(nb. this could also go in the “Spirituality” category)
"Have got out indigenous population (of archaeologists), preening and posing (and to an extent I don’t blame them), but are we any nearer to understanding the culture responsible?
(thread also as continuance of the discussion I was having with SBurt: The Lifeboat News: Von Daniken)
Quote; "Orkney - seven miles off the coast of Scotland and cut off by the tumultuous Pentland Firth, the fastest flowing tidal race in Europe, is often viewed as being remote. But recent discoveries there are turning the stone age map of Britain upside down. Rather than an outpost at the edge of the world, recent finds suggest an extraordinary theory - that Orkney was the cultural capital of our ancient world and the origin of the stone circle cult which culminated in Stonehenge.
In this three-part series, Neil Oliver, Chris Packham, Andy Torbet and Dr Shini Somara join hundreds of archaeologists from around the world who have gathered there to investigate at one of Europe’s biggest digs.
Chris Packham uncovers the secrets revealed by the DNA of Orkney’s unique vole, Neil Oliver explores Orkney’s tombs and monuments, Dr Shini Somara experiments to discover how the Orcadians could have moved giant blocks of stone over rough ground and archaeological adventurer Andy Torbet climbs Orkney’s most challenging sea-stack to unlock the story of Orkney’s unusual geology." BBC iPlayer - Britains Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney - Episode 1
Quote; "One of Britain’s biggest and oldest stone circles has been found in Wales - and could be the original building blocks of Stonehenge.
Archaeologists uncovered the remains of the Waun Mawn site in Pembrokeshire’s Preseli Hills.
They believe the stones could have been dismantled and rebuilt 150 miles (240 km) away on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire.
The discovery was made during filming for BBC Two’s Stonehenge: The Lost Circle Revealed.
The Welsh circle, believed to be the third biggest in Britain, has a diameter of 360ft (110m), the same as the ditch that encloses Stonehenge, and both are aligned on the midsummer solstice sunrise.
Several of the monoliths at the World Heritage Site are of the same rock type as those that still remain at the Welsh site.
And one of the bluestones at Stonehenge has an unusual cross-section which matches one of the holes left at Waun Mawn, suggesting the monolith began its life as part of the stone circle in the Preseli Hills before being moved.
It is already known that the smaller bluestones that were first used to build Stonehenge were transported from 150 miles (240 km) away in modern-day Pembrokeshire.
But the new discovery suggests the bluestones from Waun Mawn could have been moved as the ancient people of the Preseli region migrated, even taking their monuments with them, as a sign of their ancestral identity.
They would then have been re-erected at Stonehenge.
Archaeologists said this could explain why the bluestones, thought to be the first monoliths erected at Stonehenge, were brought from so far away, while most circles are constructed within a short distance of their quarries.
The archaeological investigations as part of the Stones of Stonehenge research project, led by Professor Mike Parker Pearson of University College London, previously excavated two bluestone quarries in the Preseli Hills.
Their discovery that the bluestones had been extracted before the first stage of Stonehenge was built in 3000 BC prompted the team to re-investigate the nearby Waun Mawn stones to see if it was the site of a stone circle supplied by the quarry and later moved.
Only four monoliths remain at the site, but an archaeological dig in 2018 revealed holes where stones would have stood, showing the remaining stones were part of a wider circle of 30-50 stones.
And the scientific dating of charcoal and sediment from the holes reveal it was put up around 3400 BC." Stonehenge: Did the stone circle originally stand in Wales? - BBC News
First a little personal history (or; “How qualified is well qualified?”), …
The first time I properly visited an ancient site (Mesolithic/Neolithic), was on a six-week (or more), holiday I took with a local Catholic (teenage membership), “discussion group” around parts of the northern Mediterranean in the early Eighties (I was a “communion proxy” for my mother following her divorce and a suicide attempt -I never met a Catholic priest until I was pubescent-, luckily I landed on my feet and wouldn’t swap the experience for the world), we went to many “holy” Christian sites (incl. the chapel St.Francis -Giovanni-, built with his own hands in Assisi), but also visited the ancient “Marian” (the pre-Christain origins of the Maltese tradition of the veneration of “Mari” -goddess of the sea-, is obvious to any who stay on the islands for any length of time), temples on the Islands, quote; “The Megalithic Temples of Malta (Maltese: It-Tempji Megalitiċi ta’ Malta) are several prehistoric temples, some of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites,[1] built during three distinct periods approximately between 3600 BC and 2500 BC on the island country of Malta.[2] They had been claimed as the oldest free-standing structures on Earth until the discovery of Göbekli Tepe*.[3] Archaeologists believe that these megalithic complexes are the result of local innovations in a process of cultural evolution.[4][5] This led to the building of several temples of the Ġgantija phase (3600–3000 BC), culminating in the large Tarxien temple complex, which remained in use until 2500 BC. After this date, the temple-building culture disappeared.[6][7]” Megalithic Temples of Malta - Wikipedia
*Italics mine.
