dge to predict eclipses. It would have taken decades of watching countless rising and settings of the Moon to figure out the cycle of the lunar nodes, Latin for "knot" when the intersection would occur. It is believed that information which must have been handed down through the generations was preserved at Stonehenge. Even more amazing when you look at the time of the construction of Stonehenge being before the first metal tools were used by man. The law of averages confirm that either a partial solar eclipse or lunar eclipse can be seen from the same point on the Earth about once a year. This does not explain the ancient people of the Stonehenge recording these periods as danger periods or an omen of disaster. What seems to hold more merit is the eclipse being an element of their religion. Stonehenge may have been the center of some kind of worship, a sacred place where at special times such as the solstices, equinoxes and eclipses people came to reaffirm their belief through ritual practices. The Druids were known to worship the serpent and serpent temples, similar stone circles were called "Dracontia". Draco is the Latin for "serpent" or "dragon".
As the Babylonians were developing the science of astronomy the ancient Egyptian civilization was thriving. Pyramids and temples marked the high state of development of their art and technology. The length of the year was measured by observing the rising of Sirius the brightest star in the sky. The Great Pyramid of Giza is aligned to the four points of the compass. This was a people who watched the heavens and observed celestial movement, however there is no mention of an eclipse of either the Sun or the Moon in all of ancient Egyptian history. An apparent gap in Egyptian astronomy with confirmation that ancient Egypt had been in the paths of total eclipse visible from across the Nile Valley in the second and third millennia B.C. The solar corona was visible from somewhere in ancient Egypt during this period on an average of once every 75 years. It is hard to accept that a total solar eclipse would have gone unrecorded by a culture that so worshipped the Sun. Some believe the view of the eclipse was preserved in symbolic form as the solar corona has a distinctive appearance with extending long streamers of light and might be the symbolic wings of the Egyptian Sun. The image of the winged sun appears above the entrances of many tombs and temples and is said to commemorate the victory of light over darkness. Sometimes the symbol includes the heads of two serpents and the horns of a goat, also solar symbols.
Stonehenge, Babylon, Egypt they each had a unique approach to eclipses but the Babylonians by discovering the long range prediction of the cycle also established a technique to fix exact dates in the past. Numerous systems were used in ancient civilizations to record the passage of time so days, months and years and some memorable events or natural catastrophes were reported. If an eclipse was described when the reference event took place it could be compared with actual eclipses that were known to have happened near the time and place in question. If only one eclipse could fit the description then the dates could be established with certainty. Many historical chronologies have been verified or compared using this method.
The earliest record of a solar eclipse comes from ancient China the date given is October 22, 2134 B.C. It is said "the Sun and Moon did not meet harmoniously" and that during this period there were several total eclipses visible in China and the two royal astronomers Hsi and Ho failed to predict the eclipse on this date. The emperor was caught unprepared and when the daylight returned after the invisible dragon had devoured the Sun. Even without the customary drumming and noises to frighten the dragon off the ruler was so angry that they had failed to predict the event that he had the astronomers beheaded.
The date of an eclipse mentioned in the Bible that is known for certain is: "`And on that day,' say the Lord God, `I will make the Sun go down at noon