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Researching Stonehenge: Theories Past and Present
Parker Pearson, M 2013 Researching Stonehenge: Theories Past and Present. Archaeology International, No. 16 (2012-2013): 72-83, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/ai.1601 ARTICLE Researching Stonehenge: Theories Past and Present Mike Parker Pearson* Over the years archaeologists connected with the Institute of Archaeology and UCL have made substantial contributions to the study of Stonehenge, the most enigmatic of all the prehistoric stone circles in Britain. Two of the early researchers were Petrie and Childe. More recently, colleagues in UCL’s Anthropology department – Barbara Bender and Chris Tilley – have also studied and written about the monument in its landscape. Mike Parker Pearson, who joined the Institute in 2012, has been leading a 10-year-long research programme on Stonehenge and, in this paper, he outlines the history and cur- rent state of research. Petrie and Childe on Stonehenge William Flinders Petrie (Fig. 1) worked on Stonehenge between 1874 and 1880, publishing the first accurate plan of the famous stones as a young man yet to start his career in Egypt. His numbering system of the monument’s many sarsens and blue- stones is still used to this day, and his slim book, Stonehenge: Plans, Descriptions, and Theories, sets out theories and observations that were innovative and insightful. Denied the opportunity of excavating Stonehenge, Petrie had relatively little to go on in terms of excavated evidence – the previous dig- gings had yielded few prehistoric finds other than antler picks – but he suggested that four theories could be considered indi- vidually or in combination for explaining Stonehenge’s purpose: sepulchral, religious, astronomical and monumental. -
OUGS Journal 32
Open University Geological Society Journal Volume 32 (1–2) 2011 Editor: Dr David M. Jones e-mail: [email protected] The Open University Geological Society (OUGS) and its Journal Editor accept no responsibility for breach of copyright. Copyright for the work remains with the authors, but copyright for the published articles is that of the OUGS. ISSN 0143-9472 © Copyright reserved OUGS Journal 32 (1–2) Edition 2011, printed by Hobbs the Printers Ltd, Totton, Hampshire Committee of the Open University Geological Society 2011 Society Website: ougs.org Executive Committee President: Dr Dave McGarvie, Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA Chairman: Linda Fowler Secretary: Sue Vernon, Treasurer: John Gooch Membership Secretary: Phyllis Turkington Newsletter Editor: Karen Scott Events Officer: Chris Arkwright Information Officer: vacant at time of going to press Branch Organisers East Anglia (EAn): Wendy Hamilton East Midlands (EMi): Don Cameron East Scotland (ESc): Stuart Swales Ireland (Ire): John Leahy London (Lon): Jenny Parry Mainland Europe (Eur): Elisabeth d'Eyrames Northumbria (Nor): Paul Williams North West (NWe): Mrs Jane Schollick Oxford (Oxf): Sally Munnings Severnside (Ssi): Janet Hiscott South East (SEa): Elizabeth Boucher South West (SWe): Chris Popham Walton Hall (WHa): Tom Miller Wessex (Wsx): Sheila Alderman West Midlands (WMi): Linda Tonkin West Scotland (WSc): Jacqueline Wiles Yorkshire (Yor): Geoff Hopkins Other officers (non-OUGSC voting unless otherwise indicated) Sales Administrator (voting OUGSC member ): vacant at time of going to press Administrator: Don Cameron Minutes Secretary: Pauline Kirtley Journal Editor: Dr David M. Jones Archivist/Reviews: Jane Michael Webmaster: Stuart Swales Deputy Webmaster: Martin Bryan Gift Aid Officer: Ann Goundry OUSA Representative: Capt. -
Castell Henllys Interpretation Plan April 2013
Castell Henllys Interpretation Plan Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority Red Kite Environment Touchstone Heritage Management Consultants Anglezarke Dixon Associates April 2013 Castell Henllys Interpretation Plan ______________________________________________ Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority In association with Red Kite Environment Pearcroft Pearcroft Road Stonehouse Gloucestershire GL10 2JY Tel: 01453 822013 Fax: 01453 791969 Email: [email protected] www.redkite-environment.co.uk Castell Henllys Interpretation Plan Contents Contents.................................................................................................... i Foreword ..................................................................................................iii Executive summary.................................................................................. v 1 Introduction............................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background ....................................................................................................................2 1.2 The ‘Origins’ project........................................................................................................3 2 Setting the Scene.................................................................................. 4 2.1 Historical contexts ..........................................................................................................5 2.2 A prehistory hub .............................................................................................................6 -
Architecture and Meaning in the Structure of Stonehenge, Wiltshire, UK Timothy Darvill
