Confused by Shadows
I’ve been busy this week with trips to libraries for research. In fact I’ve been made a little bit busier due to a problem with something I found.
Temple A, also known as the Temple of Hercules. Plan from Pirro Marconi’s report of 1929.
I was checking the sizes and dating evidence for temples at Agrigento. The plan of Temple A in Marconi’s report was very odd because it showed most columns mainly on the north side of the temple, and I thought the surviving columns are on the south side. When I looked later at the plans for Temple D, I also found the shadows were pointing in the opposite direction. So it looked like Marconi had rotated the plan by 180° without noting it.
Temple of Hercules viewed from the South. Photo (cc) Mark1706.
Then came the next problem. Temples D and F are very close in date – perhaps twenty years apart – and very close in size. The slightly later Temple F is longer by around a metre in length. They are almost twin temples. But there are problems with the plans, which I’ve scanned so you can see for your self.
Temple D, also known at the Temple of Juno Lacinia. Plan from Pirro Marconi’s report of 1929.
Temple F, also known at the Temple of Concord. Plan from Pirro Marconi’s report of 1929.
Now here’s a puzzle. Is one of these plans rotated or is the architect not following a consistent scheme when drawing in the shadows? I assumed that because the plan looked like it was professionally drawn that it would follow conventions. Moreover the shadows on the plan of Temple F are very odd, because they suggest that the Sun is at an azimuth of 45° but in Agrigento the northernmost position of the Sun would be around 61° – so is Temple F printed with south at the top of the plan? It’s possible because I’ve found a plan Gela with the north arrow inverted. The obvious answer would be to check other plans. I’ve tried that, but the current convention in Classical Archaeology is that you simply don’t mark north.
This is where GoogleMaps is handy because I can check the satellite view.
Temple D
Listed as the Temple of
Juno Lacinia
,but probably not an accurate name.
Temple F
Listed as the Temple of
Concord
,probably an inaccurate name.Zoom in for a better lookto compare with the plan.
Temple A
Listed as the Temple of
Hercules
.I think this name may be right.
Having had a look at the site with Google Earth I have an opinion, but yours may differ. If you click on a temple marker and then zoom in you should be able to close enough to look for yourself. Does it look like any of the temple plans are the wrong way round?
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