Orientations of Corsican Dolmens

The megalithic civilization of Corsica arose towards the end of the fifth millennium B.C., and survived into the early second millennium. The early phase has left numerous traces that are to be found everywhere in the southern half of the island and in a very few places in the northern half. The orientations of eight of the dolmens built in the later phase have been the subject of two papers in this journal and are discussed in detail by Michael Hoskin in his book (Tombs, Temples and Their Orientations Ocarina Books Ltd , 2001). Hoskin showed that seven of the eight faced easterly or southerly: these dolmens, and the more numerous tombs of northern Sardinia, were mostly oriented within what he terms the “sunrise/sunclimbing” (SR/SC) range, that is, from about 60° to 190°. In recent years many more Corsican dolmens have come to light, together with a number of cists (early non-dolmenic tombs). These are to be found in five different regions of the island. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss their orientations.