Four (five) churches directed at same motte I ('Burg'/Messen SO (Switz.)

Four churches in the Canton of Berne (Switzerland) and not very distant between them (Kirche Meikirch 39°,Kirche Seedorf 60.5°, Kirche Aarberg 69.5°, Kirche Aegerten 105°) are all directed precisely at the same (former) motte 'Burg' (Brunnenthal/Messen SO; 601.300/214.605).
However, this motte was carried off almost entirely by the owner of the neighbouring farm around the nineties; if there was ever a castle ('Burg') in this place is quite doubtful. It is striking that another motte directly neighbouring to the first one exists (601.260/214.550): could this have been a 'double cult place' ?
In reality we should speak of five churches because also church of Utzenstorf BE is directed backwards (55.4°) exactly at the motte 'Burg' ! This will be treated in a second study (II).
That old churches are quite often directed at other church places (which seem to have replaced older "sacred places") as well at prehistoric "monuments" was already described in the book Religioese Geometrie in der Urgeschichte (p.136 - 39).
Some interesting cases of church directions in a neighbouring area in the southwest of these four churches have been reported earlier (Ausrichtung der Kirchen/Berner Seeland).
These churches mentioned above all have an orientation "to the east" which one finds very often. A direction to the point of sunrise on a certain day of the year, which is sometimes postulated, is here not very plausible; with the azimuth of 39° (church Meikirch) there is even never a sunrise ...
Also, the orientation of the four (five) churches lead all to significant, hardly accidental geometric relations.
The church Aegerten ('Buerglen') is equidistant (13.64 km,always measured horizontally) from the motte 'Burg', from the cup stone ('Schalenstein') Hessigkofen SO 03 (601.765/221.050) and from the church Meikirch !
The church of Muenchenbuchsee BE is, similar to the church Aegerten, equidistant (6.69 km) from the motte 'Burg' and from the church Meikirch. The extension of the straight line  church Muenchenbuchsee  -  motte 'Burg'  leads precisely to the cup stone Hessigkofen 03 !
The longitudinal axis of this "kite-like quadrangle" leads also to other geometrical relations: the church Aegerten is equidistant (16.40 km) from the church Muenchenbuchsee and the earthwork ('Erdwerk') 'Altschloss'/Aetingen SO (604.810/220.490). The straight line  church Aegerten  -  'Altschloss'  goes exactly over the churches Oberwil BE and Muehledorf SO.
The earthwork 'Altschloss' is then equidistant (13.18 km) from the church Muenchenbuchsee and from the cup stone Burgdorf BE 01 (613.127/210.172), a large erratic rock which is often part of such geometric relations.
The church Muenchenbuchsee is again equidistant (12.47 km) from this cup stone block and from the church Muehledorf, and this church again from this cup stone and from the church Aegerten (14.37 km) !
It would be worthwile to research the sequence possibly adopted to "arrange geometrically" the various "monuments".
Additionally, it should be mentioned that the earthwork 'Hinterholz'(Suberg)/Grossaffoltern BE is equidistant from the churches Aegerten and Oberwil (not indicated in diagram).
Interesting to note that the former block 'Tuefelstei'/Meikirch mentioned by K.L.Schmalz (ca. 595.800/206.800;"Namensteine und Schalensteine im Kanton Bern,1981,p.107), maybe a cup stone, would have been situated precisely on the straight line  church Muenchenbuchsee  -  church Meikirch. (The church Berne-Buempliz is equidistant from the church Meikirch and from 'Tuefelstei' which again is equidistant from the church Muenchenbuchsee and from the church Wohlen b.B. (both Buempliz and Wohlen outside the diagram area).
The church Seedorf BE is equidistant (12.13 km) from the motte 'Burg' and from the church in Messen SO, which in turn is equidistant with the same distance from the church Seedorf and from an erratic block ('Findling') situated in the Roman temple area of Petinesca/Studen BE (588.800/217.930; see K.L.Schmalz, idem,p.118). A fourth time the same distance between the motte 'Burg' and the chapel in Altreu/Selzach SO (also outside the diagram area).
This relatively small erratic block in the Roman temple area could be a (much older) "predecessor" which was left in the "holy place". He is equidistant (8.74 km) from the church Seedorf and from the church Oberwil, and the same distance is found between the church Oberwil and the earthwork 'Brandholz'/Grossaffoltern BE (592.030/212.215) and between this earthwork and the earthwork 'Zamberg'/Rapperswil BE (600.250/209.600).
Finally, the church Aarberg is distant from the motte 'Burg' by 14.29 km. The church in Schuepfen BE is equidistant (7.70 km) from the motte and from this church; the same distance between the church Aarberg and that erratic block in the temple area Petinesca (!) as well between motte 'Burg' and the castle Buchegg/Kyburg-Buchegg SO and also between this castle and the inhabitable tower in Halten SO (612.530/274.155), altogether five times.
The church in Limpach BE is equidistant (3.96 km) from motte 'Burg' and from castle Buchegg.

One should mention that the churches of Messen, Meikirch and Aegerten are built above Roman walls, the latter was even a Roman castle (hence the name 'Buerglen'). This indicates once more the Roman policy to superimpose prehistoric "holy places" with their constructions.
Remains the question why would early christian chapels, later enlarged to village churches with the same orientation, be directed at pagan "cult places", reproducing thereby their "religious geometry" ?  Exorcism ?

Motte southwest from Motte 'Burg'
Motte southwest from Motte 'Burg'
Place of former Motte 'Burg'
Place of former Motte 'Burg'

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