About

Ancient Alignment is an atlas of 71 of the world's sacred sites, and of the theories people have built around them.

Some of those theories are established science. Archaeologists have measured the solstice alignments at Newgrange and Stonehenge many times over. Others, like ancient astronauts or a lost Ice Age civilisation, have no physical evidence behind them at all. Most sites and books on this subject pick a side. This one tries to show both, clearly labelled.

The verdicts

Every theory on the site carries a plain verdict and an evidence rating, from "established science" down to "no physical evidence". The verdict says what has been measured, what is argued over, and what is a good story. Reading lists pair the books that made the case for a theory with the ones that answered it.

How the content is checked

Each entry is checked against published sources: UNESCO and national heritage bodies, museum and university pages, and peer-reviewed research. Where scholars disagree, the text says so rather than picking a side. Dates marked "c." are approximate, and several are still debated.

If you spot something wrong, please get in touch. Corrections are welcome and get fixed quickly.

The globe

The interactive globe plots every site and lets you switch each theory on as a "lens", so you can see which places a theory connects and where theories overlap. Every guide page links into it, and it links back.

Who makes it

Ancient Alignment is designed and built by Joe Newman, a design systems designer based in south London. More of his work is at madebyjoe.uk.