As the sun moved across the sky above, the shadow of the gnomon or pin would trace the reverse of its course through the inscriptions on the curve below. The hemispherium was carved out of a block of ...
This string is the gnomon (pronounced no-mun) and casts the shadow to indicate the time. To provide accurate time, the sundial (1) must be orientated with the gnomon pointing North/South ...
This is a horizontal compass sundial, made of gilded silver. It is of 'Butterfield' type, named after English manufacturer Michael Butterfield, who popularised the adjustable bird gnomon.
The seven vertical lines represented the 14 hours of the day during which the sun was up. The horizontal lines measured the length of the shadow of the gnomon. The 13 horizontal lines read the 24 ...