A project to faithfully reconstruct a 7,000 year-old solar observatory, the oldest of its kind in Europe, began this week at Goseck in the German state of Saxony. The reconstruction, which is estimated to cost a total of 100,000 euros ($122,830) at its completion, should be finished by the end of the year and the restored observatory will join the growing list of increasingly popular 'Sky Way' attractions of ancient sites related to the study of astronomy.
     The observatory was first discovered in 1991 when the 75 meter diameter circular outer ring was unearthed by archeologists after an aerial photograph revealed the site. A good 12 years later, the team of experts under the direction of Professor Francois Bertemes uncovered the main hall area which led them to believe that this was a major find. They were right. The observatory was not only the largest of its kind on the continent and an important discovery in the quest to understand ancient astronomical exploration but it gave the archeologists further insight into the spiritual-religious world of Europe's first farmers.
     Experts say that the southeast gate of the observatory corresponds to the exact point the sun rose at the beginning of the winter solstice on Dec. 21 almost 7,000 years ago. The southwest gate is believed to be the corresponding point to the sundown on that date. Its discovery is also significant due to the fact it is situated only 23 kilometers from the place where the 3,600 year-old sky disc of Nebra was discovered in 2002, an example of one of the earliest astronomical representations of the night sky. The solar observatory, situated in an area rich in ancient heritage sites in Saxony-Anhalt is estimated to have been originally built sometime around 5,000 years BCE.

Source: Deutsche Welle (4 June 2005)