Final Programme

28th Annual Meeting of the
European Society for Astronomy in Culture
Société Européenne pour l’Astronomie dans la Culture (SEAC)

September 6 - 10, 2021
Stara Zagora, Bulgaria

The conference venue is the Yuri Gagarin Public Astronomical Observatory. It is located on the roof of today's Romain Rolland Foreign Language High School. The building has an impressive architecture, in the spirit of "modernized classicism", built in the period 1939 - 1946. Sights of the city are within walking distance from the observatory.

We have 47 oral presentations and 9 posters, which will be printed and displayed in the Observatory Hall.

Scientific Organizing Committee

Antonio Cesar Gonzales Garcia - SEAC President (Institute of Heritage Sciences, National Research Centre (INCIPIT - CSIC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

Stanislaw Iwaniszewski (Archaeological Institute Warsaw, Poland, Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, Mexico)

Juan Antonio Belmonte (Instituto de Astrofìsica de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain)

Mary Blomberg (1934 - 2020) (University of Stockholm, Sweden)

Roslyn Frank (University of Iowa, USA)

Ioannis Lirizis (University of the Aegean, Rhodes, Greece)

Michael Rappenglück (Adult Education Center and Observatory, Gilching bei München, Germany)

Lionel Sims (University of East London, UK)

Rita Gautchy (University of Basel, Switzerland)

Local Organizing Committee

Alexey Stoev – Chairmen of the Local Organizing Committee

Space Research and Technology Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Public Astronomical Observatory "Jurij Gagarin", Stara Zagora

Penka Maglova – Space Research and Technology Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Stara Zagora

Vasil Markov – South West University “Neofit Rilski”, Blagoevgrad

Petko Nedyalkov– Sofia University “Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia

Mina Spasova - Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, BAS, Sofia

Angel Manev - Space Research and Technology Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Stara Zagora

Oleg Stoilov – Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Stara Zagora

Ivanka Sotirova – Stara Zagora Municipality

Petar Kalchev – Regional Historical Museum, Stara Zagora

Monday, September 6th

• 9:00 – 10:00 Registration,
• 10:00 – 11:00 Welcome addresses
• 11:00 – 11:20 Coffee break
• 11:20 – 17:00 Scientific talks - 10 presentations

Chair: Penka Maglova 5 presentations

11:20 – 11:40 Antonio César González-García, When location matters: the dolmens of the Central Pyrenees, a reappraisal
11:40 – 12:00 Juan Antonio Belmonte, Maitane Urrutia-Aparicio, The Solstice Delusion! Challenging winter solstice alignments in ancient Egypt
12:00 – 12:20 Diana Gergova, Аstronomy and immortality in the royal necropolis of the getae in Sboryanovo
12:20 – 12:40 Yavor Shopov, Krisia Petkova, Ognian Ognianov, Diana Gergova, Remote Location of Unknown Caves and Deep-Seated Rockslides in Sveshtari World Heritage Site by Unmanned Air Systems (UAS)
12:40 – 13:00 Leonard Dorogostaisky, Marc Frincu, An archaeoastronomical perspective on LBA tumulus necropolis Lăpuş – Podancfrom Romania

 • 13:00 – 15:00 Lunch
Interdisciplinary scientific expedition "Thracian sanctuaries from the Western Rhodope, Pirin, Rila and Sredna Gora mountains", 2001 - 2014

Chair: Antonio César González-García 5 presentations

15:00 – 15:20 Rita Gautchy, Time measuring devices and their multiple functions in Egypt, Greece and the Roman Empire
15:20 – 15:40 Stefanka Ivanova, Vesselina Koleva, Dimiter Kolev, The Sanctuary near the Village of Angel Voyvoda – Archaeological and Orientational Study
15:40 – 16:00 Stavros Kiotsekoglou, Penka Maglova, Alexey Stoev, Projective system for sun culminations in the area of Μaronia rock sanctuary, Greece

