Ancient “observatories” - a relevant concept?

Abstract

​It is quite common, when reading popular books on astronomy, to see a place referre to as “the oldest observatory in the world”. In addition, numerous books on archaeoastronomy, of various levels of quality, frequently refer to the existence of “prehistoric” or “ancient” observatories when describing or citing monuments that were certainly not built with the primary purpose of observing the skies. Internet sources are also guilty of this practice. In this chapter, the different meanings of the word observatory will be analyzed, looking at how theirsignificances can be easily confused or even interchanged. The proclaimed “ancient observatories” are a typical result of this situation. Finally, the relevance of the concept of the ancient observatory will be evaluated.