Diameter: 74.000 mm
Width: 22.000 mm

M&ME 1905,6-8.1

Prehistory and Europe

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Time

Ring dial

Telling the time using the sun

An early way of telling the time was to use the sun. You may have noticed that the sun appears to rise in the east, move across the sky during the day, and then set in the west. People noticed that there was a pattern to the movement of the sun during the course of the year, and they used this to help them tell the time.

This ring sundial was made in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and can be used to tell the time from the position of the sun. You adjust the dial for the right time of year, then hold the dial by its ring and swivel it slowly until a ray of the sun shines through the hole. You can read the correct time from the position of the spot of light that appears on the inside of the ring. The spot of light will move as the sun's rays gradually change direction through the day.

Can you see the symbols for the signs of the zodiac marked inside?