Houses of the Holy: architecture and meaning in the structure of Stonehenge, Wiltshire, UK Timothy Darvill Timothy Darvill is Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Science, Bournemouth University, UK. His research interests lie in the Neolithic of Northwest Europe and in archaeological resource management, and he has carried out fieldwork in Germany, Russia, Malta, England, Wales, and the Isle of Man. In 2008, together with Geoff Wainwright, he undertook excavations inside the stone circles at Stonehenge as part of ongoing research into the links between Stonehenge and the sources of the Bluestones in the Preseli Hills of southwest Wales. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Time & Mind. [email protected]. Abstract Stonehenge in central southern England is internationally known. Recent re-evaluations of its date and construction sequence provides an opportunity to review the meaning and purpose of key structural components. Here it is argued that the central stone structures did not have a single purpose but rather embody a series of symbolic representations. During the early third millennium this included a square-in- circle motif representing a sacred house or ‘big house’ edged by the five Sarsen Trilithons. During the late third millennium BC, as house styles changed, some of the stones were re-arranged to form a central oval setting that perpetuated the idea of the a sacred dwelling. The Sarsen Circle may have embodied a time- reckoning system based on the lunar month. From about 2500 BC more than 80 bluestones were brought to the site from sources in the Preseli Hills of west Wales about 220km distant. -
An Examination of Regionality in the Iron Age Settlements and Landscape of West Wales
STONES, BONES AND HOMES: An Examination of Regionality in the Iron Age Settlements and Landscape of West Wales Submitted by: Geraldine Louise Mate Student Number 31144980 Submitted on the 3rd of November 2003, in partial fulfilment of the requirements of a Bachelor of Arts with Honours Degree School of Social Science, University of Queensland This thesis represents original research undertaken for a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree at the University of Queensland, and was completed during 2003. The interpretations presented in this thesis are my own and do not represent the view of any other individual or group Geraldine Louise Mate ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page i Declaration ii Table of Contents iii List of Tables vi List of Figures vii Abstract ix Acknowledgements x 1. The Iron Age in West Wales 1 1.1 Research Question 1 1.2 Area of Investigation 2 1.3 An Approach to the Iron Age 2 1.4 Rationale of Thesis 5 1.5 Thesis Content and Organisation 6 2. Perspectives on Iron Age Britain 7 2.1 Introduction 7 2.2 Perspectives on the Iron Age 7 2.2.1 Progression of Interpretations 8 2.2.2 General Picture of Iron Age Society 11 2.2.3 Iron Age Settlements and Structures, and Their Part in Ritual 13 2.2.4 Pre-existing Landscape 20 2.3 Interpretive Approaches to the Iron Age 20 2.3.1 Landscape 21 2.3.2 Material Culture 27 2.4 Methodology 33 2.4.1 Assessment of Methods Available 33 2.4.2 Methodology Selected 35 2.4.3 Rationale and Underlying Assumptions for the Methodology Chosen 36 2.5 Summary 37 iii 3. -
Archaeologists in Stonehenge Bluestone Shock
ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN STONEHENGE BLUESTONE SHOCK ‘Got those Preseli Blues, everybody’s talkin’, ‘bout those Preseli Blues’ from Those ol’ Preseli Blues, recorded by Bettws y Smith, and the Bluestones (Paramount, 1923) It appears you can get away with almost anything in contemporary archaeology. One can for once agree with Jacquetta Hawkes who reckoned that ‘Every generation gets the Stonehenge it deserves’. In this generation one may gain permission to dig the hallowed turf of Stonehenge itself provided you have a theory that is zeitgeisty enough to woo the public. But does it hold water? I am, of course, talkin’ ‘bout my gg..g..g.eneration of archaeologists, the Geoffrey Wainwright Experience, with Geoffrey himself on Mediaphone, accompanied by Tim Darvill on Vibes. Their opening track? “Cutting the First Sods for 50 Years at Stonehenge” Compared with anything that has gone before in recent Stonehenge history, this ‘New Improved’ theory of why the bluestones were so important to the builders of Britain’s National Temple must appear as pure affrontery to ‘the lunatic fringe of dotty archaeology’, who have always thought that, free from the dogma that lurks in academic disciplines, they had sole rights to investigate whatever questions they liked on archaeological matters. In an apparent surge of ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ mainstream archaeology now boldly appears to be straying into traditional loony fringe territory. We must welcome them - they may be healed by the process. The media love it, of course, fawning all over the two heroes of this piece of Stonehenge ‘science’. It is the perfect media story. -
Beyond Stonehenge: Carn Menyn Quarry and the Origin and Date of Bluestone Extraction in the Preseli Hills of South-West Wales
