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Final Program (9/11/2015)

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arrow November 9th

Museum of Classical Art of the Department of Classics, Rome University "La Sapienza"

       9:00-9:30 Registration and Poster Mounting

       9:30-10:00 Welcome addresses: Dr. M. A. Rappenglück, SEAC President; Prof. Roberto Masiani, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Roma "La Sapienza" University, Prof. Stefano Asperti, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities.

       10:00 Lectio Magistralis by Prof. Roberto Buonanno, President of the Italian Astronomical Society: "The Harmony of the Celestial Spheres"

       11:00-11:30 Invited talk by Dr. Juan Antonio Belmonte, Instituto de Astrofìsica de Canaria: "Orientatio ad Sidera (OAS): highlights of a decade of archaeoastronomical research in the Mediterranean region and beyond"

       11:30 Coffee break

       11:45 Lectio Magistralis by Prof. Sen. Lucio Lombardi Satriani, Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma: "Astronomy, Anthropology"

       13:00 Lunch

       Session "Problems and Methods of Cultural Astronomy"

       Chairman: Giulio Magli

        14:15 - 14:35 D. Brown Phenomenology of Shadow

        14:35 - 14:55 V. F. Polcaro The Credibility of Archaeoastronomy: Suggestion From Pharmacology?

        14:55 - 15:15 M. A. Rappenglück Cosmic Entomology: The Image and Function of Insects in Archaic Sky Watching and Cosmovisions

        15:15 - 15:35 J. Vit, M. A. Rappenglück Looking through a telescope with an obsidian mirror: Would specialists of ancient cultures have been able to view the night sky using such an instrument?

        15:35 - 15:55 G. Zotti Open Source Virtual Archaeoastronomy

       16:00 Coffee break

       Session "Astronomy in Extra-European Cultures"

       Chairman: Elio Antonello

        16:15 - 16:35 J. Holbrook, J. de Prada-Samper !Xam Skylore of the Karoo Desert, South Africa

        16:35 - 16:55 S. Iwaniszewski Another Look at the Lunar Series from Dos Pilas and Naranjo

        16:55 - 17:15 J. McKim Malville Animism and Reciprocity at Sky Watching Places

        17:15 - 17:35 R. Moyano The Crossover Among the Incas in the Collasuyu

       18:00 Welcome cocktail party

arrow November 10th

Auditorium of the University Chapel

       Special Session on "Astronomy in Ancient Near East (Mesopotamia, Persia, Levant, Turkey) and Egypt, from the origins to 395 CE"

       Chairman: Juan Antonio Belmonte

        9:00 - 9:20 E. Orrelle Identifying transition in ritual power in the Neolithic of the Levant

        9:20 - 9:40 J. Steele Evidence for the Practice of Astronomy and Astrology in the "House of the ašipu" in Uruk

        9:40 - 10:00 D. Nadali, A. Polcaro The sky from the high terrace: study on the orientation of the ziqqurat in ancient Mesopotamia

        10:00 - 10:20 L. Verderame Pleiades in ancient Mesopotamia

        10:20 - 10:40 S. Pizzimenti The Kudurrus and the Sky. Analysis and Interpretation of the Astral Symbols as Represented in Kassite Kudurrus Reliefs

        10:40 - 11:00 S. Gullberg The Babylonian Astronomical Diaries: A Graphical Analysis of their Implied Reference System

       11:00 Coffee break

       Chairman: John Steele

        11:15 - 11:35 J. A. Belmonte, M. C. Pérez Die, L. Díaz-Iglesias Llanos Shrines of Ram-Headed Divinities and Canopus: Skyscaping at Herakleópolis Magna

        11:35 - 11:55 A. C. González-GarcÌa, J. A. Belmonte, A. Polcaro A diachronic analysis of monument orientation in the Levant: the Jordanian paradigm

        11:55 - 12:15 E. Ratson Ideal Lunar Velocity

        12:15 - 12:35 S. Shinnar Rabbinic Standards for Accuracy in Lunar Observation: Regulating the Calendar in the Mishnah Rosh Hashanah

