History of scientific instruments

A short monograph on a previously unrecorded Maghribi astrolabe by al-Battuti that is now part of the collections of the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum. The description of the astrolabe was made by Prof. David King and the text was written by Laure Soustiel. The publication was commissioned by Pierre-Guilhem Métayer.

Als Motto für die Ausstellung und das Begleitbuch wurde gewählt „Navigare necesse est“. Dieses Motto hat uns Plutarch (um 45 – um 125 n.Chr.) überliefert. Es geht auf den römischen Feldherrn Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (106–48 v.Chr.) zurück, der für die Getreideversorgung Roms verantwortlich war und den Seeleuten, die wegen des Sturms nicht auslaufen wollten, zugerufen haben soll: „Navigare necesse est, vivere non est necesse“ (Seefahrt tut not, Leben ist nicht nötig). Dieses Motto „Seefahrt tut not“ wurde populär, weil diesen Titel auch ein Roman des norddeutschen Schriftstellers Gorch Fock [Johann Kinau] (1880–1916) trägt.
„Navigare necesse est“ – das erkannten nicht nur die Römer. Ohne die Erkenntnisse der Seefahrer wären die Entdeckungen im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert und der Handel mit aller Welt nicht möglich gewesen. Der Leitsatz findet sich auf vielen Dingen, die in Verbindung zur Seefahrt stehen, auf Gebäuden, Schiffen oder auf Sanduhren.1 Die Inschrift des Portals des Hauses der Seefahrt in Bremen lautet ähnlich: „Es ist notwendig, Schifffahrt zu treiben, es ist nicht notwendig zu leben.“ Bei dem Service „Navigare“ von
Gotthardt wurde der Spruch abgewandelt in „Navigare vivere est“.
Der Wort Navigation stammt aus dem Lateinischen „navis agere“ und bedeutet „ein Schiff führen“. Im Zentrum des Interesses steht die Bestimmung der Position auf See. Dafür entwickelte man eine Vielzahl von immer verfeinerten Instrumenten (Kompaß, Jakobsstab, Sextant, Chronometer, usw. bis zur Funk-, Radartechnik und zum GPS). Ausgehend von Koppelnavigation wurden im Laufe der Zeit neue Sensoren und Meßprinzipien entwickelt, mathematische und technische Neuheiten führen dazu, daß die Navigation als selbstständige Wissenschaft mit vielen Anwendungsmöglichkeiten etabliert wurde. Der Begriff, der anfangs auf die Seefahrt beschränkt war, hat sich heute erweitert bis zur virtuellen Navigation:
• Navigation auf See (Astronomische und terrestrische Navigation, Funk- und Radartechnik)
• Navigation in der Luft- und Raumfahrt
• Navigation auf der Straße (Satellitennavigation GPS, Navigationssysteme)
• Navigation bei Tieren (z.B. bei Vögeln, Walen, Seehunden)
• Navigation im Internet.

1 vgl. Hochschule für Schiffahrt Warnemünde; das Wappen der Rotterdam Studenten Vereniging „Sanctus Laurentius“ heißt auch „Navigare necesse est“. In der Ausstellung findet sich eine Sanduhr und Geschirr mit dem Motto.

With contributions by Michael A. Rappenglück, Heidi Tauber, Perry Lange, Albrecht Sauer, Ernst-Reinhold Mewes, Thomas Sonar, Bernd Wolfram, Karl Heinrich Wiederkehr, Klaus Barthelmess, Matthias Hünsch, Detlev Machoczek, Jürgen Koch, Cornelia Lüdecke, Bernhard Möller, Manfred Lux, Reinhard A. Krause, Harald Goldbeck-Löwe, Hans Blank, Thomas Lange.

Development of mathematical sciences in the 18th century, especially in the interwoven strands of astronomy, navigation, and
surveying, was driven by measurements of ever-increasing exactness.

The mathematical instrument makers who designed and refined instruments of exquisite precision had to be experts in both theory and practice. In this talk I will explain some of the
problems faced, and techniques used, by the leading practitioners of the day to produce such accurate measurements.

