Bronze Age sundial from Prokletije (Montenegro)

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of signs on a Bronze Age slab "Sun stone" discovered at the foot of Maja e Can in Volušnica massif (Prokletije National Park, Montenegro). Studies have shown that the slab is an analemmatic sundial. The "Sun Stone" is more similar in marking to the slabs of the Srubnaya culture: all the cup marks are small and located along the ellipse line. Ellipses of bowl-shaped signs of analemmatic sundials from the Northern Black Sea region are similar in size to the reconstructed ellipse of the "Sun Stone". In addition, on one sundial from the Northern Black Sea region, the groove marks the distance that the gnomon must travel on the day of the winter solstice, similar to the groove on the Sun Stone. In the hour marking of sundial slabs from the Northern Black Sea region and Western Balkans, a clear continuity can be traced, confirming the dating of the XV-XII centuries BC and indicating contacts of representatives of the synchronous local Glasinac culture (Glasinac II – Glasinac III) of the Western Balkans with representatives of the Srubnaya culture of the Northern Black Sea region.

Keywords

• cup marks
• hour markers
• grooves
• slab
• analemmatic sundial
• hour line
• bronze age