Following this first wetting of my appetite I then attended (and prior to taking up a social science course in phil/gov at Essex that autumn), the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1984 with my then best friend and then girlfriend (although we missed the solstice by a day or so), …
.however, it wasn’t until visiting the same friend (he was a student at Sheffield Uni.), for the summer solstice the following year that I developed a true and deep yearning to explore Britain’s ancient culture (s), as deeply as possible after we and a group of fiends stayed overnight at Arbor Low “recumbent” henge in Derbyshire experiencing the sunrise the following morning, quote; "Opinions are divided over whether the stones were originally upright or whether they were laid flat as they appear today. Archaeological evidence is inconclusive. However when seen in context, it seems impossible to imagine that the monument was designed this way. It’s all too easy to imagine the stones standing upright in a circle - an image that seems to fit naturally with the shape and design of the site. Also, the stones appear very clearly (to the casual observer) to have been toppled. At least one of them appears to have been broken in the process. The best guess is that this is a site that was ‘Christianised’ through the levelling of the stones.
Whatever the truth, the site is constructed on a grand scale and is certainly the most significant megalithic feature in the north of England. The encompassing of the stone circle by the outer earthwork delays the full visual impact until cresting the rise. Like Avebury, this is another site where the the layout seems intentionally designed to affect the senses on a number of levels. Whether the intention was simply to inspire awe, or whether it was intended to created a ritualistic, otherworldly space, the early visitors to Arbor Low must certainly have been deeply affected by the experience." Arbor Low (Stone Circle, Derbyshire, England) Whilst there are examples of “recumbent” stones (as part of circle or henge sites), “recumbent” henges would seem to be very rare (if they exist at all), …nevertheless Arbor Low is a singular site nothing else of its import being found in Northern England. It is part of a “sacred lanscape” that includes the Nine Ladies stone circle (that I have also visited), this being considered (see “Arafel” “Britain’s Hidden Lore”), a lunar site that complements the nearby solar henge that is Arbor Low, quote; "Nine Ladies Stone Circle
A small early Bronze Age stone circle traditionally believed to depict nine ladies turned to stone as a penalty for dancing on Sunday. It is part of a complex of prehistoric circles and standing stones on Stanton Moor." Nine Ladies Stone Circle - Things To Do in The Peak District and Derbyshire
Its apparent Bronze Age construction date supporting the idea that, quote; "Many now-days like to proselytise for the notion that our Brythonic culture and religion went through, “revolutionary” changes at various points in our history, however, those who do so fail to realise that the religion remained essentially the same but was informed by technological change (such as the use of metals -smelting and forging of tools-), thus we see developments in the design of sacred sites from simple mounds to standing henges (both stone and wooden), to the sublimity of the recumbent henges (such as Arbor Low*), and eventually the subtle, “earth carving” represented by the Bronze Age, “Uffington Dragon” (that is not a horse but rather a representation of the, “fire-from-the-earth” that must be, “appeased” and befriended in order to manifest the treasure of the iron and bronze ages).