Many ways of popularization exist, e. g. publications in books and journals, lectures, exhibitions and museums, science on stage, in addition pubic observatories, planetariums, star gazing, as well as new media. In Baroque time and Enlightenment women were in the center of popularization, e. g. Fontenelle’s “Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes”. Starting with Alexander von Humboldt’s (1769–1859) lectures in Berlin (1827), lectures were used to raise awareness of science and technology and they gained increasing importance in the 19th and 20th century. Cabinets of Rarities and Curiosities (wonder-rooms) of the Baroque period were a microscopic image of the macroscopic world, in which astronomical instruments, orreries and celestial globes played an important role. The Gottorf globe in the ducal castle in Schleswig (1664) and, much later, the Atwood sphere in Chicago (1913) allowed demonstration of star rising and setting for several people sitting inside. An improved version of this idea, a more sophisticated device, was the projection planetarium, invented by Zeiss of Jena and inaugurated in 1925 in the Deutsches Museum in Munich. The ‘Urania’ had already opened in Berlin in 1888, showing the real sky from a public observatory, as well as theatrical performances about the origin and evolution of the universe. And, ever since 1909, visitors to Berlin’s  Archenhold Observatory have enjoyed stargazing with its impressive ‘20-m-long’ refractor. All these models and instruments were successfully used for public understanding of science, and astronomy had always a strong attraction and played a leading role.

Es gibt sehr verschiedene Arten der Popularisierung, u. a. Publikationen in Büchern und Zeitschriften, Vorträge, Ausstellungen, Museen, Theateraufführungen, Volkssternwarten und Planetarien, astronomische Beobachtungen sowie schließlich eine Vielzahl moderner Medien. In Barockzeit und Aufklärung standen Frauen im Zentrum der Popularisierung, man denke an Fontenelles „Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes“. Alexander von Humboldts (1769–1859) Vorträge in Berlin (ab 1827) und sein Werk Kosmos hatte eine große Wirkung – nicht nur auf weibliche Leser. Eine entscheidende Rolle für die Popularisierung der Astronomie spielte die Urania in Berlin (1889), bestehend aus einer Sternwarte, Experimentier- und Ausstellungssälen und dem wissenschaftlichen Theater. Die Urania-Idee verbreitete sich in der Welt (z. B. 1897 Wien, 1898 Budapest, 1907 Zürich). Die Urania wirkte als Vorbild für die spätere Gründung naturwissenschaftlich-technischer Museen wie des Deutschen
Museums in München (1903). Modelle des Kosmos zu schaffen – zu didaktischen oder ästhetischen Zwecken – war seit der Frühen Neuzeit verbreitet, man denke an Tisch-Planetarien oder an den begehbaren Gottorfer Globus (1664). Die Entwicklung des Projektionsplanetariums
ist mit der Firma Carl Zeiss Jena und dem Deutschen Museum München verbunden (1925). Ferner steht am Beginn der Volkssternwarten die Archenhold-Sternwarte in Berlin-Treptow mit dem Riesenteleskop von 1896.
Schließlich eröffnen neue Medien wie Facebook, Wissenschaftspodcasts und Blogs im Zeitalter der Kommunikationsgesellschaft neue Dimensionen von interaktivem und vernetzten Wissenserwerb.

In the dissemination of Western learning by the Jesuits in late Ming China, various instruments bearing the Western scientific culture called great attention. As a category, the surveying instruments for measuring heights (or depths) and distances (or breadths, etc.) were introduced due to the perceived relevance of their practical functions to social life, including quadrant, cross-staff, geometric square and planispheric astrolabe or quadrant with shadow square(s). The “Small Quadrant”, one of the surveying instruments introduced in Celiang Quanyi (Complete Explanations of Measurement, 1631) which was translated and compiled by the Jesuits Giacomo Rho and Johann Adam Schall von Bell, was a circular geometric square in which the gradations of a shadow square were projected onto the quarter-circle, rather than a real quadrant. The prototype of this instrument probably was a new invention of the German astronomer and cartographer Peter Apian, or its derivative designs. Inspired by this “Small Quadrant”, the Confucian scholar Chen Jinmo designed and produced a similar instrument named “Xiao’an Geometric Square” during the last years of the Ming dynasty. In addition, he provided an explanation of his design by making use of some annotations for the Chinese mathematical and astronomical classic Zhoubi (Gnomon of the Zhou). This case showed the Jesuits’ efforts to introduce European cutting-edge knowledge to China, as well as the Chinese scholars’ approach to accepting foreign knowledge in the context of their indigenous traditions and to interpret ancient Chinese classics with new learning.

