Roman-era sundial draws interest at Samsun Museum

SAMSUN

A monumental conical sundial dating back to the Roman era attracts attention at the Samsun Museum.

Sundials, one of the earliest instruments used to measure time in history, operate based on the position of shadows. The earliest examples are believed to have been used in Mesopotamia with the help of a vertical stick.

The first sundial, developed by the Egyptians during the reign of Thutmose III in the 15th century B.C., is the oldest known example. The ancient Greeks improved this method by designing conical sundials and named these instruments “gnomon.” They began to be used starting in the sixth century B.C. In the Hellenistic period, sundials became portable, and during the Roman era, they were incorporated into architectural structures. 

Located in agoras, around temples and city centers, these devices divided the day into 12 equal parts to indicate the hours. The sundial on display at the Samsun Museum was designed to show only daytime hours and is considered one of the significant time-measuring instruments of its period.

An information panel at the museum explains the working principle of sundials: “In horizontal sundial designs, the shadow of a vertically placed stick falls on a horizontal plane and follows the hour lines. As the sun moves across the sky, the shadow reaches different lines over time. For accurate alignment, the stick must be oriented toward the Earth's geographic north and placed at an angle corresponding to the local latitude. Besides this, there are also simpler sundials made by placing a stick in the center of a circle and using a compass. However, these types of sundials become nonfunctional in cloudy weather or at night.”

The rare artifact, preserved since Roman times, offers history and archaeology enthusiasts a close look at the ancient perception of time.