• 16:00 – 16:20 Coffee break
Open-air Sanctuaries from the Western Rhodopes*
*Short film about the objects investigated in the Neofit Rilsky University Research Center for Ancient European and Easterly Mediterranean Cultures in collaboration with National Archaeological Institute with Museum and Space Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and Regional Museum of Ethnography - Plovdiv

16:20 – 16:40 Bernie Taylor, Upper Paleolithic Constellations
16:40 – 17:00 Manuel Pérez Gutiérrez, Arturo Ruiz Rodríguez, Manuel Molinos Molinos, Carmen Rueda Galán, The Sun God of Puente Tablas (Jaén, España)

• 19:00 Welcome cocktail party, Nota Bar & Dinner, Stara Zagora

Tuesday, September 7th 11 presentations

• 9:00 – 13:00 Scientific talks with Coffee break at 11:00

Chair: Rita Gautchy 5 presentations

9:00 – 9:20 Mark Frincu, Levon Aghikyan, New considerations regarding two megalithic sites in Armenia
9:20 – 9:40 Göran Henriksson and Mary Blomberg, Orientation of 73 tombs from the late Minoan cemetery at Armenoi, Crete
9:40 – 10:00 Hans Martz de la Vega and Miguel Pérez Negrete, Tehuacalco spatial arrangement as a pattern for some Guerrero region’s sites, Mexico: The orientations and landscape.
10:00 – 10:20 Claude Maumene, A new possible astronomical significance of the standing stone row of “Le Grand Menhir Brisé” (Locmariaquer, France)
10:20 – 10:40 Silvia Motta, Adriano Gaspani, Soraya Ayub, Lorenzo Epis, Costa Paolo, Tiwanaku (Bolivia), an archaeoastronomical investigation on the role of astronomical targets in the orientation of the site

• 10:40 – 11:20 Coffee break

Rock-cut Monuments from the Eastern Rhodopes*
*Short film about the objects investigated in the Neofit Rilsky University Research Center for Ancient European and Easterly Mediterranean Cultures in collaboration with National Archaeological Institute with Museum and Space Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and Regional Museum of Ethnography - Plovdiv

Chair: Stanisław Iwaniszewski 6 presentations

11:20 – 11:40 Eberhard Zangger, E.C. Krupp, Serkan Demirel and Rita Gautschy, The Perennial Cycles of the Universe as Symbolized in Hittite Yazılıkaya
11:40 – 12:00 Alexey Stoev, Penka Maglova, Vasil Markov, Dimitriya Spasova and Anton Genov, Astronomical Aspects of the Rock Sanctuary Near Popovo Lake, Pirin Mountain and Potential Vectors for Azimuthal Observations of the Sun in Prehistory
12:00 – 12:20 J. Nicolás Balbi and Isabella Leone, Cromlech of Mezora: A Neolithic construction in the North of Morocco.An Archaeo-Astronomical updating in the search to identify a solar cult and other theories
12:20 – 12:40 Göran Henriksson, Rameses II and sunrise at the Great Abu Simbel temple
12:40 –13:00 Georg Zotti, Susanne M. Hoffmann, Doris Vickers, Rüdiger Schultz, Alexander Wolf, Revisiting Star Names: Stellarium and the Ancient Skies Database
13:00 – 13:20 Georgi Georgiev, A possible interpretation of the orientation of the main streets of Stara Zagora, according to the construction plan made by the engineer Libor Bayer in 1879

• 13:20 – 15:30 Lunch
Interdisciplinary scientific expedition "Thracian sanctuaries from the Western Rhodope, Pirin, Rila and Sredna Gora mountains", 2001 - 2014

• 15:30 - 18:30 Visit of the Regional Historical Museum - Neolithic dwellings, Roman mozaics, Visit of the Art Gallery, Departing from the Yard of the Romain Rolland Foreign Language School
  
