Archaeoastronomical Sites by Country 2025

Number of Sites

5 Countries with the Most Archaeoastronomical Sites

Ireland

9 sites

Country	Number of Sites↓	Names & Details
Mexico	19	Calakmul Cantona Cañada de la Virgen Casas Grandes Chichen Itza Coba Dzibilchaltun — On the Spring equinox, the sun rises so that it shines directly through one window of the temple and out the other. Ikil — A hierophany where the sunrise on the day of the solar zenith transit aligns with the summit of Ikil Structure 1 as viewed from an observation point within Ikil Cave 1. Izamal Mitla Monte Albán (zenith tube) Palenque La Quemada El Tajín Teotihuacan, the pecked-cross circles as survey-markers Tulum Uxmal, Venus alignment of the "Governor's Palace" Xochicalco (zenith tube) Yagul
United States	17	America's Stonehenge in New Hampshire Anderson Mounds in Anderson, Indiana Bighorn Medicine Wheel Cahokia — A large Mississippian culture site with numerous solar and other alignments Casa Malpaís Archaeological Site, Springerville, Arizona — Summer solstice at noon and sunset Chaco Canyon — Cardinal orientations, meridian alignment, inter-pueblo alignments Chimney Rock Archaeological Area, near Pagosa Springs, Colorado Crack Cave at Picture Canyon (Colorado) in Comanche National Grassland Emerald Mound and Village Site, Lebanon, Illinois Haleets on Bainbridge Island in Washington state Hovenweep Castle Holly Solstice Panel in Hovenweep National Monument Moorehead Circle, timber circle in Ohio Octagon Earthworks Serpent Mound Skystone near Naches Trail in Washington state Wally's Dome in Sacramento Mountains (New Mexico)
United Kingdom	11	Avebury Ballochroy Boscawen-Un — Winter Solstice sunrise out of the Lamorna Gap Bryn Celli Ddu — Aligned with the summer solstice such that light illuminates a quartz rich stone at the back of the chamber Callanish Stones Durrington Walls Maeshowe — Aligned so that the rear wall of its central chamber, a rough cube of five yards square held up by a bracketed wall, is illuminated on the winter solstice. Prehistoric Orkney St Edward the Confessor's Church, Leek. — Traditional site for observing a double sunset Stonehenge (Generally accepted as archeoastronomical) Woodhenge
India	10	Brahmagiri Hanamsagar Udayagiri Sun temples of Varanasi Vijayanagar Jantar Mantar Gyarah Sidi Burzahom archaeological site Lonar Lake Stone circles of Junapani
Ireland	9	Newgrange — Once a year, at the winter solstice, the rising sun shines directly along the long passage into the chamber for about 17 minutes and illuminates the chamber floor. Knowth — A Neolithic passage grave and ancient monument estimated to date from c. 3200 BC. Dowth in Boyne Valley, County Meath — A Neolithic passage tomb date with Astronomical alignments from between approximately 3200 and 2900 BC. Loughcrew near Oldcastle, County Meath — A group of megalithic tombs dating back to the 4th millennium BC, designed to receive the beams of the rising sun on the spring and autumnal equinox. The light shines down the passage and illuminates the art on the back stone. Carrowkeel Mound of the Hostages Drombeg stone circle — At the winter solstice, the sun sets into a v formed by two distant overlapping hills and makes an alignment with the altar stone and the two main upright. Beltany stone circle Beaghmore Stone Circles, a complex of early Bronze Age megalithic features, stone circles and cairns.
Peru	7	Buena Vista Chankillo Cusco Machu Picchu Nazca Lines Choquequirao Ollantaytambo
Pakistan	5	Lahore Fort Mohenjo Daro Taxila Harrapa Makli Graveyard
Germany	5	Belchen System Goseck circle Glauberg Magdalenenberg (disputed) Pömmelte Circle Shrine
Egypt	3	Abu Simbel — The axis of the temple was positioned by the ancient Egyptian architects in such a way that twice a year, on October 20 and February 20, the rays of the sun would penetrate the sanctuary and illuminate the sculpture on the back wall, except for the statue of Ptah, the god connected with the Underworld, who always remained in the dark. Nabta Playa — An archaeological site in southern Egypt, containing what may be among the world's earliest known archeoastronomical devices from the 5th millennium BC. Precinct of Amun-Re
Spain	3	Antequera Dolmens Site Peña de los Enamorados Dolmen of Menga
Australia	3	Ngaut Ngaut — Oral tradition says these engravings represent lunar cycles. Wurdi Youang — A stone arrangement with possible solar alignments. Stone structures at Lake Tyers — Traditionally used as an observatory.
Portugal	3	Almendres Cromlech Anta Grande do Zambujeiro Dolmen of Cunha Baixa
Malta	3	Megalithic Temples of Malta Mnajdra Tal-Qadi Temple
China	2	Puyang tomb — Dated from 5000 BP, depicts a mosaic of constellations. The Taosi Observatory — An astronomical observatory which is the oldest in East Asia, located in Xiangfen County.
Indonesia	2	Borobudur Prambanan
Iran	2	Persepolis Naqsh-e Rustam
France	2	Belchen System Carnac stones
Italy	2	Alatri Nuraghe
Canada	2	Petroforms of North America — Shapes and patterns made by lining up large rocks on the open ground made by various Native American and First Nation tribes in North America. They are believed to have been made as astronomical calendars. Medicine Wheel
Guatemala	2	Tikal Uaxactun
Cambodia	2	Angkor Wat Phnom Bakheng — According to Jean Filliozat of the École Française, the center tower represents the axis of the world and the 108 smaller ones represent the 4 lunar phases, each with 27 days.
Honduras	2	Copán Ruinas El Puente
Switzerland	2	Belchen System Columna Jovis
Brazil	1	Parque Arqueológico do Solstício (called "Amazon Stonehenge") — An archaeological park located in Amapá state, Brazil, near the city of Calçoene. Archaeologists believe that this site was built by indigenous peoples for astronomical, ceremonial, or burial purposes, and likely a combination.
Russia	1	Arkaim
Turkey	1	Göbekli Tepe
Kenya	1	Namoratunga
Colombia	1	El Infiernito, (Spanish for "Little hell") — A pre-Columbian Muisca site located in the outskirts of Villa de Leyva. The site was a center of religious ceremonies and spiritual purification rites, and also served as a rudimentary astronomical observatory.
Saudi Arabia	1	Kaaba — Has its corners and walls aligned or oriented towards risings and settings of celestial objescts.
Syria	1	Rujm el-Hiri — An ancient megalithic monument consisting of concentric circles of stone with a tumulus at center, in the Golan Heights, territory occupied by Israel. It is believed that the site was used as an ancient calendar.
Romania	1	Sarmizegetusa Regia
Netherlands	1	Kokino — Situated 1030 m above sea level on the Tatićev Kamen Summit near Kumanovo.
Sweden	1	Ale's Stones
Bulgaria	1	Magura Cave — Bronze Age "paintings of staggered black and white squares could have been used to count the days in a calendar month", possibly indicating the number of days in the solar tropical year.
Finland	1	The so-called Giants' Churches (Finn. jätinkirkko) — Which are large (from c. 20 metres (66 ft) to over 70 metres (230 ft) long) rectangular or oval stone enclosures built in the Neolithic Period (c. 3000–1800 BC) and which have axis and doorway orientations towards the sunrises and sunsets of the solstices and other calendrically significant days.
Palestine	1	Tell es-Sultan — Also known as Tel Jericho, is the site of ancient and biblical Jericho and today a UNESCO-nominated archaeological site in the West Bank.
Armenia	1	Zorats Karer (aka Carahunge) — An archeological site claimed to have astronomical significance, although this is disputed. It is often referred to in international tourist lore as the "Armenian Stonehenge".

