Maeshowe research project
1999/2000 report

Summary

Content

• Goals of the project
• History
• Results
• Finances
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgments
• References

The goals of project

1. Enhancing the present information of Maeshowe
• Videotaping (including time stamping) the sunsets in the chamber of Maes Howe from end beginning Dec. 1999 until beginning Feb. 2000, so as to record the reappearing sun around 20 days and 42 days before and after winter solstice day.
• Make still pictures of the sunsets at Maeshowe (with digital camera).
• Reappearing at other locations.
2. Broadcasting the sunset from Maeshowe chamber
• Have frequently updated pictures on The Internet
• Presenting the sunset at the visitor center in Tormiston Mill
3. Effects of the broadcasting with relation to Orkney/Maeshowe visits
• Investigate, through Historic Scotland and Orkney Tourist Board, if this project has increased the amount of visitors for Maeshowe and Orkney in general in 1998/1999.

The history of project

In December 1996 Lowell McFarland posted a message on the Internet about a question if somebody was thinking about putting a camera at Newgrange. His interest is the pagan relation with winter solstice sunsets/sunrises. Because Victor Reijs's  interest is in archaeoastronomy, he got the idea of putting a web camera in Maeshowe for finalizing the modeling of and measurements on Maeshowe, which he had been doing since beginning of 1996.

Whilst looking at Neolithic sites on the Internet in early 1997, Charles Tait who is a photographer and publisher from Orkney with a particular interest in archaeology and local history, found Victor's Maeshowe site.  He has been interested in the Maeshowe alignments for many years, and was at once interested in Victor's proposals.   This resulted ultimately in the present collaboration, particularly in  providing the necessary local backing on public relations (radio and television stations, Orkney Tourist Board and Orkney Islands Council) and local customs. Charles Tait has long been interested in Maes Howe, having first introduced to the winter solstice sunset by his grandfather, Charles William Tait, as a small boy in the early 1950's. C.W. Tait actually wrote a magazine article about the alignment before World War 2.  In fact it is something of a family tradition to visit Maeshowe each winter.

Aerial view of Maeshowe

Victor Reijs started by negotiations with Historic Scotland  for permission to place cameras within Maeshowe around winter solstice 1997. The fact that the research results are now able to be presented, is due to Historic Scotland's willing provision of permission. This pilot project has been a great success for already three years now and proved for the first time in the world that this kind of broadcast from a megalithic building is possible!
More history on the steps from the beginning to the present status of this project, can be found on the diary page.
 

The results of the project

1. Enhancing the present information/model of Maeshowe

The major investigations have been on several issues around winter solstice (this year on Dec. 22^nd, 1999):
• Reappearing within Maeshowe
Due to the weather (too many clouds) reappearing around Dec. 1^st 1999 has not been witnessed. Reappearing has been witnessed on Jan. 12^th, 2000, an animated picture and a video are available on the web.
Sun light on back wall of Maeshowe on Jan. 12^th, 2000 at 15:27 BST

Due to the relatively long reappearing period (4 minutes) on Jan 12^th, 2000, it is expected that on the day before (Jan 11^th, 2000) the sun would also have reappeared.

An overview of reappearance's witnessed in former project years, grouped according to the days around winter solstice (deducted from a daily overview of sunny days):

	Winter solstice	18 days	19 days	20 days	21 days	22 days
begin. Dec. 1997	Dec. 21st	? 223° 11'	+ (? min) 222° 38'	?	?	?
mid Jan. 1998	Dec. 21st	-	?	? 222° 41'	? 223° 7'	-
begin. Dec. 1998	Dec. 21st	-	? 223° 25'	+ (2 min) 222° 51'	?	-
mid Jan. 1999	Dec. 21st	?	?	-	+ (1 min) 222° 51'	? 223° 18'
begin. Dec. 1999	Dec. 22nd	?	?	? 222° 45'	? 223° 7'	?
mid Jan. 2000	Dec. 22nd	?	?	? 222° 54'	+ (4 min) 223° 18'	?

-: no reappearing sun light
?: unknown if reappearing happened (clouds or no information)
+: reappearing sun light witnessed (duration in backets, and azimuth of sun when upper rim apparent altitude is just above 1°)

The method Halving the difference [mentioned in Ruggles] can also be used here. In 1997, winter solstice would be 19 days form the reappearing. In 1998 and 1999, winter solstice would be 20 days from reappearing sun sunlight in Maeshowe.

Between 19/20 days before and after winter solstice the sun reappears in present time, this would be around 22/23 days at 2800 BC. There could be a relation with one megalithic Month of A. Thom [Thom].
More general information on the (reappearing) sun light at Maeshowe can be seen on the web (video's, background, still pictures and CD-ROM).

• Reappearing sun from behind Kame of Hoy at Maeshowe
Almost a reappearing sun on Feb. 1^st, 2000. The sun set at the correct location behind the Cuilags [MacKie], but before it reappeared behind Kame of Hoy, clouds had come in:-(

Sun set behind Cuilags on Feb. 1^st, 2000 at 16:18 UTC.
Perhaps on Feb. 2^nd, 2000 the sun could have reappeared, but again: no sun due to clouds!