Whilst it is obviously true that the, “Beaker People” (whose smelting abilities are thought to have ushered in the Bronze Age in Britain), brought a new technological understanding and a different culture with them, when they migrated here from central Europe, such did not fundamentally change the pantheon or religious practices of these islands, henges and stone circles continued to be constructed in Britain well into the Bronze Age** moreover without Britain’s tin resources the technologies of the Beaker People would have been next to useless. Perhaps (again see following post), there are parallels here with the Norse pantheon and their belief in the Aesir and the Vanir whereby the Vanir represent the more “magical” understandings of, “The Old Religion” and Odin and his Aesir represent the more “physical”, materially concerned (and also unfortunately), warlike culture of the new technologies (go to: The Aesir-Vanir War - Norse Mythology for Smart People & http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/mythology/myths/text/first_war.htm
*The recumbent nature of Arbor Low now being a subject of debate, nevertheless such somewhat “later” Henges do seem to represent an advancement in design/structure.
**Supporting the idea of a “continuance of culture” and priest-scientists overseeing both technological and ritual advancement (re: belief systems), for it must be remembered that science and religion were considered to be the same thing during this era.
My friend and I returned alone (walking the 15 miles to and from Bakewell), for the winter solstice of '85-'86, we found shelter in a broken down shepherd’s hut and celebrated the sunrise the following morning. By then I was hooked. I made no distinction between the architecture, technology or spirituality it was then (and has always remained), one subject to me.
Then something very odd happened; my father suffered a break up of his marriage to the lady he had left my Mum for (no-names no pack-drill), and changed job (having been living in Tamworth, the ancient Mercian capitol, for a good few years -he and I made many friends and had many great times there: https://twitter.com/Williamtheb/status/1326857480299831297-), in-fact he was head-hunted for a job in an “Enterprise Zone” in Brecon (following the denouement of the Miner’s Strike), What blew me away at the time (and still does although we no-longer own the house he bought originally), is that “The Red Cow House” (a former drover’s cottage), was situated in the middle of Brecon’s “sacred landscape”. The nearest stone-circle being situated on the land of our neighbour (then a Scottish sheep-farmer who owned about 350 acres), and friend (Dad used to help at lambing time), called Ray. Not only did the Tawe flow twenty or so feet from out backdoor (there is also a well on the property), but the fields immediately above the cottage were very productive for psilocybe semilanceata and the stone circle and recumbent stone within walking distance (despite the awesome gradients). At least twice I made the walk from the Usk Reservoir back home, starting at the standing stones or circle site near the reservoir and following the standing stones until emerging on the top of the hill overlooking the cottage (a beautiful clear view of Pan y Fan being one of the outstanding views from the circle site above Ray’s farmhouse _-also very close to a Roman fort put there to subjugate the rebellious natives during the imperial colonisation of Britain, not only did the Romans “sit on” the religion they were not above vandalising the sacred landscape either-), and I made a point of visiting the stones every time I was there (I therefore could appreciate the site during many solar and lunar phases -imho this site is closely linked with the last “working moon” of the year, the ninth and as such has a special relation to the knowledge assoc. with the veil/death, also “the red dragon and the white”-).
During this period I visited Stonehenge more than once (and Durrington Walls and the “Woodhenge” :
was involved with the battle to save Twyford Down (quote; "Twyford Down
Twyford Down was just such a place (actually although it was “such a place” nothing that happened there was “just”).
Modern archaeologists (especially the social and agricultural historians amongst them), may have some understanding of what was lost at Twyford Down (and to be honest it still is a truly painful subject for me to talk about).
However… those who understand that the colonisation of the major landmass areas of these islands only ever took place once in humanity’s history* , should also understand that this “Rosy Cross” is a unique tabula rasa for agricultural scientists (because of its “quartered” nature), and as a result it’s history represents one of the most complete and easily assimilable works of applied “astrologomal”** science imaginable (or at least it did -never try and teach maths without also teaching spacial awareness-).
Why it now may not be is because of the rape of Twyford. You see, back when the ice sheets first began to retreat and people started to colonise these Islands on a large scale the south of Britain was ipso facto colonised first (given our current post “Flood” planetary orientation***). This meant that places such as The New Forest, Hengistbury Head, Twyford Down and others were the very first to be used as social, religious and agricultural centres. As such this of-course makes them our oldest archaeological “seed libraries”, without which; climate data, ecological relationships, social interactions, religion, biology and “astrologomy” cannot be studied .
