<< Our Photo Pages >> Wurdi Youang - Stone Row / Alignment in Australia
Submitted by Andy B on Monday, 07 February 2011 Page Views: 17733
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Wurdi Youang Alternative Name: Mt. Rothwell, Mount Rothwell SiteCountry: Australia
NOTE: This site is 74.018 km away from the location you searched for.
Type: Stone Row / Alignment
Nearest Town: Geelong Nearest Village: Little River
Latitude: 37.895149S Longitude: 144.466250E
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Its construction date is unknown, and could be anywhere in the range c. 25000BC to about 1835AD. All records of its use have disappeared. Archaeoastronomical surveys indicate that it was related to observations of the changing setting position of the sun on the western horizon. Inventory of the remains: The Wurdi Youang Aboriginal stone arrangement, also known as Wada Wurrung and the Rothwell Archaeological site, consists of a roughly egg-shaped circle, about 50m in diameter, of about 100 basalt stones. The stones range from small rocks about 20cm in diameter to standing stones about 1m high—some of which appear to be supported with ‘trigger stones’—with an estimated total mass of about 23 tonnes.
The three largest stones in the circle are placed together at the western end, from which a number of small outlying stones indicate the setting position of the Sun at the solstices and at the Equinox, to an accuracy of a few degrees. The straight segments on the north-east and south-east sides of the ring also indicate the sun’s setting points at the two solstices when viewed from the eastern apex of the ring.
History of the site: The area has been occupied by the Wathaurong hunter-gatherer Aboriginal people from about 25000 BC until their culture was badly damaged in about 1835. However the Wautharong and their culture survived and continues to this day. The area has been farmed by European settlers, although the Wurdi Youang site itself has been untouched.
Geographical position: Near the village of ‘Little River’, between Geelong and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
More information: ICOMOS–IAU Thematic Study on Astronomical Heritage
IMPORTANT NOTE: The coordinates given are of the cultural centre nearby. The Aboriginal custodians of the Wurdi Youang stone arrangement have requested that the exact coordinates are not made public. The arrangement is now on private Aboriginal owned land and trespassing/damage have increased as the popularity of the site has increased.
Note: Wurdi Youang rocks could prove Aborigines were first astronomers
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