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History of Sundials

HISTORY OF SUNDIALS
It is not at all surprising that the present generation knows little about the sundial, which in our present complex existence the sundial has become the forgotten timekeeper. It is reminiscent of a more leisurely existence when "time waited for no man, no sundial", whereas today no man waits for time. When the Pilgrims landed on our shores and up to the time of the American Revolution, a sundial was the most common timekeeper on the Continent, even though many cities and towns had erected towers containing primitive mechanical clocks similar to the one in Milan, Italy; and despite the fact that at the beginning of the l0th century mechanical timekeepers had been perfected, the sundial was still used by one of the leading railroads in France to regulate the watches of their trainmen. Furthermore, how many, except perhaps the most adventurous travelers, know that in many places throughout the world the sundial is, even today, the principal or only timekeeper; that in parts of Japan and China, a simple noon mark sundial is used by government post offices. A recent letter from a postmaster in a small Japanese country town states that he uses a noon sundial "to regulate the time and it is quite punctual than to depend on cheap watches, not a sundial." Man has always regulated his life and work by time in one form or another. Primitive man may have been content with a day of two periods of starlight and sunlight. As it became necessary for him to travel farther afield he soon would have observed that a constant watch must be kept on the apparent motion of the sun in the sky. He could travel outward as long as the sun rose, but as it began its descent toward the opposite horizon he must hasten to retrace his steps in order to return before nightfall. This division of the day into two parts must soon have become insufficient, and the development of a sundial was needed.

THE HISTORY OF SUNDIALS
It is not improbable that primitive woman may have caused man to devise a means of apportioning the day into smaller parts which could be relied upon, for reasons easily imagined. His solution to the problem is readily conjectured. Surely our caveman ancestor noticed the phenomena of shadows cast by upright objects; how the shadows lengthened and shortened in relation to the position of the sun. By placing a stick firmly in the ground he could watch and study the shadow it cast. Probably stones or sticks were placed at the extremity of the shadow at various times during the day, giving him definite periods of short duration, and the length of these periods could be arranged to suit his comfort and needs. But, another problem arose. How could the traveler return at a prearranged time? Here again the solution is obvious to us. He could carry with him a stick equal in length to the height of the one which had been securely placed in the ground near his cave. Thus, the first stationary and portable sundials may have been born. No doubt Mrs. Caveman frequently remarked, "Don't forget your shadow pole and return when the shadow's length is one pole."If the perpendicular stick or gnomon type was the first sundial, there is nothing to indicate what was produced between the time of its invention and the appearance of those early sundials of which we have information. In order to preserve clarity and continuity in tracing the History of Sundials, no detailed definitions of terms explained elsewhere will be given here. Therefore we leave conjecture behind and let the sundial tell its own story.

Egyptian Sundials and the History of the Sundial
Beginning about 1500 B.C. At the beginning of the 20th century the earliest sundial known was devised about 370 B.C., whereas today we have examples of sundials used in Egypt about 1500 B.C., which were brought to light through archeological exploration. As the archeologist has made us more familiar with the life and work of early peoples, so has our knowledge of early timekeeping instruments penetrated the dark recesses of history. We know the Egyptians were well versed in astronomy and mathematics; that they understood at a very early date the motions of the earth and planets; and that they had fixed the year at about 365 days; but, very few Egyptian sundials have been found.

Sundials made of stone in the form of a flat bar about 12 inches long with a perpendicular T-shaped piece fixed at one end. The time of day was deduced by the position of the shadow cast, by the upper edge of the cross piece, between the marks cut at irregular intervals on the top surface of the bar. When in use, the cross piece must be turned toward the east in the morning and toward the west in the afternoon. The plumb line is used for placing the instrument in a level position. An Egyptian sundial of similar character constructed during the period of about 660-330 B.C. (Later Period in the history of sundials), which tells time throughout the day without being turned for the afternoon hours. In addition to the flat sundial surface, ramps and steps have been cut into the sides. The position of the shadow on them will also give the hour. This arrangement enabled the sundial to be set without the aid of a standard line or meridian, for it was only necessary to place it in a level position, then move it until the time shown by the shadow on the ramps or steps agreed with the time shown on its upper level surface. We hope you enjoyed this first page on the history of sundials.   more on the History of Sundials..

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