Two Roman Towns in Germany Having a Solstitial Orientation of Their Urban Planning

Amelia Carolina Sparavigna (1)

1 Polito - Politecnico di Torino = Polytechnic of Turin

Here we discuss the orientation of the urban planning of two Roman towns in Germany, Kastell Kesselstadt and Mogontiacum, the Roman Mainz. As all the Roman military camps and coloniae, these towns were planned according to an ideal pattern, based on a grid of parallel and perpendicular streets. Using a software giving the sunrise azimuths on satellite maps, we show that Kastell Kesselstadt and Mogontiacum have the main axis of the grid oriented along the direction of the sunrise on the summer solstice, that is, that the towns have a solstitial orientation.

Mots clés: Archaeology; Archaeoastronomy; Solar Orientation; Solstices; Urban Planning; Satellite Images; Google Earth

Domaines: Archéologie et Préhistoire; Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Amelia Carolina Sparavigna. Two Roman Towns in Germany Having a Solstitial Orientation of Their Urban Planning. Philica, 2017. ⟨hal-01649826⟩