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Articles

• Pantazis, George
• Lambrou, Evangelia

The exact foundation date of many early Christian churches is still unknown or according toarchaeologists' estimation it is attnbuted to a large time interval. According to a new astrogeodeticmethodology, today it is feasible to assess it. This paper deals with the determination of the orientation,the foundation date and the dedication of nine Early Christian basilicas, situated in CentralGreece. According to the suggested methodology, the appropriate geodetic and astrogeodetic measurementswere carried out on the site of each Early Christian basilica in order to: Determine the accurateposition on the surface of the earth by the calculation of its coordinates, Draw the accurate digitalplan, Define the basic longitudinal axis, Calculate the astronomical azimuth of the basic axis via observationsto Polaris (a Ursa Minons), Create the profile of the perceptible horizon, Determine the apparenttransit of the Sun for different dates. Combining all the above data for each Early Christian Basilica,the total geometric documentation of the monument was made. The detection of its foundationdate and its dedication were achieved with adequate precision and reliability. Last, their selectable andsystematical astronomical orientations were registered and a data base including all the above data hadbeen created.

• History and Archaeology

Geometric documentation, Astrogeodetic, Polaris (a Ursa Minoris), Geodetic, Perceptible horizon, Diurnal