So 41 days before or after winter solstice the sun reappears in present time and this would have been some 44 days at 2800 BC. So there could be a relation with two megalithic Months of A. Thom [Thom].

• Reappearing sun at other sites
A study [Reijs] has been done by Victor Reijs to see if reappearing could be seen also from other locations then Maeshowe. A few candidates have been selected (Brodgar Farm and Breckness [near Stromness]) to be investigated around winter solstice 1999. Because there was only one sunny day during this year's visit, only one site has been video taped: Brodgar Farm. So this year, for the first time ever, the reappearing has been taped near Brodgar Farm. More information on possible ideas can been found on the web.
• Chance of sun light on back wall
In the below picture one can see the chance of sun light on the back wall in the period 1997 - 2000 (December to January months):



In 80% of the days there is no sun on the back wall, while in 10% of days the sun shines the maximum daily amount of time on the back wall.
• A VRML/3D web camera
A start have been made with a VRML/3D web cam.
• A discussion forum on archaeoastronomy has been set up.
2. Broadcasting the sunset from Maeshowe chamber
• Web site set up
Two web sites (one in Ireland and one in The Netherlands) were set up, to be able to handle possible high traffic. At the end this was not necessary. The URL given in the press releases pointed to the Irish site. The Dutch site still got some 20% of the total hits, these hits will have come from people that had bookmarked the Maeshowe site in the earlier years and through search machines (like Altavista and Yahoo).
The three frequently (every 1 minutes and every 15 minutes) updated pictures were stored on the SURFnet web server in the Netherlands.
Two IAP dial-in accounts were used:
1. one using demon.nl for downloading (through ISDN) the frequently updated pictures towards the Dutch web server
2. one using demon.co.uk for presenting (through PSTN) the web site within Tormiston Mill.
• Software
The following software has been used:
• MS Windows Netmeeting
Is used for remote management of the PC at Maeshowe. The problem is that it sometimes does not let you in (reason unknown).
• ISpy
For grabbing the pictures of the web cam. The main problem with this software is that it seems to initialize the hardware device (winnov) wrong, so sometimes a black thick line is seen on the picture.
• Tardis
For keeping the clock on the Maeshowe PC synchronous with UTC.
• Connectivity problems
We had once in a while (on average, twice a week) connectivity problems. We assume they are caused by the ISDN service of BT. Windows98 Dial-up networking gives errors 'Unable to establish connection' and after that it waits for a press on the Enter key:-( Because nobody is present, the key is not pressed and the connection does not come up.
A few solutions are possible:
• wait until the Windows98 Dial-up networking program is better (with Windows2000???)
• wait until the ISDN service of BT is better (when???)
• have the PC rebooted by cutting the power (is now done twice a day with the help of a clock), this is not enough to have a smooth site!!!
• have a program that gives every 5 minutes a simulate Enter (a cheap solution)
• instead of an ISDN card in the PC, have a ISDN router (an expensive but good solution).
• Publicity
• A list of some 200 e-mail addresses has been used to send the press release of  the megalithic cam page of Maeshowe. This list included individuals, magazines, newspapers, television and radio stations in UK, NL, IRL, US and BE. Furthermore, several electronic distribution lists were part of the list (the span of these distribution lists is around 500-700 people). Thus at least some 1,000 people saw the announcement of the pages through The Internet.
• Historic Scotland has published an article in their monthly magazine beginning December 1999 and put on their Season's greeting card the URL of the Maeshowe web site.
• Orkney Tourist Board published a joint press release with the initiators of the project around mid December 1999.
• A very important generator of hits during Dec. 21^st, 1999 was the Newgrange site. This site (set up by RTE) has broadcasted the sunrise from Newgrange and has been visited by some 50,000 people in a few days. On this site was only one external link; our Maeshowe site!!!
• Three newspaper articles (The Orcadian, Scotsman and another newspaper) were publish.
• The web cam has transmitted the renewal of vows (handfasting ceremony) of a married couple over the Internet.
• Hits on the web site
The following table gives an idea of the number of hits over the years:

Period	hits during period	hits during Dec. and Jan.	hits on Dec. 21st	hits on Dec. 22nd
Dec. 1997/Nov. 1998	12,000	8,600	940	611
Dec. 1998/Nov. 1999	11,000	5,800	970	410
Dec. 1999/Nov. 2000	14,000	8,900	1,400*	910
Dec. 2000/Nov. 2001	12,400	10,000	1,450	650

* some 700 hits came from the Newgrange site between 09:00 and 12:00 BST
** estimate

So the overall results of our own information flow is that the total number of hits in the period 1999/2000 was stable compared to the early two periods, and the number of hits on the Dec. 21^st plus Dec. 22^nd increased with some 200 (15% increase).
Of the14,000 total hits in the year period 1999/2000; about 24 % will come from USA, 20% from UK, 3% form IRL and 3% from NL. During the actual sunsets (14:30 - 15:15 BST) we had some 20% of these total hits.

