Aubrey holes as eclipse predictor: 56-pit system analyzed. Gerald Hawkins and Fred Hoyle proposed the 56 Aubrey holes could predict eclipses The Aubrey hole circle contains 56 evenly spaced pits inside Stonehenge's bank System uses 4 markers: moon (moves 2 holes every 28 days), sun (2 holes every 13 days), ascending/descending nodes (3 holes per year opposite direction)
Gerald Hawkins proposed Stonehenge's 56 Aubrey holes could predict eclipses. The system uses moon, sun, and node markers cycling in ~18.66 years—remarkably close to the actual 18.61-year lunar node cycle. Richard Atkinson dismissed this as impractical for Bronze Age builders, but 56-sided polygons were used in antiquity for eclipse prediction.
Key Facts
- Gerald Hawkins and Fred Hoyle proposed the 56 Aubrey holes could predict eclipses
- The Aubrey hole circle contains 56 evenly spaced pits inside Stonehenge's bank
- System uses 4 markers: moon (moves 2 holes every 28 days), sun (2 holes every 13 days), ascending/descending nodes (3 holes per year opposite direction)
- Nodes cycle around in 18.66 years, very close to the actual 18.61-year lunar node cycle
- Richard Atkinson criticized the theory, calling Bronze Age people 'howling barbarians'
- Plutarch recorded Pythagoreans used a 56-sided polygon associated with eclipse prediction (Typhon)
- The system can work but requires coping with inaccuracies and periodic corrections
- Similar 56-stone arrangements found at Alesia stone boat in Sweden
Related site: Stonehenge — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: The Astronomy of Stonehenge | Simon Banton | Origins Conference by MegalithomaniaUK