Georg Zotti
A lifelong interest in astronomy developed into interest for historical astronomy and the role of astronomy in culture. After "doing something reasonable", diploma and PhD studies in computer sciences, and a BSc equivalent in astronomy, I have combined, in my post-doc and years at LBI ArchPro, skills of computer sciences and astronomy to develop new tools, especially Stellarium, for a field best described as Advanced Virtual Archaeoastronomy, and finally learned that there is really a proper name for my scientific interest: Cultural Astronomy. All epochs. Global. Meanwhile there is even an IAU section on the topic.
At VRVis I am back to compute science, but am open for funded collaboration around Stellarium and virtual archaeoastronomy.
Supervisors: Werner Purgathofer and Maria G. Firneis
At VRVis I am back to compute science, but am open for funded collaboration around Stellarium and virtual archaeoastronomy.
Supervisors: Werner Purgathofer and Maria G. Firneis
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Papers by Georg Zotti
surrounding Stonehenge. The sheer scale, resolution and complexity of the data produced are unprecedented. The results range from discoveries of new prehistoric monuments to the very detailed mapping of extensive multi-period field-systems and modern complexes such as Royal Air Force Stonehenge. Inevitably, there is particular interest in the landscape context of Stonehenge itself from the 3rd millennium BC, our knowledge of which has greatly increased as a result of the project. In this interpretative context, the significance of the Durrington Walls ‘super-henge ́, located c. 3 km to the north-east of Stonehenge, cannot be overrated.
The roughly circular henge enclosure consists of an internal ditch up to 5.5m deep and 18m wide, and an external chalk rubble bank surviving up to 1.5m high and up to c. 32m wide, with an overall diameter of c. 480 metres. It encloses a number of other structures, including two timber circles excavated by Wainwright on the east side of the enclosure (Wainwright and Longworth 1971, 204-34).
The ‘Stonehenge Riverside Project’ investigations have significantly changed our understanding of the monument. It is now clear that a settlement existed prior to the henge construction, dated to c. 2525-2440 BC, and it has been suggested that it was inhabited by up to 4000 people (Parker Pearson 2012, 109-111), although this extrapolation of the excavated south-east entrance area data is conjectural and direct evidence for wider occupation is limited.
(Kreisgrabenanlage, KGA) have been discussed in relation to solstice or lunistice directions. In our current project we analyze astronomical orientations in more than 30 KGAs in Lower Austria, and combine virtual reconstructions based on previous magnetic surveys with horizon surveys and astronomical simulation software.
of display devices without using a measurement device. It is an improvement of an existing
technique based on human observation, solving its problem of numerical instability and re-
sulting in functions in log–log scale which correspond better to the nature of display devices.
We demonstrate the effiency of our technique on different monitor technologies, comparing it
with direct measurements using a spectrophotometer.