Sundials in South Africa

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Sundials are fairly common in Europe since they were used in the middle ages as we use watches today. They are found in gardens and on walls of many buildings. Even today there are a number of very active sundial societies and clubs and Sundial Parks can be found in the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern America. Introduction

 

When our ancestors came to South Africa the mechanical clock was accurate enough for their purposes of time keeping and there was no need to erect sundials.
The general public in South Africa is very ignorant about the role sundials played in the history of time keeping and only a few people actually know how a sundial works.

Instructions for making sundials abound, but most of them are for Europe and the northern hemisphere. To make the instructions suitable for the wider public, these instructions avoid mathematical formulas therefore it is not always easy to adjust them for a sundial in the southern hemisphere.
Sundial in the Botanical Gardens in Cape Town

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  © Helga Nordhoff
2001-2003