明季西學隨耶穌會士入華，儀器作爲西方科學文化的重要物質載體尤爲時人矚目，切合社會需求的高遠測量儀器即其中之一，主要有象限儀、十字杆、幾何矩及設有影矩的星盤或象限儀等。羅雅谷、湯若望等譯撰的《測量全義》（1631）中所介紹的“小象限”並非象限儀，而是一種影矩標度投射於象限弧的圓邊幾何矩，很可能來自天文學家、製圖學家阿皮安的新近發明或類似設計，展現出耶穌會士輸入時代新知的積極努力。受此啟發，明季儒士陳藎謨設計、製作出形制相近的“䃤菴矩度”，並藉《周髀算經》的注釋文句予以解釋，表現出以本土傳統接納外來知識、以新穎學說詮釋古代經典的學術旨趣。

La reconstitution des collections de la Faculté des Sciences de Rennes nous a permis de retrouver des appareils exceptionnels . C'est ainsi que nous avons « remis à jour » des copies anciennes des appareils de mesure utilisés par les Curie pour étudier la radioactivité de certains corps. Dans cet article , nous présentons ces instruments exceptionnels que nous avons « redécouverts » : électroscope, balance à quartz, électromètre, balance apériodique, wattmètre,... Ces appareils datent de la période 1890-1905.
The reconstitution of the collections of the Faculty of Sciences of Rennes helped us find great devices. Thus we have "updated" old copies of the measuring devices used by Curie for studying radioactivity of certain bodies. In this article, we present these exceptional instruments we have "rediscovered" electroscope, quartz balance, electrometer, aperiodic balance, power meter, ... These devices date from the period 1890-1905.

This essay will consider the use and influence of light microscopy (and its variants) in biological cell culture.  Improvements in technology generated several instruments for use by scholars in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, and the microscope is one example.  Beginning with the development of the microscope and tracing its prominence through the first observations in the seventeenth century, the lack of technical development in the eighteenth century, a revival in the nineteenth century, this essay will consider how the microscope became a ‘black box’ in twentieth century cell biology.  To do this, the use of the light microscope and its variants will be considered in relation to cell biology and cell culture; a field of research and a technique that became increasingly important in the twentieth century, requiring light microscopy.  Despite the apparent rise in understanding of cell culture techniques and the loss of light microscopy understanding and techniques, I suggest that both microscopy and cell culture have become standardised methods in modern biological science, with generally little in-depth understanding of either in the youngest generations of twenty-first century biologists.

This analytical study identifies and analyzes two innovative instruments of Persian music, Majles Ārā, and Tarab Angiz. For almost a century, the whereabouts of these two instruments had remained unknown, with no information available beyond their names. However, following the publication of my article in 2015, which identified and described the instruments in detail, one of them was discovered in the Musee de la Musique in Paris.
By examining primary sources and historical documents, I was able to provide patterns and a structural map of the instruments, which will be useful for their reconstruction in the future.

En este trabajo se describe la construcción del Astrolabio Planisférico por los métodos geométricos que se utilizados en dos manuscritos españoles, que son:
1.- El "Libro Primero del Astrolabio Llano" incluido en el corpus de los "Libros del Saber de Astrología" de Alfonso X de Castilla.
2.- El cuaderno sobre la Construcción del Astrolabio de Ptolomeo" incluido en el corpus llamado "Fracmentos Mathematicos" de Fr. Joseph Maria Comellas de Mallorca.
Aunque muy distanciados en el tiempo. El manuscrito del "Libro Primero del Astrolabio Llano" es de 1276 y el de "Fracmentos Mathematicos" es de finales del Siglo XVII, la comparación de los métodos geométricos utilizados presenta un interés especial.

Μία ενδιαφέρουσα σειρά επιστημονικών οργάνων βασίζεται στις ελαστικές ιδιότητες των αερίων και ιδιαίτερα στην εξάρτησή τους από τις μεταβολές της θερμοκρασίας. Η συγκεκριμένη εργασία, με αφορμή την παρουσία σχετικών οργάνων του 19 ου αιώνα και των αρχών του 20 ου αιώνα στα ελληνικά σχολεία της Κωνσταντινούπολης, καταδεικνύει τις αρχές λειτουργίας και την εκπαιδευτική χρήση των διαφορικών θερμομέτρων των Benjamin Thompson και John Leslie στη διδασκαλία εννοιών και φαινομένων σχετικών με τη θερμότητα σύμφωνα με διδακτικά εγχειρίδια φυσικής της εποχής. Σήμερα, ο εκπαιδευτικός μπορεί να χρησιμοποιήσει κάποιες διατάξεις-παιχνίδια χαμηλού κόστους που βασίζονται στις αρχές λειτουργίας των διαφορικών θερμομέτρων προσελκύοντας αποτελεσματικά το ενδιαφέρον των μαθητών. Παρουσιάζονται δύο σχετικές διατάξεις καθώς και κάποιες ιδέες για την χρήση τους στη διδασκαλία εννοιών της φυσικής.

