by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)
In the middle of the Neolithic period more than 5,300 years ago, mysterious tombs and carvings were erected and etched in Loughcrew, an area in County Meade in Ireland. When archeologists studied these tombs and carvings one thing became clear — ancient Irish astronomers had an uncanny ability to predict celestial events such as when the winter and summer solstices would occur.
A series of spiral-shaped and circular petroglyphs was found at the Loughcrew Megalithic Monument and they depict a solar eclipse that dates to Nov. 30, 3340 B.C.E. — the oldest solar eclipse ever recorded in human history, according to NASA. Near the monument the charred remains of about 50 people were found, a possible indication of a human sacrifice to mark the event.
Civilizations throughout time have been fascinated by solar eclipses and many have assigned deep spiritual and religious meanings to these events. The phenomenon is fairly common. There are up to five each year across the world, but they impact a small area, meaning it can be rare to experience one without traveling, Arkansas State University physics professor Dr. Ross Carroll told Talk Business & Politics.
