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.
Aubrey holes as eclipse predictor: 56-pit system analyzed
EnglandArchaeoastronomy
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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
Sources
stonesofstonehenge.org.uk
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