  
• 19:00 Cocktail Party - Beer house

Wednesday, September 8th 11 presentations

• 9:00 – 13:00 Scientific talks with Coffee break at 11:00

Chair: Manuel Pérez Gutiérrez 6 presentations

9:00 – 9:20 Michael A. Rappenglück, Only the Skyscape or the Whole World? Reflections on a Well-Suited Methodology and Philosophy of Science Concerning a Cultural Cosmology
9:20 – 9:40 Penka Maglova, Alexey Stoev, Mina Spasova, Archaeoastronomical study of the Eneolithic rock-cut monument Belintash near the village of Mostovo, Asenovgrad municipality, Bulgaria
9:40 – 10:00 Stanisław Iwaniszewski, Records of the Lunar Cycles in Classic Maya Copán, Honduras
10:00 – 10:20 Andrea Rodríguez-Antón, Giulio Magli and A.César González-García, Orientation of Roman Centuriations in Italy. Preliminary Results
10:20 – 10:40 Ilaria Cristofaro, Skyscape Archaeology at Pompeii between the Archaic and the Hellenistic period
10:40 – 11:00 Themis G. Dallas and Alexandre Zanni, On the Orientation of Early Syriac Churhes

• 11:00 – 11:20 Coffee break

Rock-cut Sanctuaries in Western Bulgaria - Kyustendil Region*
*Short film about the objects investigated in the Neofit Rilsky University Research Center for Ancient European and Easterly Mediterranean Cultures in collaboration with National Archaeological Institute with Museum and Space Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and Regional Museum of Ethnography - Plovdiv

Chair: Michael A. Rappenglück 5 presentations

11:20 – 11:40 Mina Spasova, Penka Maglova, Alexey Stoev, A semiotic system with a calendar content in the prehistoric paintings of the Magura cave, Bulgaria
11:40 – 12:00 Andrea Rodríguez-Antón, Galileo Mobile Team and Hamdi Mansour, Astronomy from the exile: a study of the Sahrawi astronomical knowledge with project ‘AMANAR: Under the same sky’
12:00 – 12:20 Eva Spinazzè, Lunar alignments and symbolism in medieval sacred buildings
12:20 – 12:40 Maitane Urrutia-Aparicio, Juan Antonio Belmonte, Antonio César González-García, On the orientation of Romanesque churches along the Way of St James: preliminary results
12:40 – 13:00 Steven R. Gullberg, Milton Rojas Gamarra, Mônica Estrázulas, Jorge Horvath and César A. Zen Vasconcellos, Complementary duality of the Inca's cosmovision: An astrophysics perspective

• 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch

  Interdisciplinary scientific expedition "Thracian sanctuaries from the Western Rhodope, Pirin, Rila and Sredna Gora mountains", 2001 - 2014

• 14:00 – 19:00 scientific tour at the Karanovo mound and the Kabile Archaeological reserve, Departing from the Yard of the Romain Rolland Foreign Language School

Thursday, September 9th 16 presentations

• 9:00 – 16:30 Scientific talks with Coffee break at 11:00 and 16:20

Chair: Petko Nedyalkov 6 presentations

9:00 – 9:20 Mare Kõiva, Vernacular models: Heaven and Paradise based on Baltic Finnic and Eastern Slavic folklore
9:20 – 9:40 Marilyn Gottlieb-Roberts, The recurring seasons: an oral story-almanac preserved in the epic poem Beowulf
9:40 – 10:00 George Latura, Caesar’s Comet Gave Birth to the Roman Empire
10:00 – 10:20 Robert A. Benfer, Punitive Supernatural Beings Objectified in Astronomical and Architectural Representations Encouraged the Rise of Peruvian Civilization
10:20–10:40 Giangiacomo Gandolfi, Isabella Leone, Gianluca Masi - Painting the Antique Astronomers: an iconographical investigation of the baroque pictorial cycle of the History of Astronomy in Palazzo Patrizi-Montoro in Rome
10:40 – 11:00 María Florencia Muratore, Adrián Di Paolo and Alejandro Gangui, Archaeoastronomy and the orientation of churches in the Jesuit missions

• 11:00 – 11:20 Coffee break

Markov kamak - Rila Mountain Sunrise at Summer Solstice*
*Short film about the objects investigated in the Neofit Rilsky University Research Center for Ancient European and Easterly Mediterranean Cultures in collaboration with National Archaeological Institute with Museum and Space Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and Regional Museum of Ethnography - Plovdiv

