Serres

This is a very interesting sundial. This is the first (and yet only) sundial that I have encountered. The sundial is probably built right away with the construction of the school on which it can be found. The dial has been built by Chavin in 1882. The indicator on the gnomon consists of a circle in the form of a sun with rays and has a small hole in the middle. As you can see on the image it gives a nice shadow. The hole is sufficiently clear to leave an impression. I happed just to be in time to see a shadow near the noon mark.

The sundial shows only the 12 o’clock line at Local Apparent Time. With the Analemma (the figure ‘8’), it is possible to determine Local Mean Time. On the Analemma a mark is drawn for each first day of the month. This allows to determine the rough date of the year.

This sundial can be found in Serres, Hautes-Alpes, France. The sundial is on the elementary school of the village, which can be found in the old part of the town on the north-western shore of the Buëch. Follow the signs to the school to find it.

I took this picture on a sundial discovery tour I made on 14 july 2004.

Categories: france • hautes-alpes • noon mark •
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