Table of Contents
Ed Barnhart claims that sixteen years of fieldwork on sky alignments in Cambodia uncovered a solar event builders inside the tropics could use. He says the sun stands straight overhead only between those latitudes, so people in Europe, and in much of Egypt, had no reason to mark it. On that noon, he explains, a vertical rod throws no shadow, and the day shifts with latitude, which is why separate Maya cities do not share one date. He stresses that the famous central temple is only a small piece of wider Angkor, where he places the overhead noons in late April and mid August. Inside tall shrine roofs he reports a cap opening, a shaft, and an altar, with a narrow beam falling on the center. He reads the upright linga as a shadow tool and as a sign of paired creative power. Looted jewels and rain, he says, do not explain the repeated pattern.
Key points
- Ed Barnhart claims the overhead noon, which he calls zenith passage, occurs only inside the tropics.
- He says a vertical rod then casts no shadow, and the date changes with latitude.
- He claims many Angkor shrines have a top opening so a noon beam can reach an altar.
- He argues the upright linga can serve as that shadow tool while also standing for a creative pair.
- He says jewel theft and rain do not account for the same opening being repeated.
Short quotes
That's what I've been working on for 16 years now.
Ed Barnhart, Zenith Light in Khmer Temples
States how long he says this Cambodian sky survey has been his own work. Watch at 1:02
But as I've explained, zenith passage is the day that the sun is directly overhead.
Ed Barnhart, Zenith Light in Khmer Temples
Defines the overhead sun day that the rest of his argument depends on. Watch at 3:33
But for ancient astronomers of the tropics, it was a profound thing to fit into their understanding of how the heavens moved.
Ed Barnhart, Zenith Light in Khmer Temples
Claims tropical astronomers had to include an event that outsiders never see. Watch at 6:00
But the beam of light came down like a laser from the top hole.
Ed Barnhart, Zenith Light in Khmer Temples
Describes the narrow beam he says came through the roof opening. Watch at 9:16
Video by Archaeologist Ed Barnhart. Watch on YouTube.