Chair: Alexey Stoev 5 presentations

11:20 – 11:40 Petko Nedyalkov, Newest findings on comets – fiery sword connection
11:40 – 12:00 Vance Tiede, Temples of Egypt’s Eastern Desert and Nubia: An Astro-Archaeological Analysis
12:00 – 12:20 Giangiacomo Gandolfi, Nicoletta Lanciano, Gianluca Masi - The Sala dello Zodiaco in Villa Giulia and the Horoscope of Julius III
12:20 – 12:40 Rothwangl, Sepp - The Effects of Precession in Culture and Temporal Orientation
12:40 – 13:00 Marianna Ridderstad, Theatres of light and shadow: The role of astronomical orientations in the Minoan palatial centre of Mallia

• 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch

Interdisciplinary scientific expedition "Thracian sanctuaries from the Western Rhodope, Pirin, Rila and Sredna Gora mountains", 2001 - 2014

Chair: Vasil Markov 5 presentations

14:00 – 14:20 Vladimir Demirev, Vesselina Koleva, Dimiter Kolev, The Sharp Rock Sanctuary and the Legend of Krali Marko
14:20 – 14:40 Nicholas Campion, Teaching Cultural Astronomy at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David: An Update
14:40 – 15:00 Aleksandra Bajić, Milan Dimitrijević, The secret (astronomical) Lore of Yoginis I
15:00 – 15:20 Aleksandra Bajić, Milan Dimitrijević, The secret (astronomical) Lore of Yoginis II
15:20 – 15:40 Jarita Holbrook, Introducing ASTROMOVES

• 15:40 – 16:00 Coffee break
  Markov kamak - Rila Mountain Sunrise at Summer Solstice*
  *Short film about the objects investigated in the Neofit Rilsky University Research Center for Ancient European and Easterly Mediterranean Cultures in collaboration with National Archaeological Institute with Museum and Space Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and Regional Museum of Ethnography - Plovdiv
  
  
• 16:00 – 17:30 Poster Session - 9 poster presentations

16:00 – 16:10 Silvia Motta, Adriano Gaspani, An archaeoastronomical investigation on the Black Church (Biserica Neagră), in Brasov, Romania
16:10 – 16:20 J. Nicolás Balbi, Santiago Maiese, Isabella Leone, Gustavo Corrado, Bella Vista to the Cosmos. Chronology of an Astronomical teaching and scientific dissemination work and its experiences.
16:20 – 16:30 Themis G. Dallas, Summer Solstice Sunset at the Cave of Aghia Triada
16:30 – 16:40 J. Anna Estaroth, Utilising the natural wonder of the skies
16:40 – 16:50 George Latura, Harmonic Universe: Plato to Kepler
16:50 – 17:00 Claude Maumene, The corridors of the dolmens of Menga and Viera and the Milky Way
17:00 – 17:10 Sepp Rothwangl, The Influence of the Moon on Humans, the Example of Menstrual Cycle since Prehistory
17:10 – 17:20 Florence Wood and Kenneth Wood, The Warrior Menelaus and Ancient Greek Archeoastronomy
17:20 – 17:30 Jarita Holbrook, Javier Mejuto, Steven R. Gullbrg, Annette S. Lee, Alejandro M. López, Cultural Astronomy & Modern Skywatching 

• 17:30 – 18:30 Round table on methodological issues
• Closing the conference
• 20:00 Astronomical observations at the Yuri Gagarin Astronomical Observatory

Friday, September 10th

• 9:30 – 10:30 SEAC General Assembly
• 10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break
• 11:00 - 18:00 Excursion to the Plovdiv Ethnographic Museum, Departing from the Yard of the Romain Rolland Foreign Language School
• 19:00 Conference dinner - Zaara Restaurant

Saturday, September 11th

Full day post conference tour

Copper mines, Valley of the Thracian rulers, Kazanlak, Rose Museum,

9:00 Departing from the Yard of the Romain Rolland Foreign Language School