A sundial cannon, sundial gun, noon cannon or meridian cannon, also noonday gun is a device consisting of a sundial incorporating a cannon with a fuse that is lit by an overhanging lens, concentrating the rays of the sun, and causing the cannon to fire at noon, when properly oriented along a north-south axis. The cannon sizes ranged from large to small depending on the location of their use. The household variety was used in estates to signal the time for the midday meal. Larger sizes were used in European parks to signal noon.
Note the lens is on an moveable frame so that it can be adjusted during the seasons.
Seems related to / inspired by the history of noon guns which were once fired in many port towns to allow ships in port to set their marine chronometers so they could calculate longitude correctly.
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