Since the time of the ancient Egyptians the sundial has marked the passage of time, numbering our fleeting hours upon this earth. But the sun also rises every day and so the sundial is also a symbol of permanence.
This sundial, designed by Mark Lennox Boyd OE celebrates the creating of the Rokos Scholarship programme by Chris Rokos OE.
The shadow cast by the sun tells you the approximate date and time and provides additional information about the sun’s position in the sky.
Reading time from the sundial requires observing the shadow cast by the gnomon, making sure to add one hour in the summertime.
You judge the distance between the broken and solid curves and the tip of the shadow. Underneath each date are approximate minute corrections to convert solar time to the clock. The shadow tip also indicates, in degrees, the sun’s altitude and azimuth (direction).
Dates are shown from the winter solstice (WS) through to the Equinoxes (EQ) and then to the summer solstice (SS).
The solid curves show dates when the sun passes into the various signs of the Zodiac, following ancient custom.
The choice of a sundial marks the eternal nature of Chris’s gift and the words inscribed on it capture that: ‘this was a gift not of an age but for all time’. We look forward to encountering many more scholarship holders and helping them to reach their academic potential in the centuries to come.
