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Qumran, Israel - A limestone disk unearthed in 1954 at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, is known as the Qumran Roundel, and believed to be an early example of an equatorial sundial. It's housed in the Israel Museum.

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Beijing, China -

An early equatorial sundial stands like an ancient satellite dish in the Forbidden City. The circular slab is etched with date rings and hour lines.

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Nuremberg, Germany -

The facade of the Schürstabhaus, on Sebalder Platz, features this historic sundial.

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Carcasonne, France -

The Carpe Diem sundial, which dates back to 1961, was made by renowned French gnomonics expert René R.J. Rohr (1905–2000).

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Rome, Italy -

The Clementine Sundial in the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels was designed by Francesco Bianchini (1662–1729). It was inaugurated in 1702 on the meridian that crosses the city.

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California, USA -

The support tower of the Sundial Bridge points due north at a cantilevered angle, allowing it to serve as a gnomon of a sundial. The bridge spans the Sacramento River.

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Warsaw, Poland - Keeping time in the city's Old Town Market Place is this Icarus sundial solar clock.

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Cornwall, England - The giant clifftop Perranporth Public Sundial was constructed in 2000 as part of the UK's Millennium celebrations.

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Singapore, Malaysia -

Standing in the city's Botanic Gardens is this sundial, designed for use near the equator. The time is indicated by the horizontal bar while hours are numbered on the arc.

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Kairouan, Tunisia -

Founded in 670 CE, the Great Mosque of Kairouan includes among its many cultural riches an ancient horizontal sundial, located in the courtyard.

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Jaipur, India -

The Jantar Mantar is an astronomical observation site built in the early 18th century. Among the 20 or so fixed instruments found onsite is the world's largest stone sundial. The whole area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Greenwich, England -

A pair of leaping bronze dolphins tell the time to the nearest minute thanks to this ingenious equinoctial sundial that looms over the meridian line at the Royal Observatory.

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Seoul, South Korea -

Pictured is a modern hemispheric, placed in the city's Gyeongbokgung Palace. Based on the principles of the sundial, the pointer tip acts as the nodus and the height of the nodus-shadow gives the time of the year.

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Warsaw, Poland -

The magnificent Wilanów Palace sundial with Chronos. The palace dates back to the 17th century and is one of the country's most important monuments. 

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Český Krumlov, Czech Republic -

Several beautiful sundials adorn the carefully preserved walls of the 13th-century Český Krumlov Castle, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Pompeii, Italy - When time stood still: a sundial sits forlornly at the top of a column in the ancient Roman city, which was destroyed and buried by ash during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.

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Chicago, USA - The esteemed sculptor Henry Moore (1898–1986) created "Man Enters The Cosmos," a functioning bowstring equatorial sundial that sits outside the Adler Planetarium.

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Oxford, England -

Designed by Sir Christopher Wren (1632–1723), the highly ornate sundial at All Souls College overlooks the quadrangle.

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Cambridge, England -

Not to be out-dialed by its great academic rival, Cambridge's incredibly intricate "Dial in Old Court" at Queens' College is painted on flat blocks of stone and dates back to 1642.

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Sergiyev Posad, Russia - Sundials affixed to a column in front of the Cathedral of Assumption and the Trinity Lavra Monastery of St Sergius. The Trinity Lavra is one of the greatest of Russian monasteries.

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London, England -

The "Timepiece," a modern equinoctial sundial designed by Wendy Taylor in 1973, is set on the bank of St. Katherine Docks, near the city's iconic Tower Bridge.

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Gdańsk, Poland - St. Mary's Basilica is noted for its astonishing astronomical clock, but the medieval sundial on the exterior wall is also worthy of contemplation.

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Cairo, Egypt -

One of the world's oldest sundials (pictured) was found in Egypt's Valley of the Kings by a team of researchers from Basel University. But scholars believe a mysterious slab of rock discovered in Russia that appears to combine a sundial with a moondial could date as far back as the Bronze Age, as revealed by Seeker. 

See also: Weird facts on the world's most mysterious countries

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