March 2014
Page 2

Two Conical Sundials with Missing Gnomons in the Archaeological Museum of Athens

This paper analyses two ancient Greek conical sundials (3156 and 3157) recovered from the Dionysus Theatre. Since their gnomons are lost, geometric characteristics are used, alongside an assumed obliquity of the ecliptic, to calculate their geographical latitude and gnomon length. The calculated design latitudes (33° to 36°) suggest they may have been looted from other Mediterranean regions, rather than being built specifically for Athens (37° 58΄).
Dials: Scaphe, Dials: Unusual, Historical Dials, Mathematics of Dialling

Evangelia Panou
E. Th. Theodossiou
V. N. Manimanis
Konstantinos Kalachanis