Groanhenge! Or why this stone circle was in wrong spot all along
IT is Scotland’s answer to Stonehenge and has been attracting pagans and druids for decades.
But while the mysteries of the ancient stone circle in Wiltshire remain obscure, at least one secret of its modern counterpart in Glasgow has been revealed – and a rather embarrassing one at that.
The Sighthill Stone Circle was meant to align with the rise and fall of the sun and moon in the sky above the city – but its creator has now admitted that the structure i s out of alignment with the stars after he made an error on his calculations.
Astronomy enthusiast Duncan Lunan is the man behind the modern- day monument, which was erected in 1979 when images were beamed across the world as 17 huge stone blocks weighing up to four tons were carefully lowered into place by RAF helicopter.
Yet in all its 35 years as a popular pilgrimage spot for Scots druids and pagans, the circle has never aligned with the sun or moon – and nobody has ever noticed the error.
Mr Lunan now admits that in the frantic rush to make the calculations before the helicopter arrived, some errors were made in accounting for ‘ atmospheric refraction’ – the change in light as it passes through the atmosphere.
He said: ‘ In ancient times they took generations to observe the movement of the sun and moon before they put up the stones.’
But he was not afforded the luxury of time with his own project, explaining: ‘ There was a rush before the helicopter operation to get the calculations done.
‘That particular winter of 1978-79 was so bad that we hadn’t got a concrete survey of the skyline until about eight days before. It meant that I was required to produce the calculations on my boss’s desk the following morning, and I had to stay up all night.
‘The pressure in that last week before the helicopter arrived was very real.’
But it was not until years later – when the stones were an iconic part of the north Glasgow skyline and a favourite site for Scots spiritualists – that Mr Lunan became sure that his calculations were wrong.
He remembers: ‘The first time I noticed that everything wasn’t exactly right was the midwinter sunset of 1982. It wasn’t a big dis- crepancy, but it did make me wonder. In 1992 I saw the midsummer sunrise for the first time, and it was r eally noticeable. I was coming to notice that everything was to the right of where I had thought it to be.’
Now the circle i s set to be relocated to make way for a new £250million development, part of Glasgow’s bid for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
Mr Lunan has disclosed that he will be setting his mistake right, by finally aligning the stones perfectly. He said: ‘We do have another site picked out. I’m not at liberty to say where yet, but it is nearby, to
preserve the historical links. The circle will be regenerated at another site and I will have to do the astronomical work again. I now know what to account for. I do now know more calculation is required.’
The Sighthill Circle was touted as the f i rst astronomically aligned stone circle built in Britain for 3,000 years.
Built at the highest point of Sighthill Park, the stone circle has a vantage point over the surrounding tower blocks of the high-rise estate near Springburn.
The project was a result of a local job creation scheme which aimed to give unemployed locals temporary work, easing them into the workforce.
There are 17 stones in the Sighthill Circle – with 16 forming a circle 30 feet across, and the largest, four-ton, stone in the centre.