*(Edit 12/07/10 at least in a modern “agricultural” sense -and I may be accused of something of the same myself given the slightly “ham-fisted” nature of this edit- as I am advised by the recent discovery of one million year old (approx.) flint tools belonging to Homo Antecessor in Britain. Go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jul/07/first-humans-britain-stone-tools )
**(“Astrologomy”= astrology/astronomy, I’m convinced S.A.M -“Stone Aged Man”- would have laughed at the idea of “splitting the sky in two” either that or considered the notion very bad medicine indeed!)
***Further Reading ? ; James Vogh (aka John Sladek), “The Thirteenth Sign”, Peter Warlow “The Reversing Earth” also please visit Dr. Masaru Emoto at www.hado.net (water molecule cluster electron-microscopy the man is a genius).
The archaeology at Twyford was also unique for although not formal constructions “The Dongas” and other features at Twyford bore witness to thousands of years of agricutural use; Redirect Notice
The trackways, known as “dongas”, were formed by the constant passage of humans, animals and carts over thousands of years.
The other more spectacular and well defined examples at Twyford are gone now forever.
- You will note that the historian refers to the dongas at Twyford as “Medieval” however this refers to the large scale usage of wheeled vehicles and horses on the site, infact the field systems and trackways far predated the medieval period.
Yes it is true that unmarked security staff were used to apply “passification” methods on the very brave “Dongas’ Tribe” whose hearts (like those of many of us), were broken by this thoughtless, brutal, xenophobic and needless desecration of not only our land but our brave nascent community as-well. Yes it is true that construction staff were told to discard any ancient relics they might find and yes there still is a golf-course on the other-side of the fence atop what remains of our beautiful downland. I’m told the county surveyor and others were/are members of the golf club.
Yes look a golf-course another ancient monument we should be pleased to keep for the next ten thousand years!
"…The morning after the festival a disparate group of no more than 20 or so people sat atop one of the most unique pieces of downland anywhere. The previous night and all the preceding day they had been engaged in music, dance and song, the sun had blazed back off the exposed chalk and flint sculptures, the wind and glare spanking their cheeks into an ancient blush.
Fire had blazed amid, the dance itself…
…and that morning they sat.
At first unsure then…“We are upon the ocean surely?”
Islands in the sea of rolling white and vestigial grey, islands…
The heat grew first, I swear a hand upon my shoulder…“He comes, The Sun King comes!”
Arms outstretched to the stars, he comes.
Burning, heat a lick upon the face, the whisper to the heart, he comes.
Burning the moisture from the air, he comes.
“My blood, my Earth gone from me now, torn out!”
From The East… from the east…" "Arafel": "What's that Coming Over The Hill?"), visited Leith Hill twice (the experiences which I had there still being more suited to a more intimate knowledge of both audience and environment), spent three and half weeks in Findhorn over the summer solstice of 1986, visited Avebury for the day, journeyed near (but never so far visited), Uffington (a Ridge-way walk still being on my “to-do” list), and of-course explored my local area (research concerning which can be found on the following blog posts: "Arafel": Journey-Man #WalkingintheWildWestEnd #HatchFarmDevelopment #Holbury #NewForest #StMarys #SouthamptonSpa #Archaeology #MentalHealth, "Arafel": Walking in the Wild West End Pt. 2 #TelegraphWoods #Conservation #Biodiversity #StopMoorhillDevelopment #CPRE #RichardStBarbeBaker #EnvironmentCentre & "Arafel": Walking in the Wild West End Pt. 3 #TelegraphWoods #Conservation #Biodiversity #StopMoorhillDevelopment #CPRE #RichardStBarbeBaker #EnvironmentCentre #BiodiversityistheEngineofSustainability). There a probably some “expeditions” I have missed out but such is a fair (if terse), resume of my field work, work from which I have explicated the notions that are found in my blog posts, such as: "Arafel": Britain's Hidden Lore #Permaculture #Biodynamics #BethLuisNion #Astrology #Agriculture #TWDA & "Arafel": Britain's Hidden Lore cont. "A Resolution?" #Biodynamics #BethLuisNion #Permaculture #Astrology.
