Thank you Dennis, The English translation of the solution of the “énigme” provided in the magazine is “You may have thought of a Mass dial but it is not one… A Mass dial is typically made up (photo below) of a semi-circle (sometimes a complete circle) divided into regular sectors and with a gnomon perpendicular to the wall, fixed in the center of the circle. It does not give solar time but indicates the start of liturgical acts. What appears in the photo taken in Scotland is not a Mass dial but a leveling mark, often installed on the walls of public buildings so that surveyors have fixed benchmarks (position and height) in their measurements. Such a leveling mark can take very different forms: small metal cylinder sealed in the wall, decorative plaque, etc.”
I hope this clarifies the confusion created, for those readers who are not fluent in French, by the fact that the photo of a Mass dial goes with the solution. 😉 Best regards Roger De : dennis.cowan <dennis.co...@btinternet.com> Date : dimanche, 26 novembre 2023 à 10:48 À : ro...@torrenti.net <ro...@torrenti.net>, Sundial List <sundial@uni-koeln.de> Objet : RE: Winter issue of the “Cadrans solaires pour tous” magazine Dear Roger With reference to une enigme on page 34, this is an OS benchmark. OS benchmarks are survey marks that were used by the Ordnance Survey to make maps. They can be found on walls and buildings across Britain and were a way of recording height at a given point. Google "OS benchmark" for more information. Regards Dennis Cowan Sent from my Mobile -------- Original message -------- From: ro...@torrenti.net Date: 23/11/2023 06:48 (GMT+00:00) To: Sundial List <sundial@uni-koeln.de> Subject: Winter issue of the “Cadrans solaires pour tous” magazine Dear colleagues, I am very glad to inform you that the Winter issue of the “Cadrans solaires pour tous” magazine is now available for free download from https://www.cadrans-solaires.info/le-magazine/ Best regards Roger Torrenti
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