Patterns of orientation in the megalithic tombs of the western Mediterranean

Abstract

Nearly all the Neolithic communal tombs of western Europe and the western Mediterranean have a well-defined orientation. In the west of Iberia, the great majority faced within the range of sunrise (and moonrise), while in Iberia as a whole and the west of France nearly all faced either sunrise or the sun when it had risen and was climbing in the sky. By contrast, at Fontvieille near Arles, tombs faced sunset, and along the French Mediterranean region to both east and west of Fontvieille, tombs faced either sunset or the sun when it was declining in the sky. In Sardinia, tombs faced southeasterly; by contrast, on Menorca, tombs faced southwesterly.