In the large grey area between science and technology, specialisms emerge with associated specialists. But some specialisms remain ‘peripheral sciences’, never attaining the status of disciplines ensconced in universities, and their specialists do not become recognised professionals. A major social component of such side-lined sciences – one important grouping of techno-scientific workers – is the research-technology community. An important question concerning research-technology is to explain how the grouping survives without specialised disciplinary and professional affiliations. The case discussed illustrates the dynamics of one such community.

Este trabajo, es la introducción al estudio de las construcciones geométricas utilizadas en el "Libro Primero del Astrolabio Llano", que forma parte del corpus general de los "Libros del Saber de Astrología", que hizo recopilar el  Rey Alfonso X de Castilla, entre 1276 y 1277.
Manuscrito que se conserva en la Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
En este articulo se hace una introducción al Astrolabio Planisférico, a las partes de las que está constituido, cual es su fundamento teórico y cual es la pequeña Historia del Astrolabio desde que Ptolomeo lo trazó por primera vez, hasta que a través de los árabes llego a España y desde allí al mundo occidental desde donde originalmente había salido.

En el siguiente trabajo, continuación de este, se describen los métodos geométricos del manuscrito Alfonsí, que son muy similares a los utilizados por autores posteriores, como Johan Stöffler en su "Elucidatio Fabricae Ususque Astrolabii" de 1513, y se analizan desde el punto de vista trigonométrico.

Η Ιερά Θεολογική Σχολή της Χάλκης  έχει μία πλούσια, αλλά και γεμάτη περιπέτειες ιστορία. Μία από τις πιο άγνωστες πτυχές της είναι η ύπαρξη εργαστηρίου φυσικής και η διδασκαλία του αντίστοιχου μαθήματος, κάτι όχι αυτονόητο σε μία θεολογική σχολή. Ο διασωζόμενος εξοπλισμός του εργαστηρίου είναι ιδιαίτερης επιστημονικής, ιστορικής, εκπαιδευτικής αλλά και αισθητικής αξίας. Τα περισσότερα όργανα και διατάξεις, που αποκτήθηκαν στα τέλη του 19ου αιώνα,  προέρχονται από σημαντικούς γαλλικούς κατασκευαστικούς οίκους, ενώ υπάρχει κι αξιόλογος εξοπλισμός που αγοράστηκε από τις Η.Π.Α. τη δεκαετία του 1950.
Στο ανά χείρας βιβλίο παρουσιάζεται αρχικά η χρονική εξέλιξη της διδασκαλίας των μαθημάτων της φυσικής και της χημείας στη Σχολή. Η συνέχεια είναι  αφιερωμένη στην περιγραφή, τη χρήση και την ιστορία κάθε τμήματος του πλούσιου εξοπλισμού του εργαστηρίου, ενώ η ιστορία των κατασκευαστών ή εφευρετών που σχετίζονται με τον εξοπλισμό αυτόν παρατίθεται στα τελευταία κεφάλαια.
Ελπίζουμε πως η συγκεκριμένη μονογραφία θα αναδείξει μία ελάχιστα μελετημένη όψη της πολύχρονης λειτουργίας της Σχολής, αλλά και γενικότερα της παιδείας του Ελληνισμού της Κωνσταντινούπολης.

Regular Courses: Lectures and Seminars (4 semester courses):

1. History of Science and Technology (Ancient Civilizations and Classical Antiquity)
2. History of Science and Technology II (Middle Ages and Early Modern Times)
3. History of Science and Technology III (Baroque and Enlightenment, 17th and 18th Century)
4. History of Science and Technology IV (19th and 20th Centuries)

1. History of Physics and Chemistry I (Ancient Civilizations and Classical Antiquity)
2. History of Physics and Chemistry II (Middle Ages and Renaissance)
3. History of Physics and Chemistry III (Baroque, Enlightenment and 19th Century)
4. History of Physics and Chemistry IV (20th Century)

Special Courses: Lectures and Seminars (one semester):