It is on the basis of such (and my academic studies), that I ask; “P.S @thecoastguy
if the Orkadians were the “first” what happened to the rest of the culture that “peregrinated” across these isles? Surely evidence of the rest of them should be found for exactly the same time period (4000 BCE approx.), and in other places? @thetimeteam”, “You can’t surely be claiming that the Orkadians represent the gene pool for the entire culture. What was the structure of their society? Are you arguing that Orkney represents a “peak experience” that was then translated for the rest of the culture (informing its activities)?”: https://twitter.com/Williamtheb/status/1359860259502907397 and (re: the origins of Stonehenge), has anyone considered the geology of the areas concerned? We are told that stone sites in the east of Britain are rare because of the area’s geology but this is meant in a purely prosaic sense that does not consider how the geology “in-situ” (underground), interacts with the subterranean water-courses (or in-fact whether the water courses themselves are either too deep or insufficiently numerous in Eastern Britain to have supported a mesolithic/neolithic “religious” culture), the later “crowding” of the sarsen stones at Stonehenge is at least suggestive of the notion that a deeper water course exists in the area (in-fact the Preseli site -and the local stone used-, suggest that the discipline required in order to correctly locate the original henge was more easily applied in the Preseli Hills). Many “poo-poo” these notions but let us consider what recent discoveries in central America have revelled about the placement of “astrologimal”* architecture re: subterranean water courses! (also see: "Arafel": "Earth Stars! Michael Poynder (R.I.P), as Promised in "What's that Coming Over The Hill?"").
Also if the Orkneys were (as presented), the site for the spread of an entire culture who were the people (and what gene-pool do they represent), who created Carnac (quote; “These megalithic stones exist around the village of Carnac in Brittany, France. The stones demonstrate alignments, dolmens and other ancient geometry which is consistent with other prehistoric sites, but which should not have existed in the period in which they were constructed. The site consists of more than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones, which were cut from local rock and erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany. This is the largest such collection of stones in the world. The stones were erected c3300 BC- 4500 BC.” The Carnac Stones: A Centuries-Old Enigma Solved Using Ancient Science | Ancient Origins)? It seems to me (as I have stated before), that, quote: "Another error made by modern archaeologists is to constantly laud each new discovery concerning the use and, “meaning” of Britain’s ancient sites as if each piece of the jig-saw is the last-hurrah regarding such and trumps all the other previously held notions concerning nature and usage, such hubris bespeaks a very blinkered conception; the sites were (and still are in some circles), held to be sacred precisely because they embodied a coming together (literally a, “fusion”), of the forces of creation where, “earth energies” could (with the aid of the enlightened heart and mind), harmonise with the energies of the cosmos to the benefit of all. That such sites should concern themselves with both birth and death is not, therefore, surprising for; “it is by death that life is known”, and that such sites should also be places of healing also flows from this notion for it is surely fear of death that most disorders the human spirit. Modern man loves to compartmentalise his existence (which explains the mess we have gotten ourselves into), but to our ancient forebears life and death were all part of the whole and humanity was not separate from its environment, if we are to re-establish this connection in these islands we must commit to a rediscovery of their ancient lore for as discussed in the previous post all our, “groovy” biodynamic permacultures will simply fail to function if we don’t understand the mechanics which make the engines of sustainability, “tick”.
“Geo” - “Metry” = “Earth/(ground)” - “Measurement” The Pythagorean Brotherhood were it seems taught their “spacial-math” by the (for want of a better description), “Brythonic Hyperboreans”, … #AntikytheraMechanism": "Arafel": Britain's Hidden Lore cont. "A Resolution?" #Biodynamics #BethLuisNion #Permaculture #Astrology
The culture that created Carnac probably had roots in the same culture that produced Göbekli Tepe after all hunter gatherer societies are also seasonally restricted/directed in their activities, for there to be a “cross-over” (“rosy” -ha!-), between agricultural and hunter gatherer societies that is reflected in their sacred architecture should come as no surprise. Please conventional “mainstream” (again “ha!”), stop trying to “big-yourselves-up” every time you make a discovery (however remarkable), if you took better heed of some of the less mainstream (and more controversial), work of others we would all make far swifter progress but you will need to remove the blinkers you unfailing wear first.
*“Atrologomy” = astrology/astronomy.
