ORKNEY TO SOMERSET THE ENTRANCES OF STONE CIRCLES AND HENGES IN BRITAIN/IRELAND 21 STONE CIRCLES,31 ENTRANCES A Research Booklet 1 Photograph from Records In Stone,editor C.L.N Ruggles,2002,CUP.Chapter 7 "without Sharp North"Alexander Thom and the great Stone Circles of Cumbria,by Mr Aubrey Burl.Photo is of Castlerigg North entrance by Mr Aubrey Burl. 2 INDEX PART ONE,TWO - FIRST TEN SITES PART THREE - ELEVEN MORE SITES RESULTS PART FOUR - OTHER SITES,CONCLUSIONS PART FIVE - NEWGRANGE REFS COPYRIGHT INFO All Photographs by M.Butler,except where indicated otherwise.If otherwise any Photographs used are complient with the Creative Commons License or RESEARCH terms. As are some of the quotations used.All references are indicated. The rest of the quoted material,permissions were sought or obtained. A lot of info,Photographs used in this Booklet comes from the Magnificant WIKIPEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA, GEOGRAPH and the book 3 RECORDS IN STONE Without these sources,this Booklet could not have been built .So in part is a Homage to these Sources. Thanks to PDF24. Copyright m.butler 2017.This is a published Research Booklet,that is pub,ished under the Creative Commons License. Written and published in/from Gnomon Towers,Lancs. INTRODUCTION As an Amateur Archeoastronomer,who started to study my nearest Stone Circle,some years ago,[the remenants on Cheetham Close,Turton,Lancs], I found i needed specific information about Entrance way bearings for around 30 stone circles,the most well known ones in Britain.As i appear to have uncovered evidence of an entrance at the Turton Circle and needed to compare this entrance with similar Monuments.Cheetham Close stone circle remenants,are not photographic,the circle stones are either lying flat,or just the bottom 0.5 m stumps remain,after vandalism in the 1800s.In Summer nothing is visible,the marsh grass covers the circle stones. Thanks to The Encyclopedia of Wikipedia,the task of finding the Entrance info for some of Britains Stone Circles,was made a lot easier.Likewise the other sources of information,that are used.As the information built up,i started to wonder about the society of the Circle/Henge builders.Using comparative Mythology with the Aztecs and Ancient Egyptians,i conclude with a form of belief concerning entranceways to stone circles/Henges.* *This should not be confused with Dr.Mckays Hypotheses. 4 Having visited a number of stone circles in Britain,many years ago,without a compass,maybe supplied me with energy to track down these details.The main "subjective energy supply,comes from the memories of staring at the e + i Full Moon,around Christmass 2006,hovering on the horizon,on a clear cold night.This may suggest an unconcious tendency in my personality has developed,favouring this particular Moon.This is not the case. Each sites Entrance orientation,except for one or two,has been calculated from the excellent Photographs the members of the project for Geograph took,sometimes compared with site plans from the 1800s forward.Various individuals information from different Websites/Books,all are referenced.The reference point/Backsight for all orientations of entrances is approx the central line of the entrance,looking from around 3 - 5m STOOD INSIDE the stone ring.This general location gives a 5 degree bearing band,running approx from each side of the Portal Stones,to the Foresight horizon,at Rollright say,the wider Portals will frame more length at the horizon. Then the nearest rise/set of , a/ the Full Moon, or b/ the Sun,at a significant point in a/the year or b/the Moons Saros cycle is extracted as the chosen orientation.This may not be the exact point of a significant rise or set,but a point at which the Sun/Moon is close to the horizon,after/before rise or set. As anyone knows,who has attempted to "watch the Sun rise" or set,the Suns sphere CANNOT BE LOOKED AT,AND SHOULD NOT LOOKED AT. The area of skyline above the rise horizon,becomes brighter and brighter,until the fierce globe appears,peeping over the said horizon.At Sunset this sequence reverses.All that can be marked,say by a couple of mark sticks in the ground will be the area of Sunrise/set,[or the memory from a split second glance of the horizon features below the Sun.].This is assuming a clearish sky.The Full Moon can be looked at easily,assuming a clearish sky,the rise and set points easier to view,with a prolonged observation. PART ONE 5 Map of some of the sites looked at. LAT 59 TO LAT 50. BACKGROUND/TIME From the Stone Circle pg by