- Highlights in History of Physics and Chemistry from Antiquity to 20th Century
- From the early stages of astronomy to modern astrophysics
- Cultural History of the Middle Ages - Science, Technology and Scientific Instruments
- Milestones: 100 Years Research in Hamburg Observatory in Bergedorf
- Cultural History of Classical Antiquity - City layout, theatre, libraries, technology
- European Enlightenment - Literature, Philosophy, Economy, Science and Technology
- Milestones of the History of Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy
- History of computer science and computers
- University Collections - Presentation in exhibitions and museums
- Colours in culture and science
- Docking - Hamburg, a Hanseatic City and its cultures 1848-1933
- From Alchemy to Lavoisier - The Development of Chemistry in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Time
- The Formation of Modern Chemistry - The development of chemical science in 18th and 19th century
- History of Science and Technology in Museums
- Innovation by transfer of knowledge in the Early Modern Era
- WW I - the scientific and technological aspects
- Relicts, traces and images - Material culture and images as sources
- Analysis and replication of historical physical experiments
- Analysis of alchemistic and metallurgic literature of Early Modern Time
- From the historical question to the publication - working techniques and methodology in the historical sciences using examples from the history of chemistry
- Textiles and textile techniques from prehistoric time to the
21st century
- Seminar on Practical Chemistry in Ancient Civilizations
- History of science in the teaching in higher education ("Gymnasium", high school)
- Technology complexes and complex techniques from the beginnings to the 21st century

Η Θεολογική Σχολή της Χάλκης αποτελεί ένα γνωστό και ιστορικό εκπαιδευτικό ίδρυμα, το οποίο επί 127 έτη παρείχε υψηλής ποιότητας παιδεία και μόρφωση σε θεολόγους, αποκτώντας ιδιαίτερη φήμη. Η απαγόρευση της λειτουργίας της το 1971 διέκοψε την πορεία της Σχολής και αποτελεί ένα σημαντικό και μόνιμο σημείο τριβής στις σχέσεις Ελλάδας και Τουρκίας. Μία λιγότερο γνωστή –και ίσως απρόσμενη-πτυχή της δραστηριότητας της Σχολής αποτελεί η συμπερίληψη μαθημάτων φυσικών επιστημών στο αναλυτικό πρόγραμμά της. Η συγκεκριμένη εργασία παρουσιάζει τη χρονική εξέλιξη της διδασκαλίας των φυσικών επιστημών και της σχετικής υποδομής στη Θεολογική Σχολή, όπως αυτές διαγράφονται μέσα από τους κανονισμούς λειτουργίας και άλλα επίσημα έγγραφα.

Η διδασκαλία της πειραματικής φυσικής εισάγεται σταδιακά σε κάποια σχολεία των ελληνόφωνων κοινοτήτων στα τέλη του 18ου αιώνα και είναι αποτέλεσμα της διάδοσης των ιδεών του διαφωτισμού στις αντίστοιχες κοινότητες. Η τάση αυτή συνεχίζεται στο πρώτο μισό του 19ου αιώνα και γίνεται εντονότερη στη συνέχεια και ιδιαίτερα στο τελευταίο τέταρτο. Η φύση του μαθήματος οδηγεί αρκετά σχολεία στην αγορά σειράς επιστημονικών οργάνων, πολλά εκ των οποίων διασώζονται ως τις μέρες μας (για πληροφορίες βλ. Ελληνικό Αρχείο Επιστημονικών Οργάνων, www.hasi.gr ).
Ένα σημαντικό ερώτημα, που απασχολεί τον ερευνητή της εκπαίδευσης των φυσικών επιστημών τη συγκεκριμένη εποχή, είναι το αν και σε ποιον βαθμό τα αποκτηθέντα επιστημονικά όργανα χρησιμοποιήθηκαν πράγματι στη διδασκαλία. Η εργασία επικεντρώνεται σε δύο σχολεία, το 1ο Γυμνάσιο Αρρένων και τη Μεγάλη του Γένους Σχολή στην Κωνσταντινούπολη.

IAU List - Outstanding Astronomical Heritage (OAH).
https://www3.astronomicalheritage.net/index.php/heritage/outstanding-astronomical-heritage

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is compiling its own list of astronomical heritage sites that are outstanding in the history of astronomy but do not necessarily demonstrate potential Outstanding Universal Value which would be needed for inscription on the World Heritage List. For example, the period from the European Renaissance to the middle of the 20th century was an extremely rich one for the history of astronomy, with many observatories from this period playing a significant role because of the cutting-edge scientific research carried out there. However, the actual building may be damaged or destroyed and the original instruments may no longer exist in situ or at all.