        12:35 - 12:55 A. Rodríguez Antón, J. A. Belmonte, A. C. González-Garcìa Romans in Near East: Orientation of Roman towns and forts in modern Jordan

        12:55 - 13:15 A. Jones Eclipses in Greco-Roman Egypt: Trends in Observation, Prediction, and Interpretation

       13:15 lunch

       Session "Cultural Astronomy in Ancient Greece"

       Chairperson: Mary Blomberg

        14:00 - 14:20 E. Boutsikas The orientation of Greek temples in sanctuaries of Asia Minor, Sicily and Cyprus

        14:20 - 14:40 M. Revello The Sun of Homer

        14:40 - 15:00 L. Sims Apollonian Delphi: how history comes to the aid of prehistory.

        15:00 - 15:20 B. Castro, I. Liritzis, A. Nyquist Determining the Oracular Time: Comparative Astronomical Measurements of Apollonian Temples

       Session "Cultural Astronomy in Ancient Italy and in Roman Empire"

       Chairman: Marco García Quintela

        15:20 - 15:40 R. Hanna, G. Magli, A. Orlando Astronomy and landscape in the Valley of the Temples of Akraga

        15:40 - 16:00 P. Littarru Forty years of archaeoastronomical research in Sardinia

       16:00 Coffee break

        16:15 - 16:35 A. Orlando, D. Gori Megalithic Temple of Diana on the Cefalù Rock (Sicily)

        16:35 - 16:55 M. Ranieri, F. Carnevale Solstices at Sesto Fiorentino: an Investigation on Geometry and Alignments of the Tholos Tombs of the Etruscan Princes

        16:55 - 17.15 M. Rapisarda, M. Ranieri "Phoenician lighthouse" at Capo Gallo (Palermo)?

        17:15 - 17:35 M. Monaco The Temple B in Largo Argentina, Rome: CAD Analysis of The Ground Plan Reveals a Geometrical Circle-Pentagon-Circle Scheme

       18:00 - 20:00 G. Zotti Tutorial: producing and configuring Stellarium landscapes for orientation studies

arrow November 11th

Auditorium of the University Chapel

       Session "Cultural Astronomy in Ancient Italy and in Roman Empire"

       Chairman: Nick Campion

        9:00 - 9:20 M. De Franceschini, G. Veneziano Archaeoastronomy in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome

        9:20 - 9:40 D. Epinosa Espinosa, A. C. González-García, M. V. García Quintela On the Orientation of Roman Towns in the Limes Germanicus

        9:40 - 10:00 A. C. González-García, M. V. García Quintela Celtic Solar Orientation of Lugdunum Convenarum

        10:00 - 10:20 N. Lanciano, P. Virgili The urban set of the Pantheon and the Mausoleum of Augustus in Rome, between architectural and astronomical symbolism.

        10:20 - 10:40 M. Ranieri, M. Monaco From Desgodetz to Laser Scanner: Measures and Geometries in the Plan of the Pantheon

        10:40 - 11:00 S. Sclavi, F. Carnevale, M. Monaco, S. Gaudenzi, M. Ranieri, V. F. Polcaro, C. Scatigno The Orientation of Mithraea In Ostia Antica

        11:00 - 11:20 V. Tiede Ara Pacis Augustae: An Astro-Archaeological Analysis

       11:20 Coffee break

       Session "Cultural Astronomy in Ancient Iberian Peninsula and Canary Islands"

       Chairman: Cesar Gonzales Garcia

        11:35 - 11:55 C. Esteban Equinox Markers in Protohistoric Iberian Sanctuaries

        11:55 - 12:15 M. Pérez, A. Rodríguez Dìaz, I. Pavón Soldevila, D. M. Duque Espino A Orientalizing Ritual Building in Aliseda (Cáceres, Spain)

        12:15 - 12:35 M. Pérez Gutierrez, A. Ruiz Rodríguez, M. Molinos Molinos The Iberian urban sanctuary of Puente Tablas (Jaén, España)

       12:35 - 12:55 F. Silva The Prehistoric Skyscapes western Iberian project: an update

        12:55 - 13:15 L. Sims Praile Aitz 1: A Basque Magdalenian lunar-solar cave at 15,500 BP?

