Archaeoastronomical study of the historic churches of la gomera

Abstract

In this paper we discuss the importance of studying the orientation of ancient Christian churches, as
a complement to the historical and cultural research of the temples. We present preliminary results of
the analysis of the precise spatial orientation of 38 colonial churches located on the Canary Island of La
Gomera (Spain). The sample suggests that, although several churches have a canonical orientation within
the solar range, a large proportion of them follow a pattern of orientations that is compatible with the
steep orography of the island and, therefore, contrasts with the prescriptions contained in the texts of the
early Christian writers.