Sites linked through the main page were visited by about 5-10% of the total hits, making this megalithic cam page interesting for the sponsors. Charles Tait's Maes Howe and Neolithic Orkney site has reached also a considerable amount of hits (some 375 on Dec. 21^st, 1999) due to local publications (radio and newspapers).
Well over 150 individual reactions (e-mails and guest book) were received with positive reactions (and no negative reactions were received!). In fact favorable comments both verbal and digital are still coming in.

• Experience with QuickTime Player and Darwin/QuickTime Streaming Server
In the earlier projects experience has been gotten with streaming video from Maeshowe by using RealNetworks products (RealProducer and RealPlayer) and Microsoft (Windows Media). This year streaming has been tested with Apple products (QuickTime Player and Darwin Streaming Server). No real time tests from Maeshowe have because the tools that could be used (vic of UCL, IP/TV of Cisco, etc.) are not self starting, so manual start-up should have been needed. So only home based tests have been done.
Streaming IP-multicast (tested with I-Studio or IP/TV) and IP-unicast (tested with vic and rat) towards the Darwin/QuickTime Streaming Server is working and can be seen with QuickTime 4 (using IP unicast).
• Copyright of pictures and video's
All web cam pictures made between the Dec. 1^st, 1999 and Feb. 6^th, 2000 with the PC at Maeshowe, are copyrighted by Reappear (shared by Victor Reijs and Charles Tait). All other pictures/videos are copyrighted by the owners of the recording equipment.
3. Effects of the broadcasting with relation to Orkney/Maeshowe visits
This is under investigation by Orkney Tourist Board and Historic Scotland. Orkney Tourist Board will do a survey in May 2000 and the effects for the tourism due to the Internet will be part of this survey. Historic Scotland has heard that people visiting Maeshowe, first checked the web site before coming. They were not only Orcadians, but also people from USA and England.

Finances

The costs of over the  years:

	Equipement/travel/etc. [£]	Man power [hour]	Support by sponsors [£]
1997/1998	2,425	650	400
1998/1999	3,300	775	1,850
1999/2000	2,400	325	1,950

Conclusions

• The reappearing sun has been witnessed at one more location (near Brodgar Farm). More study needs to be done, to see if this reappearing was really intentionally used by megalithic people.
• The three camera set-up is a success. Together with the weather page of Charles Tait, it is now much better for people to see what the weather is like outside and it gave a much better sense how the sun penetrates the chamber (the pictures of the passage way were great when the sun was shining). A start have been made with a VRML/3D web cam.
• Test have been successfully done with streaming video using the Darwin Streaming Server and QuickTime Player (both Apple products).
• The technology problems with the Internet broadcasting become less and less. Hopefully the ISDN problems will diminish as soon as more capacity is available in the national ISDN network of BT or any other telecommunications provider.
• The interest of the people is continuing at the same level (around 13,000 hits per year), so we have a steady group of people to watch this unique event. Some 5-10% of this group links through our pages to others, which provides a sounds market for sponsors.
• To share this interest in this site, a link to the Hunger site has been provided so that people can donate every day a few cups of food.
• The PR function of the Maeshowe web site seems to increase. First of all this is recorded by people visiting the mound and also due to the fact that Historic Scotland found it feasible to have the Maeshowe web site link on their Season's greeting card. A lot of positive reactions have been recorded on the lay-out of the site. A more thorough investigation will be done by OTB in May 2000.
• The amount of equipment that is dedicated primarily to the project is increasing (ISDN connections, telephone modem, water proof camera container and UTP Cat5 cables). Furthermore there is a lot of equipment that can be borrowed from the initiators (Charles Tait and Victor Reijs) and sponsors (HEAnet Ltd, OTB/IE) on a fairly stable level.
• It was great to receive money without strings attached (from Historic Scotland)! This enabled e.g. the travel of the project leader towards Orkney in December 1999.

It is hoped that this successful project will continue in the coming years with the same level of support from sponsors! We still have issues to learn, and that is an important goal for the continuation of a project like this.

Acknowledgments

Organizations that helped this project

• Geniet
Providing the idea for this project, the project management, web space, still photography (stereo and panorama pictures), man power, ISP service and lending one camera's, the video grabber, the web cam software and the video recorder.
• Historic Scotland
Providing access towards Maeshowe, an ISDN telephone line, UTP Cat5 cables inside Maeshowe, a considerable amount of money due to services provided by Maeshowe site (a link), and man power to support the project.
• Charles Tait photographic
Providing enthusiastic ideas for progressing the project, professional still photography, man power, IAP service and lending the PC at Tormiston Mill.
• SURFnet bv
Providing web space for the web cam pictures, support on testing streaming services using the Darwin Streaming Server (QuickTime Player streaming) and lending the ISDN card and PC->TV convertor.
• HEAnet Ltd.
Lending the Maeshowe PC (incl. shipment towards Orkney).
• V.J.T.M. Reijs
Providing the travel insurance.
• Orkney Tourist Board and Orkney Enterprise
Providing the telephone modem at Tormiston Mill, the waterproof camera container and lending two video camera's.

People that helped this project

References