History of sundials

Prehistoric man observed that time can be marked by the sun's position in the sky, eventually using the shadow of a stick on the ground to indicate time of day, and seasons, too.

1500 B.C.: Oldest sundial in existence is from Egypt. It is L-shaped, with tick-marks for hours.

500 B.C. to 200 A.D.: Greeks and Romans develop a variety of sundials — bowls, horizontal, vertical for walls, portable ones.

1500 to 1800: The art and science of sundials reaches its peak, with sundials common in public places and homes. If you had a business appointment, it was with a sundial that you kept the time. Being a few minutes late was not a big deal.

1800 to 1900: Sundials decline due to the increased availability of reasonably accurate clocks and watches. But until the end of the 19th century, French railways regulated their clocks by sundials.

1975 to present: There is a revival of interest of sundials around the world because of their beauty, historical value and, well, because they hark back to a not-so-fast paced era. The British Sundial Society is formed in 1989; the North American Sundial Society forms in 1994. Sundials become popular garden accessories, though buyers should do research before purchasing one. A cheaper sundial, for example, may be calibrated for some latitude other than Seattle.

Sources: Woodruff Sullivan, professor of astronomy, University of Washington; National Maritime Museum, London.