Hey guys, we are at Coral Castle in Florida and in this video let's take a look at the
Sun Dial.
Coral Castle is a very mysterious place because it was built single handedly by a man called
Ed around 1920.
Here is the Sundial that he created and it has some very complex features and it is also
unique because it is the only megalithic Sundial in the world and it weighs around 6 to 8 tons.
The base of the Sundial is made of a massive coral rock with a polished concave top which
is finished with lime mortar to make it smooth and bright.
On top, there is a piece of metal sticking out of another large rock.
A shadow is cast off of this metal and falls on this bowl.
If you draw lines at the center of these figure 8s, the shadow will fall accurately on these
lines from 9 A.M, 9.30, 10, 10.30, 11, 11.30 and so on.
For example, you can see that the shadow is falling exactly on this line here.
So, what's the time now?
It is exactly 11.30.
The shadow will gradually move and reach 12 noon and will be here in 30 minutes.
This Sundial can only tell time between 9 A.M to 4 P.M, but it is accurate down to the
minute.
Now, every civilization has had sundials which can tell time, but Ed wanted to push the limits
and show the world that he could make things really complicated.
So he also made it into a calendar that shows the current month and all four seasons accurately.
But why put these figure 8s all over the bowl?
Why not just draw lines?
Each closed curve is an abstract astronomical concept called analemma.
To put it simply, if you take a picture of the sun from the same location every day at
a certain time for a whole year, the sun's apparent path will be an analemma.
This is due to the elliptical orbit of the earth and the tilt of Earth's axis (23.439
degrees).
This is a very abstract, technical concept but Ed used this to show the seasons and the
current month.
For example, if you look at this sundial at noon on Winter Solstice which is the first
day of winter, the shadow will be right here at the top.
So, if you see the shadow right down at the bottom, what does it mean?
It means Summer Solstice or the first day of summer.
And with the same technique you can also calculate the spring and fall equinox around the center
of the analemma.
By following the path of the curve, you can also tell the current month.
Watch the hand.
June 21, July, August, September, October, November, December.
After December 21, the days become longer.
January, February, March, April, May and June.
But how could Ed come up with a complex sundial like this with a fourth grade education?
Ed often claimed that he knew the secret behind the construction of the great pyramid in Egypt.
Was this just a marketing gimmick or did he really tap into the forbidden ancient knowledge?
Now, guess where the oldest sundial comes from?
It is from Egypt, believe it or not and it was built 3500 years ago.
If that's not enough, you can see the similarity between the oldest Sundial and the Sundial
at Coral Castle.
Is this just a coincidence?
This sundial shows Standard Time & not Daylight Saving time, because Ed built this sundial
before 1918 when the Daylight saving time was first implemented in the U.S.
However, you could simply change these numbers on the sundial, just like adjusting our regular
clocks and it would work.
Why was this rock carved into a concave structure?
Is its curvature related to the horizon and our planet's curvature?
Now, remember this rock at the bottom is made of a massive coral rock that weighs at least
3 tons.
If Ed had made a single mistake, he would have to start working on quarrying another
3 ton rock all by himself.
So, where did he get this amazing skill and knowledge from?
And how could he come up with these complex astronomical calculations with a fourth grade
education?
In fact I believe we still don't know the complete use of this artifact, because you
can see multiple slots and other stones places around this Sundial, and we don't know what
they were used for.
Also, why would you put this massive stone just to have a small piece of metal sticking
out of it?
I hope you liked this video, I am finding a lot of intriguing stuff like this so please
do subscribe to my channel.
Thank you for watching and talk to you soon.