Well the solstice was the other day, and this showed up, and I found it quite interesting bordering on fascinating. If you know me at all you know that two of my favorite thing are meticulous workmanship and elegant engineering. It strikes me that it would be nice if we could work to the standards these neolithic masons did. From History Today
Anthony Johnson argues that an accurate interpretation of the great monument rests in the sophisticated geometric principles employed by its Neolithic surveyors.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Stonehenge, circa 1885In March 2008 archaeologists excavated at Stonehenge for the first time in over forty years. The results of the excavation will hopefully throw new light on the origins of the little understood early bluestone structure. This was dismantled before the iconic monument, the remains of which we are familiar with today, was raised around 2,500 BC. These are the first ‘internet age’ Stonehenge excavations in an era where speculation, elaborate sightline theories and academic research have become entangled in the popular imagination. The time is long overdue for archaeologists to redress the balance.
Where so much confusion abounds, what do we really know, and how can we work towards the truth? One test is to ask whether the total body of evidence can be assessed to sustain any single theory, and if so whether the substance of the argument can ever be supported by material proof. Those that cannot have no real authority.
The story of Stonehenge is contained in more than the visible structure. A host of buried details reflect its protracted use and modification, from the simple earth-and-timber structure built shortly after 3000 bc, to the enigmatic ‘Y and Z Holes’ created well over a thousand years later. Any interpretations that ignore the inconvenient, or the hidden features below the turf, compel archaeologists and the majority of Stonehenge theorists to part company.
Over 250 years of speculation have led to the widely held belief that prehistoric spirituality was focused on the theatre of the celestial dome, yet there is ample, more convincing evidence to show that there were other, no less important, preoccupations in the minds of those who built Stonehenge.
Continue reading Solving Stonehenge
It’s always struck me as a fascinating construct whyever it was built, and when you start thinking about the absolute precision the guys used, well for the most part today we work to about ± a couple inches when we work on this scale, these guys worked to what we call ± 0, not many people in our world could even do it, let alone on this scale with hand tools.
Then you combine that with the geometric knowledge involved, the astronomical alignment, and the structural analysis that went into not only the structure but building the structure, and then you combine it with the rest of what is a quite extensive site and it becomes quite literally awe-inspiring.
And so if you are, like me, a technology guy, you have to hand it to these guys around 4,000 years ago, they were doing things that we would have trouble doing with all our technology toys today..
Related articles
- Stonehenge Summer Soltice 2013 (heritageaction.wordpress.com)
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
