Namoratunga

Namoratunga represent an archaeoastronomical site at the west side of Lake Turkana in Kenya, believed to have been founded around 300 BC. Namoratunga II contains 19 basalt pillars, aligned with 7 star systems Triangulum, Pleiades, Bellatrix, Aldebaran, Central Orion, Saiph, and Sirius. Namoratunga means "people of stone" in the Turkana language. Mark Lynch and L.H. Robbins discovered the sited in 1978. Lynch believes the basalt pillars ties the constellations or stars to the 12 month 354 day lunar calendar of Cushitic speakers of southern Ethiopia. The pillars aligns with the movement of the 7 constellations corresponding to 354 day calendar. The pillars are surrounded by a circular formation of stones. One grave with a pillar on top exist in the area. Namoratunga I contains a similar grave but no pillars. ^[1][2]

References

1. ^ Helaine, Seline(1997). Encyclopaedia of the history of science, technology, and medicine in non-western cultures. Springer, p. 755, ISBN 0792340663, 9780792340669
2. ^ Krupp, Edwin C.(2003). Echoes of the Ancient Skies: The Astronomy of Lost Civilizations Astronomy Series. Courier Dover Publications pp. 170-172. ISBN 0486428826, 9780486428826