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Ancient Swedish Goths Tracked the Sun and Moon With Surprising Precision
Key Takeaways
- Ancient burial mounds an hour north of Stockholm belong to northern Germanic Goths, not Vikings, a culture at least 2,500 years old.
- The Goths timed nine days of human and animal midwinter sacrifice on an eight-year cycle, believing failure to perform the rites could bring catastrophe.
- Astrophysicist Goran Henrikson of Uppsala University says he has identified the calendar governing the Great Midwinter Sacrifice.
- Cycle start was defined by the full Moon falling between January 28 and February 26, with rites opening between February 6 and February 8.
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DT Editorial Team··via universetoday.com