Here are a few thoughts: AI is terrible at identifying scientific instruments. A study has just been published by Pedro M. P. Raposo and Floor Anna Koeleman, "Instruments and the New Media," in Forty Years of Scientific Instrument Studies: The Scientific Instrument Commission, edited by Sara J. Schechner and Richard L. Kremer, Scientific Instruments and Collections, vol. 11 (Leiden: Brill, 2025).
It cannot be a fountain because they all have shallow bowls or basins into which the water falls. Fountains don't bubble onto flat brass plaques mounted on flat surfaces. The finial is too short to be a surveying marker or alignment device for use by an observatory. I think that the photo does not provide enough information at the present angle to the object to tell us what it is. As a sundial, part of the gnomon could be obscured from view or broken off. Given the shape of the upright, it would not appear to be a vertical gnomon as used on an azimuth or horizontal pin-gnomon dial. And if the plate were to be equatorially inclined, it would be an odd choice for a polar-aligned gnomon. Cheers, Sara Sara J. Schechner, PhD, FAAS Curator Emerita, Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Harvard University President, International Astronomical Union Commission C3 (History of Astronomy) https://saraschechner.scholars.harvard.edu/ [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Altazimuth Arts | Art Quilts and Sundials https://www.altazimutharts.com<https://www.altazimutharts.com/> From: sundial <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Richard B Langley Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2026 9:47 AM To: lvadillo <[email protected]>; [email protected] Cc: Sundial Mailing List <[email protected]> Subject: Re: What kind of sundial is this? As to what the highlighted device might be, Google AI suggests it is a garden fountain with a finial where the water "bubbles" out. I thought it might be a hill-top marker where the finial might aid the eye in lining up a distant feature with perhaps the identification of the spot being on the horizontal plate. Google AI didn't think so, though. -- Richard Langley ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Richard B. Langley E-mail: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> | | Geodetic Research Laboratory Web: http://gge.unb.ca | | Dept. of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering Phone: +1 506 453-5142 | | University of New Brunswick | | Fredericton, N.B., Canada E3B 5A3 | | Fredericton? Where's that? See: http://www.fredericton.ca/ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________ From: sundial <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> on behalf of lvadillo <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> Sent: February 25, 2026 8:40 AM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> Cc: Sundial Mailing List <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> Subject: Re: What kind of sundial is this? External message: Use caution. Can you pass de geographical coordinates of such an interesting place? I would like to locate it accurately. Regards, Luis From: sundial <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> On Behalf Of Steve Lelievre Sent: Friday, November 28, 2025 5:25 PM To: Sundial List <[email protected]><mailto:[email protected]> Subject: What kind of sundial is this? My wife's sister sent me a photograph of a weird "Sundial Graveyard" that she encountered while hiking on Dartmoor, England. I've uploaded the full photo to https://gnomoni.ca/sundialGraveyard.jpg<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__gnomoni.ca_sundialGraveyard.jpg&d=DwMFAg&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=7ZsgDX5inZSMERqhZEQacOtdADP0iy6-YB7dx6Z_mVo&m=ynOCNHKD6uy2jn6k2LAIPQ19QJuROt4R75EZ7kAKeg8s0WPw5P3A5QUIPrSzNl0W&s=crkARy1WnIrwQR-dSHdRuy6ATDTDu0HC5jfpT-RgZds&e=> One of the items is shown below. Anyone know what it is? I can't figure out if it is a sundial or not. [cid:[email protected]] Cheers, Steve
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