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AstroArchaeology of Lanka. By Dr Kavan Ratnatunga Astronomer Sunday 2019 March 24 th Ceylon Society Melbourne, Australia. Introduction. Both Astronomy and Archaeology are sciences that look at the past and does not allow you to directly experiment with the observables.
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AstroArchaeology of Lanka By Dr Kavan Ratnatunga Astronomer Sunday 2019 March 24th Ceylon Society Melbourne, Australia
Introduction • Both Astronomy and Archaeology are sciences that look at the past and does not allow you to directly experiment with the observables. • Astronomical events can however be dated and visibility located precisely. • If such an event is rare, then there is not much ambiguity, IF a matching event is found in archaeological record.
Archaeo-Astronomyusing Archaeological records for AstronomyAstro-Archaeologyusing Astronomical Events to date Archaeological records
Easter and Sinhala New Year • As it a few weeks before Easter and Sinhala New Year, let me now take a few minutes to introduce astro-archaeology with a new result about the Sinhala New Year. • How is the Sinhala New Year defined ? • Why is it drifting forward ? • When was the New Year dated apparently adopted ?
Solstice Equinox Solstice • Solstice Close to the equator the apparent position of Sunrise each morning drifts from 23.5 degrees South of East on December 21st during Northern Winter to 23.5 degrees North of East in Northern Summer. Amplitude increases with Latitude. • In Melbourne -38 degrees amplitude is 30 degrees • Equinox Sun rises exactly East on March 21st (Vernal Equinox) and on September 21st (Autumnal Equinox)
Spring Festival • In Northern Hemisphere there has always been from ancient times a Spring Festival to celebrate the end of a long Winter. • With the adoption of Christianity this has become Easter.
Easter Sunday • 2016 - Sunday, March 27th • 2017 - Sunday, April 16th • 2018 - Sunday, April 1st • 2019 - Sunday, April 21st • 2020 - Sunday, April 12th • 2021 - Sunday, April 4th • Why does it change every Year ?
Easter • The Date of Easter was defined in 325 CE at the Council of Nicaea as the first Sunday after the full moon following March 21st • So Easter is between March 22nd and April 25th for Non-Orthodox Christians. • However Easter was drifting away from the vernal equinox and into Summer at a rate of about 3 days every 4 centuries with the Julian calendar in use at the time.
Julian Calendar • When Julius Caesar established the Julian calendar in 45 BCE, he set March 25th as the date of the spring equinox. • A Leap Year, every year divisible by 4. • The Julian year (365.25 days) is slightly longer than the tropical year (365.2422 days), the Equinox "drifted“ in the Julian Calendar. • In 326 CE the Spring equinox occurred about March 21st. By 1582 CE, it had drifted backwards to March 11th in the Julian Calendar.
Gregorian Calendar • Keeps the Equinox at March 21st and allows Easter to be always celebrated in Spring. • Century years were not leap unless divisible by 400 • Adopted in 1582 by Catholic countries and the day after October 4th was October 15th to remove 10 extra days • Adopted only in 1752 by Great Britain and Dominions and the day after September 2nd was September 14th
Precession • The Gregorian calendar we now use, has been defined to keep the Vernal Equinox, when the Sun is rises east and moving North, to be on March 21st . • Precession of the Earth's axis of rotation, moves the position of Sun on the ecliptic @ Vernal Equinox through the 12 constellations of the Zodiac in about 25,772 years.
The Sinhala New Year • The Sinhala New Year is defined as the instant the apparent direction to the Sun moves across a fixed location on the ecliptic known as the first point in Aries. • This point is actually in IAU region Pisces • Precession moves this date forward one day every 70.56 years or through all 365 days of the year in about 25,772 years.
The New Year moves one day every 70.5 years and 335 years ago would have been on about April 8th on Gregorian calendar or on Julian calendar on March 28th
Sinhala New Year • By Astronomical computation we can find when the Sinhala New Year was on March 21st and the Sun rose exactly East when the Sun on that date was located at the First point of Aries. • So the start of the Sinhala New Year appears to have been defined on 282 CE the year of King Mahasena’s coronation.
Sun over Lanka in New Year • There is a mistaken concept that the New Year is defined with respect to the Sun being overhead Lanka. • However that is only a coincidence from about 600 years ago to about 100 years in Future. It is over • Dondra Head(5.9320°N) around April 5th • Point Pedo(9.7988°N) around April 15th.
Should we Fix Sinhala and Tamil New Year • For the Current Sinhala and Tamil New year it is closest to Kilinochchi(9.3803°N). • We can select Sinhala New Year for example when the Sun is directly over Nagadeepa(9.6071°N) a place of Cultural importance to all Lankans and define the Sinhala and Tamil New Year at noon on April 14th and fixed forever.
Solar and Lunar Eclipses • The oldest recorded Astronomical Events are Total Solar Eclipses. • The provide astronomers the only way to calibrate the small gradual changes in the rotation of the Earth to the Distant past. • This calibrations have been done consistently to about 700 BCE and govern the prediction accuracy of the longitude of past Total Solar Eclipses.
An eclipse referenced in Bible • And on that day,' says the Lord God, `I will make the Sun go down at noon, and darken the Earth in broad daylight'." (Amos 8:9) • "That day" was 15th June 763 BCE. The date of this eclipse is confirmed by an Assyrian historical record known as the Eponym Canon. In Assyria, each year was named after a different ruling official and the year's events were recorded under that name in the Canon. Under the year corresponding to 763 BCE., a scribe at Nineveh recorded this eclipse and emphasized the importance of the event by drawing a line across the tablet.
