Ever since learning to walk upright, man has stared at the horizon, watching the sun rise and set. Early attempts at tracking time often tried reconciling solar and lunar movements as each marched across the sky. Some attempts were more successfully than others, resulting in the formation of calendars.
Sun’s Position on Horizon
One of the best-known calendars attributed to the Celts is the Coligny calendar, whose name derives from the location where it was discovered—Coligny, France. The calendar is of Gaulish origin and dates to the 2nd century. Despite being in fragments, the calendar has been reconstructed with confidence due to its regular composition, which lays out a five-year cycle of 62 months.
Each Celtic year contains twelve lunar months, divided into just two seasons, summer and winter. Each month is further divided into two fortnights, the first always containing 15 days, the second containing either 14 or 15 days depending on the length of the month.
The calendar is further adjusted with an intercalary month every 2.5 years, so the lunar cycle of the months also aligns with the solar year. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, which resets in the winter, the Coligny calendar begins and ends in the spring. Continue reading