Cornwall Archaeology Online – Moonlit Monuments: Exploring the lunar standstill season at prehistoric sites in the granite uplands of the southwest UK with Carolyn Kennet

Investigations of potential links between the 18.6-year lunar standstill cycle and prehistoric monuments in the granite uplands of Southwest Britain have shown interesting relationships. Drawing on fieldwork and direct observations at key sites, this is an exploration of how the dramatic variations in moonrise and moonset during major lunar standstills may have influenced the placement, orientation, and design of these ancient structures. The discussion highlights the possible role of lunar phenomena in shaping prehistoric landscape practices and cosmologies.

Carolyn is a writer, researcher, and astronomer based in the southwest of the UK. She is Chair of the Society for the History of Astronomy and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. With a background in both fieldwork and public engagement, Carolyn works to bring greater awareness of ancient skywatching practices and their cultural significance. She regularly publishes, lectures, and leads educational events on the role of astronomy in the ancient and early modern worlds. As an author, Carolyn has contributed to a number of significant publications. She wrote Sites of Prehistoric Bodmin Moor (2022) and Celestial Stone Circles of West Cornwall (2018) and was editor and contributor to Neptune: From Grand Discovery to a World Revealed. Her most recent solo work, Uranus and Neptune (Reaktion Books, 2022), explores the discovery and evolving understanding of the solar system’s ice giants. In addition to these, she was a contributing author to Dorling Kindersley’s beautifully illustrated reference books Moon (2025) and Cosmos (2024), helping bring the science and cultural stories to a wider audience. 

Further details will be added closer in time to the event.