Globe of Matelica

The Globe of Matelica (Globo of Matelica) is an ancient Roman sundial sculpted on a marble ball. The artifact was found during the 1985 reconstruction of the medieval Palazzo Pretorio, presently Museo Civico Archeologico, of Matelica in the region of Marche, Italy.

Description

The globe measures nearly 29 cm in diameter an appears to be sculpted from a cristalline marble originating near Ephesus in present-day Turkey. It is thought to date from the first two centuries CE. There is one similar item, identified in 1939 by Carl William Blegen in a Museum in Nafplio, Greece.

All that remains is the stone component, it is engraved with a variety or lines and letters are inscribed. The sphere is bisected by a center line while on its top are three concentric circles of various diameters, intersected by an arc of a circle and on which words in ancient Greek alphabet are still visible, and 13 holes, each marked by a Greek letter. In these holes were probably metallic insertions that delineated the hour.[1]

In the lower part there is a large conical depression which ends with a big rectangular hole maybe made to secure the base. Other theories for the sphere are that it was used for astronomical calculations, thus as an armillary sphere or for use in spherical astronomy.[2]

gollark: In the UK, you can apparently join the military at 16, but not vote until 18.
gollark: Who?
gollark: I mean, it's bad for your liver and stuff, and also brain.
gollark: alcohol bad.
gollark: Please note that I am not responsible for any damage to chickens and/or other animals and/or mothers caused directly or indirectly as a result or not as a result of messages sent by me or other people on Discord or other platforms.

See also

References
  1. Description of Astronomical calculus of globe, by Andrea Carusi and Danilo Baldini, from l'Astronomia n. 92 (October 1989) pp. 30-38.
  2. Tourism Office of the Region of Marche, entry on globe.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.