21/12/2021 - Solstices and architecture in prehistoric times

The emergence of architecture in prehistoric times was not limited to organising land space. It also reflected perspectives on how to view and understand the universe, reflecting cosmologies and ways of composing celestial space.

In their design or orientation, these architectures were impregnated with visions of the cosmos and how human beings fit into it. Good examples of this are megalithic monuments and enclosures delimited by moats. The latter, which ERA has worked on and researched since its foundation, often have their entrances orientated towards the place where the sun rises or sets on the solstices.

Today, the day of the winter solstice, we evoke this Neolithic way of being in the world and show images of three ceremonial enclosures we have worked on where the orientation of their entrances was aligned with this solar calendar event: Rouca 7 (Sousel), Outeiro Alto (Serpa) and Perdigões (Reguengos de Monsaraz).