June 2021
Page 36

Vitruvius on Sundials

Discusses the content related to sundials found in Book IX of De Architectura by the Roman author Vitruvius (c. 80–15 BC). Chapter VII provides a general discussion on dialling, while Chapter VIII credits various ancient figures—including Berosus, Aristarchus, and Apollonius—with inventing different types of early dials like the Hemicyclium, Bowl, and Plinthium.
Book Reviews, Dials: Hemispherical, Historical Dials

J. P. Lester

June 2020
Page 44

A Freshly-excavated Sundial from Antiquity Found in Turkey

Reports on the March 2020 excavation of a marble "hemicyclium" sundial in the ancient city of Laodikeia, Turkey. The dial features Greek inscriptions for the winter solstice, equinox, and summer solstice, though its exact dating (Hellenistic vs. Roman era) is still debated.
Dials: Hemispherical, How Sundials Work, Historical Dials, Dials: Scaphe

John Davis

September 2019
Page 22

3D Reconstructions of Ancient Sundials with Multiple Faces: Part 2

This article continues the analysis of ancient multi-faced sundials using 3D reconstructions. It examines a dial from the Musei Vaticani with three vertical hollow cylindrical faces and a combination dial from Herculaneum featuring vertical hollow cylindrical and spherical faces. Analysis includes calculation based on geographical latitude and declination lines.
Dials: Hemispherical, Dials: Multi Faced, Historical Dials, Mathematics of Dialling

Ortwin Feustel

December 2015
Page 37

Newbury One-Day Meeting 26 September 2015

A report on the annual BSS Newbury meeting featuring various talks and exhibits. Highlights include Irene Brightmer’s discovery of a globe dial within a stone sphere, Martin Jenkins' DIY garden projects, and Frank King's demonstration of an umbrella as an astronomical instrument.
DIY Sundial Projects, Dials: Hemispherical, Dials: Unusual, The BSS and Members

Ian R. Butson
Doug Bateman

March 2013
Page 20

Report on the Greek Dial from Delos Stored in The Louvre (MA 4823)

A scholarly report on a fragmentary Greek sundial held in the Louvre. The authors discuss its geometry, probable use, and its place in the evolution of ancient dial types.
Dials: Astrolabe, Dials: Equatorial, Dials: Hemispherical, Historical Dials

Jérôme Bonnin
Denis Savoie

September 2013
Page 6

The Globe Dial of Prosymna

Detailed description and analysis of a solid white marble globe sundial from antiquity (c. 100 BC) found near Heraion. It uses the terminator (boundary of light and shadow) for time indication and features complex line systems representing hours, seasons, and zodiacal signs.
Dials: Hemispherical, Dials: Unusual, Historical Dials, Mathematics of Dialling

Karlheinz Schaldach
Ortwin Feustel

March 2012
Page 27

Postcard Potpourri 21: Lewes, East Sussex

This entry features an undated postcard (c.1930) of a spherical dial at Lewes Castle. It references "The Book of Sun-Dials" (1900) which describes the broken and mended stone ball, noting its unknown history and questioning its current existence.
Dials: Hemispherical, Historical Dials

Peter Ransom

March 2012
Page 30

Gillot and Fragonard: two eighteenth century French artists’ conceptions of ball sundials

This article discusses two 18th-century French artworks depicting ball sundials: Claude Gillot’s etching for a fable and Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s painting "Rêverie." It argues that while artistically unrealistic, these dials serve a narrative purpose by precisely indicating time to convey moral or emotional messages within their respective contexts.
Dials: Hemispherical, Historical Dials, Sundial Design & Layout

Malcolm Bishop

September 2010
Page 35

Holiday Sightings

This entry briefly describes a Greco-Roman conical dial at Side, Turkey, made of white marble with day curves for the solstices but unusually lacking those for the equinoxes.
Dials: Hemispherical, Historical Dials

Edmund Knight

December 2009
Page 2

The Pantheon as a timekeeper

This article argues that the Pantheon in Rome functions as a large-scale timekeeper, similar to a roofed spherical sundial. It examines how sunlight entering through the oculus marks specific times of the year, such as the equinoxes, and compares its astronomical features to those of Nero's Domus Aurea.
Dials: Hemispherical, Dials: Unusual, Historical Dials

Robert Hannah

June 2006
Page 78

The Pyramidical Dial in the King’s Garden at Whitehall

This article reconstructs the spherical dials from the complex 1669 Pyramidical Dial in Whitehall, based on descriptions by William Leybourn. It details various glass sphere dials, including those showing time by heat ("fire"), water, optical alignment ("air"), and terrestrial globes ("earth"), and discusses their delicate construction and short lifespan.
Dials: Hemispherical, Dials: Unusual, Historical Dials

Mike Cowham

December 2006
Page 184

The Roman Sundial at Dion: the famous Macedonian sanctuary

E. Theodossiou describes a unique spherical Greco-Roman sundial discovered at Dion, Macedonia, dating to the 1st century AD. This well-preserved white marble artifact, found in a 'luxurious house', features eleven hour lines and inscriptions dedicating it from I. Granius Felix, a market inspector. It is a significant find for ancient Macedonian archaeology.
Dials: Hemispherical, Historical Dials, Mottoes

