The present book presents part of the author’s studies, which are the result of long-lasting research work at the Sacred Terrace Sanctuaries at Sarmizegetusa-Regia – Romania, the capital city of the ancient kingdom of the Dacians, conquered by the Romans under Emperor Trajan in the 2nd century A.D. Discovered well over 200 years ago and currently part of the UNESCO world heritage, the Dacian sanctuaries have always sparked interpretations and have been the object of thorough scientific investigation with both specialists and non-specialists. The present volume, the first in a series to come, focuses on an archaeological artifact, singular in the world to the day, known as the Andesite Sun. According to the author, it was a sundial altar suggestive of the encounter between people and deity in ancient times. This symbolic encounter could not occur at a random moment, but was clearly determined by the movement of the heavenly bodies; neither could it occur at a random place, but in a sanctuary built on rules specific to the civilization paying homage to its gods.