Beyond Stonehenge: Carn Menyn Quarry and the origin and date of bluestone extraction in the Preseli Hills of south-west Wales Timothy Darvill1 & Geoff Wainwright2 Recent investigations at Stonehenge have been accompanied by new research on the origin o f the famous ‘bluestones’, a mixed assemblage o f rhyolites and dolerites that stand among the much taller sarsens. Some o f the rhyolite debitage has been traced to a quarry site at Craig Rhosyfelin near the Pembrokeshire coast; but fieldwork on the upland outcrops o f Carn Menyn has also provided evidence for dolerite extraction in the later third millennium BC, and for the production o f pillar-like blocks that resemble the Stonehenge bluestones in shape and size. Quarrying at Carn Menyn began much earlier, however, during the seventh millennium BC, suggesting that Mesolithic communities were the first to exploit the geology o f this remote upland location. Keywords: Britain, Preseli Hills, Stonehenge, Mesolithic, Neolithic, megalithic, bluestone, dolerite, meta-mudstone, prehistoric quarrying Introduction For nearly a century it has been known that the 80 or so pillars of dolerite, rhyolite and tuff, collectively known as ‘bluestones’, that were incorporated into the structure of Stonehenge, Wiltshire, originated over 220km away to the north-west in the Preseli Hills of south west Wales (Thomas 1923). However, despite the publication of numerous excavations and surveys within and around Stonehenge (RCHME 1979; Richards 1990; Cleal et al. 1995; Darvill & Wainwright 2009; Parker Pearson 2012), it is only relatively recently that systematic archaeological fieldwork has been undertaken in west Wales to investigate the bluestone sources and their original context (Darvill & Wainwright 2002; Darvill et al. -
The Crosby Garrett Helmet
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE THE UK’S BEST SELLING ARCHAEOLOGYprovided MAGAZINE by Bournemouth University Research Online I ssue 287 February 2014 Issue 287 | £4.30 | February 2014 February current www.archaeology.co.uk C rosby rosby G arrett | Preseli and Preseli S tonehenge | H ope playhouse | G arden archaeology arden Where it was buried, and why The Crosby Garrett Helmet Stonehenge An evening Issue 287 current archaeology and Preseli at the Hope Seeking the meaning Playwrights and bear of the bluestones fights on Bankside PRESELI Meaning of the bluestones Stonehenge and Preseli Exploring the meaning of the bluestones Why were the bluestones used in Stonehenge transported more than 200km from Preseli in Wales? The survey of the eastern Preseli Hills and investigation of selected sites by Timothy Darvill and Geoff Wainwright have exposed some uncanny parallels with the Stonehenge landscape. Could Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales of Monuments Ancient and Historical on the Commission Royal : : O T these help explain the meaning of the famous stone circle? O H P n 1810 Sir Richard Colt Hoare, one of the ABOVE Excavations Stonehenge? Why was it built? How did it work? first recorded excavators of Stonehenge, under way on Carn And what did all those different kinds of stone Menyn. Outcropping was moved to declare of the monu- mean to people back in the Late Neolithic? high on the Preseli Ridge, ment ‘How grand! How wonderful! How the bluestones used Surprisingly, these questions are rarely addressed incomprehensible!’ His words still reso- in the construction of by archaeologists, but our work suggests that clues nate today. -
CHAPTER 2 Neolithic and Bronze AGE Pembrokeshire
CHAPTER 2 NEOLithic AND BronZE AGE PembroKeshire By Timothy Darvill and Geoffrey Wainwright INTRODUCTION his chapter tells the story of Pembrokeshire between about 4000 BC and 700 BC, a remote period of more than 3000 years when life was quite different from that of more recent times. It is conventionally referred to asT the Neolithic (4000–2000 BC), early Bronze Age (2000–1600 BC), middle Bronze Age (1600–1000 BC), and late Bronze Age (1000–700 BC), although advances in radiocarbon dating over recent decades provide a secure chrono- logical framework that now allows us to talk in terms of specific millennia and centuries. What we present here is a summary based on currently available archaeological evidence that has survived to be described, investigated, studied, and interpreted by prehistorians and other specialists working in related fields. There are no written records to help us in this task; all we have to go on are the lumps, bumps, structures, monuments, deposits, and stray finds that survive in the modern landscape. Some remains, for example the Pentre Ifan mega- lithic tomb (Figure 2.1) and the Gors Fawr stone circle (Figure 2.3), are truly spectacular in their form and setting, and have long been recognized as tourist destinations and places for spiritual nourishment through their connections with the distant past. Other sites and finds may seem less impressive, but their contri- bution to understanding prehistory is no less important. Modern Pembrokeshire covers an ancient peninsular projecting into the Atlantic Ocean, flanked on the south by the Bristol Channel and on the north by St George’s Channel. -
Darvill Interview (Antiqvvs, Summer 2021).Pdf
