is about 800:701 and the square of their ratio is 1.3025 (illumination is formulated with the square of distance). The arctangent of one-seventh is 8.1301024.

Serpent Mound photos, maps, placemarks, PowerPoint

Newark Astronomy and Geodesy

The Newark archaeoastronomy discussion in Temporal Epoch Calculations considers local latitude to longitude ratio and other possible reasons for the Octagon's alignment (51.45° Thomas). Temporal Epoch Calculations also provides some academic history of Newark studies and of claims Newark is an observatory associated with lunar standstills. The following excerpts from my previous Archaeogeodesy articles discuss several North American site-to-site relationships expressing the 0.03650 lunar orbits per rotation module (R27):

"At Fort Center, Florida, an about 1188 foot in diameter prehistoric earthen circle was built, near the same size as the 1189 foot Newark Circle. Outside of the Middle Ohio River Valley, the large Fort Center Circle is unique in North America. Large earthen circles are also known in Northeastern Europe and smaller earthen circles are not uncommon. The arc distance between Fort Center and Newark expresses the fundamental equation of lunar orbits per earth rotation (R27, 0.036501 cir). The center-on-center arc distance between the Fort Center Circle and ... Observatory Circle equals 13.14059° or 1.000016 R27. This is an excess of only 23 m in relation to a center-on-center line over 900 miles long between two earthen circles each 360 m in diameter.

"Grave Creek Mound is the largest mound along the Ohio River, the highest Adena mound, and one of the largest conical mounds in the Americas. It is located upriver from Marietta Earthworks. The arc distance from Grave Creek Mound to Newark Observatory Mound is 1.3136° (0.09997 R27, 0.00365 cir).

"... One R27 is the longitude difference between the Pyramid of the Sun, the second largest pyramid in the Americas, and the largest platform mound in the American Southwest, Pueblo Grande, in Phoenix, Arizona. The longitude difference between Newark and Teotihuacan is 1.25 R27."

The spacing of Fort Center's circle at precisely 0.0365010 circumference from Observatory Circle is impressive in and of itself, without the redundancy of the module and ratio repeating in relation to other sites. Equating earth rotation and lunar motion to fixed space (0.03650 lunar orbits per rotation, 365 lunar orbits in 10,000 rotations) is fundamental to accurate lunar astronomy and temporal measure. Geodetic monuments accurately expressing sidereal astronomical ratios on a one-to-one planetary scale infers accuracy in both astronomy and geodesy.

GPS reading on the Great Circle in Newark, Ohio, Fall 2005.

Ancient Surveyors and Mounds

2009.01.26 - As mentioned, the spacing from Grave Creek Mound to Observatory Mound is 0.00365 circumference. Unfortunately, much of the monumental works at Grave Creek have not survived modern developments. Recently, one of the stone towers was used as road fill by a subdivision developer. Thanks primarily to their imposing sizes I suspect, at least the largest mounds at each complex have so far escaped destruction. With time, already fragmentary archaeological records become more diminshed. An ethnohistorical source, the Chilam Balam of Chumayel, conveys details of surveying the landscape and construction of over 6,000 mounds.

NEW -   Newark Archaeogeodesy PPT   3.2 MB PowerPoint

Latitude Geometry and Astronomy

2009.04.04 - I've discussed geodetic geometry of monument latitudes, 4/5 atan at Monks Mound, 3/5 atan atop Ur Ziggurat, 3:4:5 at Harran, cir/7 in Avebury, cir/14 at Karnak, and other sites. One of the oldest known stone circles, situated one-fourth the distance from equator to pole at Nabta Playa, Egypt, infers intentional latitude placement originates at an early date. In contrast to simple integers of spatial geometry, the latitudes at Newark and Marietta present solar and lunar modules (Table 2). Marietta's latitude equals 40 times solar orbit per day (40 SO). The same astronomy module arose in relation to Ur Ziggurat:

"Divide earth's circumference by days per solar orbit (0.98561° = SO),
multiply by 10 pi, and the result is the latitude of the Ur ziggurat,
or 30.9638° = 31.4159 SO."

Representing the lowest integer intercalation of days to sidereal motion, two latitudes transect Marietta, three times lunar orbit per rotation (3 R27) and forty times solar orbit per day (40 SO). Figure 1 illustrates the relationships of the monument to the latitudes in 322 A.D. The 40 SO - 3 R27 latitude difference equals 0.00322° or 358.6 m (also the diameter of the Great Circle). In 322 A.D. earth rotation was inclined 3/5th's of Marietta latitude, an arc equal to 24 days of solar orbit, 24 SO. The 55 SO latitude at Thornborough equals 1 3/8 times Marietta's 40 SO latitude. Equating lunar motions to days of solar orbit unifies and modulates the time scale for various superimposed, independent motion-derived periods, correlating time and space.

The Quadranau and Octagon colatitudes (angle to the pole) express the ratio of the lunar nodal and anomalistic periods, 1.0 : 1.012580. Thornborough latitude expresses the ratio of lunar synodic period in relation to Newark and Marietta colatitudes representing the nodal and anomalistic periods, expressing S29:S22:S25. Table 3 compares these monument latitudes and colatitudes.