Wikipedia,source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/stone_circle?oldid=749073837 contributors Oliver,Michael Hardy and co.Looking at the various types of stone circles throughout the British Isles,lists the Recumbant type as peculiar to NE Scotland and SW Ireland,where there are 71 and at least 20 examples.The two groups are slightly different to each other.In Scotland,the Recumbant stone has two Flanker Stones at each end.In Ireland,the Flanker stones are placed opposite the Recumbant,forming an entrance to the Circle and are "known as Portal stones."All theses circles can be classed as Free standing aswell i suppose.Looking at Mr Aubrey Burls Photo of Castlerigg stone Circle,which is classed as a free standing circle,Mr Burl says " It is possible that from this four stone rectangle,that creates an impresssive entrance,the stone avenue tradition sprang."Info from Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/castlerigg%20stone%20circle?oldid= 648229653 contributors Warofdreams,Camerong and co.Castlerigg was probably constructed around 3200 bc.Making it one of the earliest Stone Circles in Britain.The heaviest stone weighing 16 tons,the tallest stone 2.6m.Info from Source https://en.wikipedia.org/wwiki/stone_circle?oldid=749073837 contributors Oliver,Michael Hardy and co.In the Mid Neolithic 6 [3700],Stone Circles began to appear on the central lowlands,towards the North of the UK.By the Late Neolithic the builders moved inland,producing monuments like Avebury.From 2500 - 1500 numerous small stone circles were built by family groups.By around 1500 bc Stone Circles stopped being built.Entrances in banked/ditched/Henge stone circles are easier to detect .WHICH DIRECTION ? There are two directions obviously,that an entrance can be pinned to.Since the Stone Circle is a funery Monument,the INNER to OUTER reference line will be used to compare different sites.Where there is Archaeological info about structures on the inside of the circle,the bearing of the entrance will be taken from there.Otherwise just the approx angle at which the entrance is fixed at,will be used,viewed from the inside of the circle. ORKNEY ISLES,SCOTLAND THE STONES OF STENNES,single entrance, similar age to Castlerigg Info from Mr J.Ritchie and his Chapter in RECORDS IN STONE.-This Ring of Standing Stones was reduced to 2 stones in the 1900s.Early in the 20th century two more stones were re - erected.The site was excavated by Mr J.Ritchie in 1973 - 4.He invited Mr Thom to survey the site.Stones 2,3 and the visible stump of stone 8 were visible,and in their original locations.The stumps of stones 4,10 and 11 were found and the pits for 6.9 and 12.The locations of stones 2,3,4,8,10 and 11 are certain.The Stennes Stone Ring is older than the Ring of Brodgar,which is visible to the NW of the Stennes Ring.Castlerigg is also older than the Ring of Brodgar.Working from the excellent Photographs of Mr Sigard Towrie,2017 i suspect the re - erected stones from the early 20th century are stones 5 and 7. PLAN BELOW FROM Mr C.RUGGLES RECORDS IN STONE,CUP 7 . Measuring from Mr Thoms Plan,the stone rings diameter is approx 35 m E/W,by 40 m N/S.Info from Source 8 https://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_Stones_of_Stennes?oldid= 754017600 contributors Paul Barlow,Menchi and co -Built on a levelled platform of ground 44m diameter.This platform being surrounded by a Ditch,7m wide and up to 2m deep.The Watch Stone standing to the NW of the ring is 5.6m high,there used to be another nearby.The Stone of Odin stood in a field to he North of the ring.At Lat 58.59.The circle stone sare around a foot thick,and four of them are 5m high.This is probably the oldest stone circle in the UK.In the square setting,[a Hearth]++++ in the central area cremated bone,charcoal and pottery have been found.around the Hearth .Animal bones have been found in the Ditch.Work was underway at the site by 3100bc.The two Outliers,the Watch stone and long gone partner,sited to the NW of the Ring,look like the Entrance Stones.Inside the Ring near the N side,in Mr Thoms plan are 3 small stones,that may be the remenants of the marked pathway from the entrance stones,to the central area . Measuring from the plan - Central square to far horizon ht est 1 degree, The Ring of Brodgar line = +15.9 declination, The Maes Howe line = +11 declination and the inner 3 stones [I] + 32.5 declination. Some interesting info from Mr Sigard Towries Webpg - ORKNEYJAR, The stone ring was surrounded by a ditch,except for the Entrance Causeway to the North.Which faced the Neolithic Barnhouse Settlement,around 150m to the N.