Abstract
THE Glasgow Herald of Sept. 17 contains an article by Mr. L. MacLellan Mann describing the markings on some stones at Langside and Cleuch, near Glasgow. The markings on the two stones are nearly alike, consisting of series of rings, arcs, and cup-like depressions. Mr. Mann claims that these have astronomical significance; some of the groups of cups are shown to resemble the Sickle in Leo and (more doubtfully) a star-group in Scorpio. He further claims that he can identify records of ancient eclipses; it would, however, need a fuller explanation of his method to induce astronomers to accept his claims in full. He states that he identified the date of a recorded eclipse as B.C. 2983 Mar. 28* Gregorian reckoning from the stone itself, and afterwards found by consulting astronomers in Berlin that there was a total eclipse on that date, the track of totality passing over or near Glasgow. The writer of the present note has verified this latter fact independently, making use of the new-moon tables by the late C. Schoch that are contained in “The Venus Tablets of Ammizaduga” (Langdon and Fotheringham, 1928). These tables make use of the latest values of the solar and lunar accelerations; but there is of necessity a considerable margin of uncertainty in computing the tracks of very early eclipses.
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Curious Markings on Stones in Scotland. Nature 126, 743 (1930). https://doi.org/10.1038/126743b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/126743b0