In a previous article, Thornborough Henges and the Ure-Swale Monuments Assessing Evidence of Geospatial Intelligence in the Neolithic, I noted arc distance from Newark to Thornborough South is 2.0 times solar orbit per nodal period (S22), and that Thornborough's latitude equals 1.8623 times solar orbit per lunar synodic period (S29). Eclipse cycles are intercalations of two lunar periods, the synodic and nodal periods (Table 2). The multiple "1.8623 times" presents an astronomical number; eclipse nodal period is 18.62277 days less than a tropical year. Newark Octagon colatitude equals 1.86226 S22. Capitoleum colatitude equals 1.86234 times lunar orbit per anomalistic period (S25). The modules are each 1.8623 multiples of the three lunar periods.

Newark and Mesoamerica

Long hidden in the Petén rainforests, Guatemala's large Maya city Tikal is now Tikal National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tikal Pyramid IV, at 231 feet, towered over tropical jungle as America's tallest prehistoric structure for over a millenium before rediscovery in 1848. After decades, I'm rereading a recent used bookstore score, Maya Explorer, John Lloyd Stephens and the Los Cities of Central America and Yucatán by Victor Wolfgang von Hagen. Reading of Stephens exploring lost Maya cities in 1840 provides historical context; knowledge of Tikal is more recent history, and fragmentary like that of the Ohio earthworks and like all archaeology. Likewise after some time, improved data accuracy allows reconsideration of major monument relationships in the Americas. Tikal ranks high on the major monument list.

I'm researching online in parallel, shifting focus south from Middle Ohio River Valley geometric earthworks to the largest stone and adobe monuments of the Americas. I'm searching for more Maya GPS data and still awaiting high resolution Google Earth updates for many ruins. While still difficult to find and access, sufficiently accurate data exist today to assess some spatial relationships of these greatest ancient monuments. Mesoamerica site data and codes follow in Appendix C.

The Newark to Tikal arc distance equals 24.0 SO and 1.80 R27, 3/5ths of Marietta's latitude. In about 322 A.D, obliquity of the ecliptic—the inclination angle of the earth's rotation axis—also equaled exactly 24 SO. The difference between 24 SO and 1.8 R27 equaled cir/186,254. In 322 A.D., during the epoch the Hopewell built geometric earthworks, Marietta latitude equaled 5/3rds of obliquity. At this time the Tikal Maya begin erecting stelae with dated glyphic writing, then building the tallest stone monuments in the Americas.

• Newark - Chichen Itza = 0.36501 atan - 0.36525 atan
• Newark - Teotihuacan = 1.25 R27 E-W
• Newark - Huaca del Sol = 1.8 S22
• Newark - Pachacamac = 4.0 R27
• Newark - Stonehenge = 1 7/8 S29, 1,000.0 pi : 1.0
• Newark - Thornborough = 2.0 S22, 1,000.0 pi : 1.0

Reflections

2009.04.05 - The degree of geospatial intelligence in the ancient Americas was certainly greater than historically known. The sophistication of ancient geodesy and astronomy in prehistory transcends current paradigms in archaeology. Well, reality is transcendental, independent of thought about it. Ignorance of the past not equating to a past of ignorance is no surprise. Geospatial intelligence in the ancient world was apparently far greater than documented by current historians. The telescope is no substitute for counting and thinking.

Fortunately for archaeology, the mathematics of astronomy and geodesy transcends cultural and temporal boundaries, remaining accessible and assessable without ancient oral languages. As incontrovertible as the actuality of arc distances and astronomical constants may be, intentionality must be addressed. Incontrovertibly demonstrating intentionality is a more difficult thresold than empirical analysis of geometry. Fortunately also, the sheer size of the earth is a very large scale, an incontrovertibly robust control with contextual geodetic meanings permitting precise knowledge expression and refined quantitative analyses.

Paradigms in science, while resistant to alterations, do crumble even if slowly in the face of incontrovertible evidence. At least mine have. Lost history is not what it once was.

Further Readings

• Newark Archaeogeodesy PPT   3.2 MB PowerPoint
• UNESCO Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative
• Ohio Archaeology Blog - from the staff of the Ohio Historical Society
  • A View Within the Circle
• Hopewell Lunar Astronomy: The Octagon Earthworks - by Joe Knapp
• VIDEO: Cracking the Maya Code
• von Hagen, Victor Wolfgang 1948 Maya Explorer, John Lloyd Stephens and the Los Cities of Central America and Yucatán University of Oklahoma Press
• Bienias, Michelle. Shooting the Mayan Pyramids of Tikal for UNESCO VRMAG Feb 2006
• Does the Foot Fit Britannia?
• The Dresden Codex Lunar Series and Sidereal Astronomy
• Eclipses, Cosmic Clockwork of the Ancients

Bibliography and References on the Eastern Woodlands Page

Appendices

ArchaeoBlog - An archaeology web log by James Q. Jacobs

• 2008.04.25 - The Ur and Harran Latitudes, and Göbekli Tepe
• 2007.07.16 - Southwest Spring 2007 Travel Posts
• 2007.03.02 - Ancient Peruvian Astronomical Observatory at Chankillo

Betatakin Ruin Alcove. Download the deskpicture - 1280 pixel image.