For the moment, the IAU´s Outstanding Astronomical Heritage (OAH) list is focusing on such ‘classical observatories’. It includes, for example, Tycho Brahe’s observatory at Uraniborg, which is completely destroyed although a few of the instruments have been preserved or reconstructed. The OAH list was launched at the IAU’s 2018 General Assembly in Vienna and is steadily being extended—there are currently more than 70 OAH sites on the portal. You can view OAH sites on their own or alongside our other case studies by choosing the relevant filter options in the Heritage Finder.

IAU members who are interested in proposing new sites to the OAH list are invited to contact Gudrun Wolfschmidt, Past President of IAU Commission C4 (World Heritage and Astronomy), in the first instance. The OAH List is not open to members of the public, but we invite anyone who is interested to submit one or more Places connected to the Sky on this Portal.

What roles have instruments played in psychology and related disciplines? How have instruments affected the dynamics of psychological research, with what possibilities and limits? What is a psychological instrument? This paper provides a conceptual foundation for specific case studies concerning such questions. The discussion begins by challenging widely accepted assumptions about the subject and analyzing the general relations between scientific experimentation and the uses of instruments in psychology. Building on this analysis, a deliberately inclusive definition of what constitutes a psychological instrument is proposed. The discussion then takes up the relation between instrumentation and theories, and differentiates in greater detail the roles instruments have had over the course of psychology’s history. Finally, the authors offer an approach to evaluating the possibilities and limitations of instruments in psychology.

Why does a magnet attract iron? Why does a compass needle point north? Although the magnet or lodestone was known since antiquity, magnetism only became an important topic in natural science and technology in the early modern period. In Magnes Christoph Sander explores this fascinating subject and draws, for the first time, a comprehensive picture of early modern research on magnetism (c. 1500–1650). Covering all disciplines of this period, Magnes examines what scholars understood by ‘magnet’ and ‘magnetism,’ which properties they ascribed to it, in which instruments and practices magnetism was employed, and how they tried to explain this exciting phenomenon. This historical panorama is based on circa 1500 historical sources, including over 100 manuscripts.

Charles Darwin’s microscopical work and the instruments he used for it during his famous voyage on HMS Beagle and afterwards, have previously been discussed in depth by several scholars. Darwin himself referred to select aspects of his microscopy during the expedition in several of his post-journey publications. Previously, scholars have assumed that the work was performed on only one, then relatively modern type of microscope recommended to Darwin by Robert Brown. However, Darwin took with him on the voyage another microscope that has seemingly escaped the attention of scholars. This was a Withering-type botanical microscope, invented about half a century before for botanical field dissections by William Withering. An awareness of the features of that particular instrument is important as it illuminates some methodological aspects of Darwin’s early microscopy techniques, as well as illuminating a special relationship between Darwin’s ancestors and that particular instrument.

Twenty century studies and research have developed the image of Antiquity as a period of technological stagnation, not capable of producing a modern idea of progress and without relationship between science and techniques. This book gives the reader a new interpretation of Antiquity, above all of the Roman world, trying to produce a more equilibrate view focusing above all on theoretical and practical mechanical knowledge.

"This paper proposes three new (and tentatively, another two) identifications of sundials in Middle Eastern mosaics of the 5th – 8th century. The author discusses a vignette from the Holy Martyrs’ Church at Tayibat al-Imâm, central Syria, a mosaic panel from the tomb of Georgia and Theodosia in Jerusalem, two
vignettes of Sebastis and Kastron Mefaa from the St. Stephan’s Church at Umm al-Rasas, and a vignette of Jerusalem from the St. George’s Church at Madaba. These mosaics date, respectively, to 442, to the reign of Justinian (527 –565), and to the Byzantine Umayyad era (718). According to the author, these are probably the latest representations of sundials known to date from the Late Antiquity. Until this study, only six representations of sundials on mosaics from the Roman period were known. This paper adds three new items and two hypothetical ones from Byzantine times. It also offers an interpretation of the function of the famous column in Jerusalem, shown on the map of Madaba and the mega-vignette of the Holy City.
Key words: Sundials, Sonnenhuhren, Meridiane, Cadrans solaires, Relojes de sol."