ANTIQVVS Passion for Past Civilisations Summer 2021 The Maya Issue 7 £5.75 Tim Darvill on Barrows, Camuni Rock Art Roman Bronze Jack Ogden on Fake Bluestones, and Stonehenge in Northern Italy and Silver Figurines Ancient Gold Jewellery Contents Volume 3 | Number 3 | Summer 2021 4 Editorial 5 News Features 9 Camuni Petroglyphs: Encrypted Symbolism Bianca Maria Zonta 13 Barrows, Bluestones, and the Secrets of Stonehenge Mark Merrony interviews Timothy Darvill 19 The Eagle on the Edge of the Roman Empire: In Search of the Legions’ Lost Lanes Martin Davies 22 Carnuntum: Roman Powerhouse on the Danube Murray Eiland 27 Roman Sculpture in Miniature: Figurines in the Lararium Martin Henig 33 The Other Pandemic: Fake Ancient Gold Jewellery Mark Merrony interviews Jack Ogden 39 The Maya: First Lords of the Jungle Mark Merrony 45 Book Reviews Cover: Maya calendar (page 40). This page: silver figurine of Mercury. The British Museum (page 32). ANTIQVVS 3 Barrows, Bluestones, and the Secrets of Stonehenge Mark Merrony interviews Timothy Darvill about his extraordinary career in prehistoric archaeology We are privileged that Professor Timothy Darvill has given the magazine this exclusive interview. A prehistorian with a prominent international public profile, he has conducted pioneering research into the history and development of Stonehenge in the most important excavation in British prehistory. His groundbreaking research also extends to other related Neolithic monuments. He continues to lead major research projects and publishes widely on the archaeology of early farming communities in north-west Europe, and on archaeological resource management. His research takes him to many parts of Europe, and he has directed projects in Germany, Russia, Greece, and Malta, as well as in many parts of England, Wales, and the Isle of Man in order to answer key questions, which are addressed in considerable detail below. -
Megaliths and Geology: a Journey Through Monuments, Landscapes and Peoples
Megaliths and Geology Edited by Rui Boaventura, Rui Mataloto and André Pereira Access Archaeology aeopr ch es r s A A y c g c e o l s o s e A a r c Ah About Access Archaeology Access Archaeology offers a different publishing model for specialist academic material that might traditionally prove commercially unviable, perhaps due to its sheer extent or volume of colour content, or simply due to its relatively niche field of interest. This could apply, for example, to a PhD dissertation or a catalogue of archaeological data. All Access Archaeology publications are available in open-access e-pdf format and in print format. The open-access model supports dissemination in areas of the world where budgets are more severely limited, and also allows individual academics from all over the world the opportunity to access the material privately, rather than relying solely on their university or public library. Print copies, nevertheless, remain available to individuals and institutions who need or prefer them. The material is refereed and/or peer reviewed. Copy-editing takes place prior to submission of the work for publication and is the responsibility of the author. Academics who are able to supply print-ready material are not charged any fee to publish (including making the material available in open-access). In some instances the material is type-set in-house and in these cases a small charge is passed on for layout work. Our principal effort goes into promoting the material, both in open-access and print, where Access Archaeology books get the same level of attention as all of our publications which are marketed through e-alerts, print catalogues, displays at academic conferences, and are supported by professional distribution worldwide. -
Stonehenge Excavations 2008
The Antiquaries Journal, 89, 2009,pp1–19 r The Society of Antiquaries of London, 2009 doi:10.1017⁄s000358150900002x. First published online 21 April 2009 STONEHENGE EXCAVATIONS 2008 Timothy Darvill, VPSA, and Geoffrey Wainwright, PSA Timothy Darvill, Centre for Archaeology, Anthropology and Heritage, School of Conservation Sciences, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK. E-mail: [email protected] Geoffrey Wainwright, March Pres, Pontfaen, Fishguard SA65 9TT,UK.E-mail:geoff@bluestone. eu.com The following paper is the first published account of an excavation that took place at Stonehenge during April 2008. As this was the first excavation to take place within the stone circle for some forty years, the excavation has attracted an uncommon degree of interest, hence its publication in the Antiquaries Journal asaninterimaccountofworkinprogress,intheformofaneditedtranscriptofa paper first given at the Ordinary Meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of London on 9 October 2008. The paper explains that the 2008 excavation set out to date the construction of the Double Bluestone Circle at Stonehenge and to chart the subsequent history of the bluestones and their use at the monument. Evidence is presented for a provisional working date of around 2300 BC for the construction of the Double Bluestone Circle, while it is argued that the history of the site is far more complex than has been allowed for in existing interpretations, with a multiplicity of overlapping and intercutting (though not continuous) events, including substantial late Roman, medieval and early modern activity. The excavated material, and the evidence from the surviving stones, supports the suggestion that bluestones were brought to the site because of their perceived special qualities, perhaps for their supposed healing properties, and that some knowledge of those qualities remained current in later times with the result that in excess of two-thirds of the original bluestone volume has now disappeared.