        13:15 - 13:35 A. Ulla, F. Braña Rey, E. Pérez Fernández Application of cultural astronomy methods to High School by means of studying astronomical decorations and orientations of hórreos in two locations of Galicia (Spain). Statistics, comparison and educational conclusions.

       13:35 lunch

       Session "The Sky Bear"

       Chairman: Roz Frank

        14:05 - 14:25 E. Antonello Sky simulations for the Paleolithic epoch

        14:25 - 14: 45 M. Ridderstad The Bear and the Year: the Origin of the Finnish Late Iron Age Folk Calendar and Its Connection to the Bear Cult

        14:45 - 15:05 D. Gunzburg Time pursued by a Bear: Ursa Major and stellar time-telling in the Paduan Salone

        15:05 - 15:25 R. Frank Sky Bears research: Implications for "Cultural Astronomy"

       Session "Cultural Astronomy in Ancient Northern Europe and British Islands"

       Chairman: Lionel Sims

        15:25 - 15:45 P. Amstrong Mesolithic and the Neolithic Skyscapes in Western Britain

        15:45 - 16:05 L. Henty Continuity or change? A microscopic scale analysis of monuments and ritual in Aberdeenshire.

       16:05 Coffee break

        16:15 - 16:35 C. Maumené The Gundestrup cauldron : is this the key to the enigma?

        16:35 - 16:55 M. Ridderstad Sacred or Profane Spaces - Comparing the Orientations of the Neolithic Housepits and the Giants’ Churches of Ostrobothnia

        16:55 - 17:15 V. Tuménas The links in attributes between the Baltic Thunder God Perkunas and his analogues - Jupiter and Zeus

       Session "Cultural Astronomy in Ancient Eastern Europe"

       Chairperson: Penka Stoeva

        17:15 - 17:35 O. Kuzmanovska, J. Stankovski Lunar Markers of the Peak Sanctuary Kokino

        17:35 - 17:55 F. Stanescu The Small Round Sanctuary of the Sacred Terrace of Sarmizegetuza Regia, Romania. The Problem of Number 13

        17:55 - 18:15 A. Stoev, P. Maglova, M. Spasova Late Chalcolithic solar-chthonic rock-cut structures for time measuring in the Eastern Rhodopes, Bulgaria

       18:15 - 20:00 G. Zotti Tutorial: producing and configuring Stellarium landscapes for orientation studies

arrow November 12th

       10:00 - 13:00 "Half day excursion to Rome Imperial Fora and Coliseum"

Auditorium of the University Chapel

       Session "Cultural Astronomy in Ancient Eastern Europe"

       Chairperson: Penka Stoeva

        14:00 - 14:20 A. Mickaelian Armenian Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture

        14:20 - 14:40 S. V. Farmanyan Ancient Cosmology in Armenian Highland

       Session "Cultural Astronomy in Christian Churches"

       Chairman: P. Jean-Paul Hernandez SJ

        14:40 - 15:00 B. Vilas Estévez, A. C. González-García Light and Shadow in Santiago: the Cathedral of Saint James and its orientations.

        15:00 - 15:20 M. Incerti, G. Lavorati, S. Iurilli, U. Velo Survey, archaeastronomy and communication: the Mausoleum of Teodoric in Ravenna (Italy)

        15:20 - 15:40 M. García Quintela, A. C. González-García From Hagiography to Celtic Cosmology: the Early Years of Santa Mariña in the Lagoon of Antela (Ourense, NW Spain) and the Limici Celtic heritage

        15:40 - 16:00 E. Spinazzè Alignments at the patron saint’s day of sacral medieval buildings and the light path inside the church at the saint’s day

       16:00 Coffee break

        16:15 - 16:35 M. Zedda A Statistical Analysis on the Orientation of the Romanesque Churches of Sardinia, Corsica and Tuscany

        16:35 - 16:55 B. Brady Welsh Monastic Skyscapes: the design and results of a pilot project

        16:55 - 17:15 B. Brady The Western Orientation of the Solstitial Churches of Gweynedd, Wales.