War between Lydians and Medes. • These two Middle Eastern armies were locked in battle when "the day was turned into night." The sight of this total solar eclipse was startling enough to cause both nations to stop fighting at once Ending a five-year war. The Lydians and the Medes, agreed to a peace treaty and cemented the bond with a double marriage. • The eclipse of 28th May 585BCE was predicted by Thales, the celebrated Greek astronomer and philosopher, but was probably not known to the warring nations.
The examples I have given have illustrated some of what can be done with Astro-Archaeology. • Now let me Focus of today’s presentation. • The visits of the “Buddha to the Island of Lanka”
Cultural Reality • The three visits of the Buddha to Lanka as documented in the Mahavamsa is ingrained in cultural reality of Sri Lanka, but has absolutely no archaeological evidence to support. • The early chapters of the Mahavamsa and it’s sources were written many centuries after the Buddha’s lifetime, and therefore based on collective memory of the community known as Artthakatha.
Arguments against Visits • Lanka did have prehistoric Trade with mainland, as evidenced by Carnelian beads found in 8th century burials at Ibankatuwa. • Travel time to Sri Lanka on foot would be long • Buddha never claimed to have supernatural powers. • The events as described are against the basic principles of the Buddha Dhamma.
No mention in Buddhist Texts • Buddha travelled around Northern India and his teaching and sermons given over 45 years to a growing number of disciples, was collected and the Buddhist Doctrine remembered orally, starting from the First Council held shortly after his passing at Rajagriha capital of the Kingdom of Magadha. • None of them mention a visit to Lanka.
Senarath Paranavithana says • No historical evidence to support the assertion of three visits by the Buddha to Lanka-dveepa. • Some people in the country get annoyed and hurt if we say Buddha did not visit Sri Lanka, therefore we will say he visited Sri Lanka and keep them in eternal happiness and satisfaction.
Mahavamsa Chapter 1The first visit of theTathagathato Mahiyangana
... in the ninth month of his buddhahood, at the full moon of Phussa, himself set forth for the isle of Lanka, ... as a place where his doctrine should shine in glory; and from Lanka, ... the yakkhas must be driven forth. • And he knew also that in the midst of Lanka, on the fair river bank, in the delightful Mahanaga garden, three yojanas long and a yojana wide, the meeting-place for the yakkhas, ... dwelling in the island. To this great gathering of that yakkhas went the Blessed One, and there, in the midst of that assembly, hovering in the air over their heads, at the place of the (future) Mahiyangana-thupa, he struck terror to their hearts by rain, storm, darkness and so forth.
Mahavamsa Chapter 1The second visit of theTathagathato Nagadipa
... in the fifth year of his buddhahood, saw that a war, caused by a gem-set throne, was like to come to pass between the Nagas Mahodara and Clodara ... on the uposathaday of the dark half of the month Citta, in the early morning, took his sacred alms-bowl and his robes, and, from compassion for the Nagas, sought the Nagadipa. • ... Hovering there in mid-air above the battlefield the Master, who drives away (spiritual) darkness, called forth dread darkness over the Nagas. Then comforting those who were distressed by terror he once again spread light abroad.
Dipavamsa • The older Dipavamsa which has a longer description about the 2nd Visit says • There was a great light wonderful and horrifying. They all saw the Buddha like the stainless moon in the sky. • So it is not unreasonable to recognize that the event over the Naga battlefield is a record of a Total Solar Eclipse, which would clearly have been remembered in the Atthakatha, passed down orally through the generations.
Māsā (months) of Year in Pali • Citta = Mar-AprVisakha = Apr-May • Jeṭṭha = May-Jun Āsāḷha = Jun-Jul • Sāvaṇa = Jul-Aug Poṭṭhapāda = Aug-Sep • Assayuja = Sep-Oct Kattikā = Oct-Nov • Māgasira = Nov-Dec Phussa = Dec-Jan • Māgha = Jan-Feb Phagguṇa = Feb-Mar • Based on Lunar Months of Luna Calander. • From New Moon to Full Moon
The Sun is more than about 100 times the diameter of the Earth. • The Moon is about 1/4 the diameter of Earth. i.e. 1/400 of diameter of Sun • The Earth in its orbit around the Sun, is about 400 times more distant than the Moon in its orbit around the Earth. • So coincidentally the Sun and Moon are about the same size of about half-degree as observed from Earth.
The Sun is 1.4 million km in diameter and varies in distance from 152 to 147 million km from Earth, resulting in an apparent angular diameter which varies from 31.6 to 32.7 minutes of arc. • The Moon is 3.5 thousand km in diameter, and varies in distance between 406 thousand km at apogee to 356 thousand km at perigee from Earth, resulting in an apparent angular diameter which varies from 29.4 to 33.5 minutes of arc.
A Solar eclipse happens when the Moon in it's orbit around the Earth passes in front of the Sun. If the apparent diameter Moon relative to the Sun at the time of eclipse is larger we have a Total eclipse and if smaller we have an Annular eclipse.
Total Eclipses of the Sun • A Total Eclipse of the Sun, is one of those spectacular displays of nature one must watch in your lifetime. • Although there are about 65 Total Solar eclipses each century, somewhere on Earth, they are however rare in any particular location, since the central path is less than about 250 km wide.
