ORIENTATIONS AND OTHER FEATURES OF THE NEOLITHIC 'GIANTS' CHURCHES' OF FINLAND FROM ON-SITE AND LIDAR OBSERVATIONS

Abstract

The orientations and placement of 52 Neolithic stone enclosures in Finland known as 'Giants' Churches' were analysed. In addition, other characteristic features, such as cairns and standing stones in or near the Giants' Churches, were investigated. The axis and gate orientations of the structures were measured using both on-site and airborne laser scanning (lidar) observations. The results showed lidar observations to be useful in archaeoastronom-ical analysis as a complementary tool to be used with on-site measurements and observations. The Giants' Churches were found to be orientations towards certain solar and lunar events that could have acted as 'seasonal pointers'. The orientations of the gates of the GCs were found to replicate the axis orientations to a large degree. The majority (over 90%) of the GCs were positioned on the eastern or southeastern sides of the ridges on which they were built, indicating the interest of the builders in the eastern horizon and possibly the rising of celestial bodies. The orientations of large (>35-m long) Giants' Churches and small (≤35-m long) ones were compared. The observed differences in the orientations of these two groups suggested that the structures traditionally known as Giants' Churches may be a heterogeneous group consisting of at least two types of structures represented in this study by the two selected size groups. Many large GCs were found to have been oriented towards the solstices, while the smaller ones did not show this feature. It is possible that the smaller Giants' Churches were oriented towards the Moon, while the larger ones were associated to solar events. The smaller Giants' Churches could be the remains of large houses or otherwise belong to a different tradition of construction.