An ancient, enduring triumph

Rome's Pantheon may have been built as a massive sundial researchers reveal: It is one of the best preserved buildings from the Roman world, a 2,000-year-old testament to the immense power and wealth of the empire

But mystery has always surrounded what lies behind the unusual design of the Pantheon, a giant temple in the heart of Rome that was built by the Emperor Hadrian.

Now experts have come up with an intriguing theory – that the temple acted as a colossal sun dial, with a beam of light illuminating its enormous entrance at the precise moment that the emperor entered the building.

The use of the term sundial seems a bit imprecise. It isn't built to mark the hours, etc., but rather to illuminate the entrance on certain occasions. However, it's an achievement in dramatic lighting worthy of the famed Roman engineering. What can I say, they may have had to go conquer people for their culture, but they did engineering better than just about anyone in the ancient world.

Via Medieval News.