A critique on the theory of determining the first day of the seasons at Niasser fire-temple

Chahar-taqies are buildings from ancient Iran. Although not for sure, many believe thatthese buildings were pre-Islamic religious buildings in Iran. Niasser fire-temple is oneof the examples of constructions that are in good condition in the Niaser Mountains ofKashan. Reza Moradi Ghiasabadi, a freelance researcher, has done extensive research onIranian Chahar-taqies, including the Niasser fire-temple. He believes that the angles andpositioning of the Niasser fire-temple structure are such that the sunrise on the first dayof each season is consistent with certain axes of the building. Therefore, it can be used todetermine the beginning of each season. He has expressed his theory in two books on “Thecalendar buildings” and “Calenddric Structure of Iran” about the Niasser fire-temple. Inthis study, by calculations, measurements and field observations as well as defining theortive amplitude parameter, we show that the sunrise along the beginning of each seasondoes not match the axes of the building. Because in the equinox, that is the first day ofspring and fall, the sun does not rise from any specific angle. In addition, the proposedtheory has not paid attention to the first day of summer and the first day of winter. Onthe first day of spring and the first day of autumn, the sun rises from exactly east, whichdoes not match any of the axes of the building. The difference in sunrise azimuth everyday of the year from the east azimuth is called the ortive amplitude. The ortive amplitudedepends on the latitude of the observer as well as the angle of declination of the sun everyday of the year. The latitude of the Niassar fire-temple is about 34 degrees. Hence, theortive amplitude is about 29 degrees. That is, on the first day of summer the sun rises onazimuth about 61 degrees. On the first day of winter, the sun rises on azimuth about 119degrees. Declination of the sun in the days before and after the solstices is very small.Therefore, the measurement of the ortive amplitude in the solstices must be very precise.But the columns in Niasser fire-temple does not have that precision. In other words, forabout a month, the sun appears to rise from one point. Hence, we can not use the Niasserfire-temple to specify the first day of summer and the first day of autumn. We concludethat the theory presented in solstices, namely the first day of summer and the first day ofwinter, is also inaccurate.