Dear Listers,

This item was found by a bulldozer operator in the vicinity of a major institutional building (constructed 1937 with major additions/modifications ca 1948, in Tyler, Texas); it "weighs close to 15 pounds. Size: 1" thick,  14" tall  x 7 3/4" wide [larger end]  x 5 1/8" [smaller end]" and is believed to be made of some type of slate (this and the photos is all the information I have):

http://skiles.net/Tyler.jpg

We've agonized over this on the Texas Archeological Society discussion list and our best guess (among many) is that it's a sundial of the vertically mounted variety that one commonly sees (saw) embedded above entrances in buildings, similar (in very general respect only) to this one in a building constructed at Yale in 1930, but perhaps serving as a pseudo-keystone veneer piece [<- I expect any architectural historians on the list to lacerate me for this term, but I don't know what the correct architectural term might be] above an arched entryway:

http://skiles.net/yale.jpg

or this example in the carillion tower at the Bok Sanctuary in Florida:

http://skiles.net/bok.jpg

Some of our more knowledgeable members see a certain [perhaps Buddhist influenced] Art Deco flavor in the design elements [for example, the dial element is said to resemble a stylized lotus].

First, can anyone confirm that this is a sundial? Has anyone seen or can point-out a reference/photo to/of a sundial in anywise similar to this? Any comments on the iconography would be most appreciated, too.

~ Bob Skiles