We have always been counting. We eagerly count what we will surely never reach. The first monumental Neolithic architectural structures, such as Göbekli Tepe, dating back thousands of years, were based on the astronomical system. Every language we know and can recognise emerged in a world that had long been mastered counting. We count precisely. We have calculated that the last day of December, and therefore the year, is 4 minutes longer than the shortest day. Do you know anyone who cares about this?
For thousands of years, the winter solstice between 21 and 22 December in the northern hemisphere has provided clues to the construction of dozens of key sites for ancient communities. For a long time, an architect was someone who could calculate and draw what connected a wall or gate to a star, and, who knows, maybe even to a god.
Modernity is intoxicated by its own ability to count instantly, to count everything in order to to get there faster. We call this functionality, pragmatism. It is the foundation, rudimentum, substructio of our everyday lives.
For some reason, we are still impressed by the moment when we see with our own eyes how the older way of counting appears with the rising Sun. How rays, pillars, and walls coexist and harmonise for a brief moment, like well-tuned strings. We swallow our saliva, make strong resolutions, send MMS messages to people we have long forgotten. These are important functions of enduring architecture.
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Karnak at the solstice from the left and right; in the middle: the LSS Społem Hall, from a slightly later period.