        17:15 - 17:35 S. Bartolini, M. Pierozzi Astronomy and Solar Symbology in the Basilica of San Miniato al Monte and Florence Baptistery in Florence

        17:35 - 17:55 B. Benfer Light Beams and Architecture Marked Celestial Events in Colonial Churches and Missions in New Spain and Perú

        17:55 - 18:15 B. M. Mak Astral Science from the Near East to China in the late first millennium AD - Dorotheus in Pahlavi and Duli Yusi Jing in Chinese

arrow November 13th

Museum of Classical Art of the Department of Classics, Rome University "La Sapienza"

       Session "Astronomy in Medieval texts"

       Chairman: Vito Francesco Polcaro

        9:00 - 9:20 S. Draxler, M. E. Lippitsch Astronomy in the medieval Liber Floridus

        9:20 - 9:40 R. Neuhäuser, W. Rada, D. L. Neuhäuser Newly found old Yemenite observations of Supernovae 1006 and 1604

       Session "Cultural Astronomy in Renaissance and Modern Epoch"

       Chairperson: Manuela Incerti

        10:00 - 10:20 G. Gandolfi Astrology, Prophecy and the birth of Modern Science seen through the Lenses of Renaissance Art

        10:20 - 10:40 N. Campion Astronomy and Culture in the Eighteenth Century: Isaac Newton’s influence on the Enlightenment and Politics.

        10:40 - 11:00 L. Tirapicos The old and the new Rome: Francesco Bianchini’s astronomical exchanges with the court of Lisbon

       11:00 Coffee break

       Session "Cultural Astronomy in Contemporary Epoch"

       Chairperson: Jarita Holbrook

        11:15 - 11:35 A. Adamo Where telescopes cannot (yet) see: Saturn and the Moon as "seen" by space artists Scriven Bolton, Lucien Rudaux, Étienne Trouvelot, Chesley Bonestell

        11:35 - 11:55 H. Gropp Toward one date: The Easter date(s)

        11:55 - 12:15 R. Ndlovu Analysing Education as a variable in "the Sky in Our Lives Survey"

       12:15 - 13:30 Posters discussion

       13:30 lunch

       13:30 Poster dismounting

       14:00 - 15:45 Round Table: What is "cultural astronomy" today?

       Chairman: Michael A. Rappenglück, SEAC President. Participants: Roslyn Frank (University of Iowa), Stanislaw Iwaniszewski (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), Vito F. Polcaro (Institute of Space Astrophysics and Planetology, INAF), Giangiacomo Gandolfi (Rome Planetarium), Alberto Scuderi (Vice-president of the Italian Archaeological Groups)

       15:45 Coffee Break

       16:00 - 18:00 SEAC General Assembly

       20:30 Conference dinner

       November 14th - 15th : Post Conference Tour

Accepted Posters

        01) A. Adamo Sound si the night

        02) A. Adamo Looking the sky in the face

        03) E. Amsterdam Classical constellation patterns on the ground made up by artificial dwelling hills in Frisia, The Netherlands

        04) R. Assasi Astronomical alignment of Roman quadrifrons structures

        05) N. Ayash The Stars in the Minoan Religion

        06) N. Bekbassar Twelve year’s cyclic calendar in numismatics of the Golden Horde and Ilkhanate

        07) D. Brown, Ana Souto Skyscapes of Clifton Campus - Exploring Nocturnal Environments & Sky with Stellarium

        08) M.P. Burillo Quadrado, F. Burillo Coelum Empireum, Habitaculum Dei and souls’ destination

        09) C. Clausen Inter-visibility, Sightlines and Alignments

       10) M. Codebò, H. de Santis, G. L. Pesce A stone observatory at Bric Pinarella (Italy)

        11) P. Colona Ixion, an astronomical interpretation

        12) 12. I. De Angelis, T. Bosco, A. Altamore Under The Same Sky: An Italian approach to Astronomy for the Developing World

        13) J. de Jager Pyramids of Ancient Egypt - Paradox and Symmetry

        14) M.D. Duarte da Cunha A bull on the water (astronomy and navigation in the Eastern Mediterranean by Minoans in MM III period 1,600 BC and 1,200 LM III ACC).

