|
|
Volume
3 no 1 The
Astronomical Design of Karakush, a Royal Burial Site in Ancient Commagene: An
Hypothesis1 Roger Beck Abstract. The
explicit astronomical content of the great monument of Antiochus I of Commagene
on the summit of Nemrud Dagh warrants the search for astronomical significance
in the design of other monuments of this ancient Near Eastern kingdom of the
first century BCE. The article advances the hypothesis that the nearby monument
of Karakush, built by Antiochus’ son, Mithradates II, as a burial site for the
royal women, was astronomically oriented, its three sets of peripheral columns
being so positioned that during June Leo would be observed setting behind the
lion columns after sunset, Aquila culminating over the eagle columns around
midnight, and Taurus rising behind the bull columns before dawn. It is
suggested, furthermore, that the astronomical occasion for the foundation of
this second monument was a recurrence of significant planetary conjunctions in
Leo. The ‘lion horoscope’ of Nemrud Dagh records the conjunctions of 62 BCE;
the Karakush site may be related to the conjunctions of 27-26 BCE. |