Kokino – a megalithic observatory located in the municipality of Staro Nagorichane, at a distance of about 75 kilometers from Skopje, i.e. 35 kilometers from Kumanovo. It is placed on the top of “Tatichev Kamen”, and was named after the nearby village of the same name.
The Kokino Observatory is located in the municipality of Staro Nagoricane, at a distance of about 75 kilometers from Skopje, that is, 35 kilometers from Kumanovo. An asphalt road leads to it, and you have to walk the last 500 meters to reach the observatory itself. It is placed on top of “Tatichev Kamen”, at an altitude of 1,030 meters. It is dated in 1800. BC, that is, the early bronze age, and extends over an area of 5,000 square meters.
The megalithic observatory is located on a neo-volcanic hill. The rocks were created by the solidification of lava, which flowed out of a volcanic crater. Time and erosion made cracks and some of those cracks were the main markers through which the cycles of the Sun and the Moon were followed and time was measured.
The seven stone markers in the past marked the places of rising of the Sun and the Moon during the periods of the short, equinox and long day, as well as their declinations. In fact, only on the equinoxes—March 21 and September 21—does the sun rise due east and set due west. Then, gradually there is a deviation that amounts to 45 degrees.
The places of sunrise that are covered by the natural markers on the megalithic walls in Kokino indicate that the sunrises at the same place of the Sun repeat every 18.6 years. It is likely that some members of the tribal community were tasked with daily tracking the movements of the celestial bodies and making calendars to determine the days for ritual rites, as well as for the beginning of seasonal work in agriculture and animal husbandry. The observatory is located on two stepped platforms from which the planets were monitored. Traces of several objects and pieces of pottery were found on the upper platform.
According to the findings of the archaeologists, there were actually no dwellings at the Kokino site, but the observatory was also a sanctuary, and objects intended for their deities were placed in the crevices of the rocks. There is also a kind of throne in the deposit, where the elders and leaders of the tribe probably sat. During the discovery of the deposit, numerous artifacts were found (ceramic plates, amphoroid vessels, stone axes, etc.).
The observatory was discovered by accident in 2001. by Jovica Stankovski, and towards the end of 2001 the research was started by the National Museum in Kumanovo. Research continued in 2002, and the first astronomical measurements were made during the summer and autumn of the same year. The latest astronomical research showed that from this observatory were observed: the star Aldebaran, the Pleiades group, as well as the Sun at the spring and autumn equinoxes.
The megalithic observatory in Kokino is counted among the ancient observatories in the world. In 2005, the American space agency NASA included Kokino on the map of 15 ancient observatories along with Abu Simbel in Egypt, Stonehenge in Great Britain, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Machu Picchu in Peru and others.
Source: Wikipedia
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