        15) C. Esteban, L. B. de Lugo Enrich Venus and the Temples of Astarte across the Mediterranean

        16) C. Esteban, D. Iborra Pellín Archaeoastronomy in Bronze Age Tumular Tombs and Settlements of La Mancha (Spain)

        17) N. L. Furbee Disarticulated Dual Seasons and Maya Cosmology

        18) G. Henriksson King David’s Altar dated by the appearance of comet Encke in 964 BC

        19) R. Herrera Sundials and Some Other Astronomical Instruments to Measure the Sky

        20) S. Ivanova, A. Raduncheva, V. Koleva, D. Kolev Rock Sites in the Eastern Rhodopes: Archaeology and Astronomy

        21) 21. M. Koeppl A Calendar-astronomical Explanation of Homer’s Odyssey

        22) A. Kuzmin The Astronomical Birth of Napie’s Logarithmics

        23) G. Latura The Mysteries of Eleusis & the Zodiacal Light

        24) L. Lombardi, L. Ruggiero, L. Fabrizi, M. Chirri Rome is star shaped: STAR, an APP for the spread of Cultural Astronomy

        25) A. Mulas, M. P. Zedda Orientation of the Sardinian Nuraghic "Huts of Reunions"

        26) A. V. Mushich-Gromyko Archaic Astronomical Slavic Concepts and their Reflection in the Metrics of the Textile

        27) A. Orlando, M.T. Magro, M. S. Scaravilli The oriented altars of Pizzicata Rocks and the rocky sites of Alcantara Valley

        28) A. Orlando, D. Tanasi Rediscovering the Maltese temple of Borg in-Nadur

        29) M. Pérez Gutierrez, D. Bea Castaño, J. Diloli Fons, J. Vila Llorach, M. Prades Painous La Gessera: an Iberian building for worship?

        30) R. Perez-Enriquez, J. Galindo Trejo Basis of a Gnomonic Paradigm in Mesoamerica: the Case of Mayapan

        31) S. Rothwangl Heaven upon Earth: Educational model of the solar system on a scale of 1:1 billion

        32) 32. F. Stanescu The Small Round Sanctuary of the Sacred Terrace of Sarmizegetuza Regia, Romania. The Problem of Number 13

        33) A. Stoev, P. Maglova Research project "Astronomical orientations and geophysical anomalies of trapezoidal niches in the Eastern Rhodopes, Bulgaria": in search of an international partnership

        34) A. Stoev, P. Maglova, V. Markov, M. Spasova Prehistoric rock sanctuary with arch near the village of Kovachevitsa, Bulgaria: spatial orientation and solar projections

        35) M. Zedda Hypothesis about a Astronomical System of Ligures Apuan in Garfagnana

        36) B. Zlatev On the Value of Proclus’ Perfect Year and Its Meaning


        G. Zotti Tutorial: producing and configuring Stellarium landscapes for orientation studies
Georg Zotti will offer a workshop about creation and configuration of calibrated landscape panoramas for use with Stellarium. Attendands must bring their own notebooks (please no netbooks, but full-size systems. Minimum suggested: Core i3 or equivalent, Graphics: Intel HD or NVidia or AMD Radeon with OpenGL 3.0 or better, 4GB RAM, screen should be 1366x768 or larger, FullHD recommended).
For participation we need to know how many will attend as Georg needs to prepare and bring lecture note CDs/DVDs with sample images and calibration images for which he will ask for €15.- from each workshop participant.
Interested registered attendants (limited to 30) should write to me (vitofrancesco.polcaro@iaps.inaf.it) until October 15th. Please, confirm your participation to this workshop as soon as possible: only the first 30 applications in order of arrival time will be accepted.
Registered participants will receive email before conference about free and/or open-source software they have to download and install before the workshop starts.

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