Clive Ruggles

Cultural astronomy

Archaeoastronomy is the study of beliefs and practices relating to the sky in the past, especially in prehistory, and the uses to which people’s knowledge of the skies was put.

Journals, present and past

Cultural astronomy is the combination of archaeoastronomy and ethnoastronomy, which relates to contemporary cultures.

Professional bodies

The 3-volume Springer Handbook contains 217 chapters on themes, issues, methods and practice, and case studies by authors from around the world.

You might also be interested in some of the materials to be found on cultural-astronomy.com.

A new book on Stonehenge

is now published!

Stonehenge: Sighting the Sun

“This beautifully illustrated book shines new light on this most famous of ancient monuments, and is the first in-depth study of this fascinating topic suitable both for specialists and for anyone with a general interest.”

Preserving dark skies

A newly published IUCN report focuses on preserving natural darkness for nature protection, heritage conservation and night sky appreciation.

Four new astronomically related properties were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2023

[top left] © Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium; [top right] © Xavi Marquès Triay; [bottom left] John E. Hancock, © Ohio History Connection; [bottom right] © Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University

Clive Ruggles

About me

I am Emeritus Professor of Archaeoastronomy in the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Leicester, UK.

Astronomical heritage

The UNESCO–IAU Portal to the Heritage of Astronomy contains a wide range of examples of different types of astronomical heritage together with information relevant to its protection, conservation, evaluation, management and promotion.

The two ICOMOS–IAU Thematic Studies on Astronomical Heritage address key issues on a global scale through thematic essays and case studies.

No. 1 (2010): See here for more information or click here to download a copy

No. 2 (2017): See here for more information or click here to download a copy

Astronomical World Heritage: Download a copy of an article published in A&G (Aug 2019)