A zenith tube is a long vertical shaft carved into the ceiling of a cave or other structure, designed such that the light of the sun shines through the tube and illuminates the chamber below only on certain days, such as the Summer and Winter Solstices.

Humans all across the world have been fascinated by the cosmos for tens of thousands of years. And while some might think the practice of astronomy and celestial observation is a modern one, there’s plenty of evidence that ancient people watched the skies, too. Archaeological evidence reveals this fact in many sites around the world.

Mexico has the most documented archaeoastronomical sites, with 19. These include the temple of Dzibilchaltun, built to allow the sun to shine directly through one window and out another on the first day of spring. The United States is home to the second-highest number of sites, with 17, ranging from “America’s Stonehenge” in New Hampshire to Ohio’s Serpent Mound to numerous aspects of Native American life at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. The United Kingdom rounds out the top three, with the internationally famous Stonehenge leading the pack. This is just one of 11 documented sites, which also feature a prehistoric mound tomb that features a distinctive quartz stone that’s lit by the sun on the summer solstice. India (10), Ireland (9), and Peru (7, including Machu Picchu) also have significant numbers of archaeoastronomical sites.

More than a dozen countries have just a single archaeoastronomical site. Russia, Turkey, Kenya, Colombia, Syria, and the Netherlands are all on this list. A handful more have just two or three. Noteworthy examples include Saudi Arabia’s Kaaba, a stone building in the Islamic holy city of Mecca, and the striking ancient temple complex at Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

It’s vital to remember that this data only covers discovered, documented archaeoastronomical sites. It’s entirely possible that substantial numbers of locations in nations with large numbers of sites may still be unknown. Likewise, it’s possible that the many countries that have no documented sites may have one or more that have since been destroyed or haven’t been revealed.