E. Th. Theodossiou

June 2002
Page 52

Ancient Sundials of Israel, Part 1: Sundials Found in Jerusalem

Archaeological survey of ancient sundials discovered in Jerusalem, including conical and hemispherical dials, their contexts, and cultural relevance.
Dials: Hemispherical, Historical Dials

Shaul Adam

March 2001
Page 41

Millennium Sundials for Nottinghamshire Schools

Describes a Nottinghamshire County Council competition for schools to mark the Millennium, with sundials as prizes. The author was consulted on the design, choosing an updated ancient hemicyclium: a hemispherical bowl on a plinth, with a rod gnomon. The ceramic dials, crafted by Danel Sherlock, feature hour, equinox, and solstice lines. A booklet guides setup and reading, hoping the dials will serve as useful learning tools for the winning schools.
Construction Projects, Dials: Hemispherical

Donald J. Bush

February 2000
Page 3

Graeco-Roman Sundials, Part 1: Dials Based on the Sphere

Explores early Greek and Roman hemispherical and hemicyclium sundials, their geometry, historical usage, and accuracy.
Dials: Hemispherical, Historical Dials, How Sundials Work, Mathematics of Dialling

Allan A. Mills

February 2000
Page 12

Bowl Dials - A Brief Comparison in Depth

Compares aesthetics and function of deep hemispherical vs shallow bowl sundials, including gnomonic differences and delineation methods.
Dials: Hemispherical, Dials: Scaphe, Sundial Design & Layout

John Moir

June 1998
Page 40

The Hemispherium or Dial of Berosus in Anna Liffey Garden, Lucan, Co. Dublin

This article describes a hemispherical sundial, or 'hemispherium,' located in the author's garden, reputedly invented by Berosus around 300 BC. It details the successful process of delineating the solstice and equinox lines using a custom-made template and explains the dial's function in dividing daylight into 'temporary hours'.
Construction Projects, Dials: Hemispherical, Dials: Scaphe, Sundial Design & Layout

Dick Shackleton

October 1998
Page 8

Helios XXII

This article introduces an innovative 'Helios XXII' sundial concept, designed as an architectural shell structure or summerhouse. It features a hemispherical dome with a reflective pool at its centre and a stainless steel rod circulating water creating ripples. Reflections from the water, with shadows from the concentric ripples, are projected onto the dome's underside, marking hours and seasons, aiming for a tranquil contemplative environment.
Construction Projects, Dials: Hemispherical, Dials: Unusual, Sundial Design & Layout

Barry Mason

July 1997
Page 3

Sundials in Israel

This article provides a historical overview of sundials in Israel, from ancient biblical references and archaeological artifacts to sundial makers of the 20th century. It describes various types of dials, including hemicycliums, portable stone dials, and modern vertical and horizontal dials.
Dials: Hemispherical, Dials: Horizontal, Dials: Vertical, Historical Dials

Shaul Adam

February 1992
Page 24

The Miracle of Ahaz

The article clarifies the Biblical account of the "Dial of Ahaz," explaining that the original Hebrew text refers to "steps" and a "staircase" rather than a sundial with "degrees." It discusses how medieval illustrations, like Holbein's, misinterpreted this, depicting a hemicycle-like device. The author also notes an adjustable Jewish hemicycle described in a 1650 translation, which could tell time by both the sun and the moon.
Dials: Hemispherical, Historical Dials

Peter I. Drinkwater

October 1992
Page 37

The Holker Dial

This article describes the Holker Dial, a large shallow bowl sundial made of Burlington slate, sited at Holker Hall. Designed by Mark Lennox-Boyd, it is a projection of Berossos' hemispherium onto a shallow bowl, marked with 15-minute divisions, zodiacal signs, and a combined table for correcting for longitude offset and Equation of Time. The article details the challenging production process by Burlington Slate, involving computer-calculated polar coordinates for engraving and the moving of massive stone objects.
Construction Projects, Dials: Hemispherical, Dials: Scaphe, Mathematics of Dialling, Sundial Design & Layout

Mark Lennox-Boyd

February 1991
Page 8

The Roman Cylindrical Sundial in the Zemaljski Museum, Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

The Roman Cylindrical Sundial in the Zemaljski Museum, Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, by Milutin Tadic" discusses a rare cylindrical sundial discovered in Yugoslavia. It highlights the features of ancient sundials, such as being carved in stone and typically concave. The article presents a reconstruction of the Diluntum sundial, explaining its potential mechanism using a horizontal gnomon and projected diurnal arcs to show seasonal hours.
Dials: Hemispherical, Historical Dials

Milutin Tadic

October 1990
Page 12

The Spherical Sundial

This article discusses various forms of spherical sundials, from simple painted stone spheres to the ancient concave hemisphere (Scaphe or Hemicycle) and the later, less effective, convex hemisphere. It also explores the projection of spherical coordinates onto a plane, linking them to the discovery of the analemmatic dial.
Dials: Hemispherical, Historical Dials, Dials: Scaphe, Dials: Armillary Sphere

Peter I. Drinkwater

October 1990
Page 26

Q for Question

This article, presented in a question-and-answer format, describes a didactic hemispherical sundial that models the Earth's relationship to the sun. It explains how the shadow of a bead indicates date and time, distinguishes it from ancient Greek dials, and clarifies why it needs occasional adjustment about its axis to display clock time.
Dials: Hemispherical, Equation of Time, How Sundials Work

George P. Woodford