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North Uist, Outer Hebrides  OS ref: NF 800 650

Midsummer Sunset alignment, North Uist.

This is how the mid summer sun set over Leacach an Tighe Chloiche, (the Stones of the House on the Ridge), as seen from Sornach Coir Fhinn stone circle in 1800 BC.

In 1967 professor Thom published this diagram. It shows the calculated path of the midsummer Sun as it sets over this alignment in 1800 B.C.

´Megalithic Sites in Britain´ by Alexander Thom. 1967. p.132

Here is Thom´s diagram mounted over the photograph of 15th June 1998.  The correlation is very good- within 5 arc minutes. To align the Sun with this foresight today the camera had to be set at a calculated distance to one sideto compensate for the declination deficiencies in the path of the Sun over 4000 years. The calculation has subsequently been revised and a slight error corrected. The corrected distance should have been some 15 yards shorter which would eliminate the 5 arc minute discrepancy between the photograph and Thom's calculation. Alexander Thom considered this to be one of the most important prehistoric alignments in Britain. For further details on North Uist alignments click next.

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