Report on a New Horizons Research Project. MAGNETOMETER SURVEYS OF PREHISTORIC STONE CIRCLES IN BRITAIN, 1986. by A. Jensine Andresen and Mark Bonchek of Princeton University. Copyright: A. Jensine Andresen, Mark Bonchek and the New Horizons Research Foundation. November 1986. CONTENTS. Introductory Note. Magnetic Surveying Project Report on Geomantic Resea England, June 16 - July 22, 1986. Selected Notes. Bibliography. 1. Introductory Note. This report deals with a piece of research falling within the group of enquiries comprised under the term "geomancy". which has come into use during the past twenty years or so to connote what could perhaps be called the as yet somewhat speculative study of various presumed subtle or occult properties of terrestrial landscapes and the earth beneath them. In earlier times the word "geomancy" was used rather differently in relation to divination or prophecy carried out by means of some aspect of the earth, but nowadays it refers to the study of what might be loosely called "earth mysteries". These include the ancient Chinese lore and practical art of Fengshui -- the correct placing of buildings with respect to the local conformation of hills and dales, the orientation of medieval churches, the setting of buildings and monuments along straight lines (i.e. the so-called ley lines or leys). These topics all aroused interest in the early decades of the present century. Similarly,since about 1900 interest in megalithic monuments throughout western Europe has steadily increased. This can be traced to a variety of causes, which include increased study and popularisation of anthropology, folklore and primitive religion (e.g. Robert Graves' "White Goddess"), also the archaeological recognition of the strange temples and monuments in Malta, Sardinia, and the Balearic Islands. Within the last two decades the use of the bristlecone pine of California to revise radio-carbon dating has shown that the megaliths of the western seaboard of Europe are older by far than the Pyramids; consequently the megaliths have become all the more mysterious and enigmatic. The researches of Sir Norman Lockyer, Gerald Hsipkins and Alexander Thorn have been of a rational and unmystical nature, because they have emphasised astronomical aspects of some of the megalithic ensembles. But their work has, of course, only served to heighten interest in these monuments, and given encouragement to what are actually unrelated lines of thought. Among these latter is the notion, popular in recent years, that the various great stone circles etc. were set up at places that were identified as "centres of power". This idea is by no means unreasonable per se and is worth pursuing. The astronomical theory is by no means completely, validated as yet. In addition, explanations for the siting of the stone circles and alignments do not necessarily have to he mutually exclusive. These circles may have served many purposes and have been places of meeting for religious worship, political "moots" and even the holding of markets. We ask therfore just what "powers" or influences men, prior even to the Bronze Age, might have been able to sense or intuit at these sites. Some writers have mentioned a "telluric force" but have been unable to suggest how it was sensed or mapped other than by some method now lost, or by some kind of intuition perhaps akin to the powers of the psychic sensitives of our own day. (Such people, though perhaps rare, certainly do exist and have abilities not yet fitted in to the physicist's world picture). Other writers suggest that the ancients recognized the places suitable for erection of megaliths as temples, observatories, markets or parliaments by a sensibility equivalent to that of the modern "dowser". Dowsers are also called "well-witchers" or "water-diviners", because it is the faculty of detecting underground water that men of this ilk most frequently exhibit; it is this ability that is used in arid terrains all over the world. Some dowsers however can detect other subterranean deposits such as oil or valuable metallic ores. Some dowsers use a divining rod (often a forked hazel twig) or an angle iron or pendulum to register their unconscious reaction to the nearness of the deposit, water, oil or metal, that is being sought. Others need no such aid, and go by a consciously experienced feeling. In recent years many dowsers have surveyed megalithic sites and believe themselves to have detected "forces" akin to those they experience when dowsing for deposits, and have consequently endorsed the proposition that these locations are, in some sense, "centres of power". It is fair to say, and most dowsers will concur, that they agree to differ amongst themselves as to the precise field or influence that they detect. Some dowsers regard their ability as essentially the same as that of the "psychic" sensitive -- the telepathic or clairvoyant person. Such was the view of one of the greatest of modern dowsers, John G. Shelley, Jr. of Maine, for many years President of the American Society of Dowsers. Others ascribe it to a special force of totally unknown nature. But there is also a group of dowsers who claim to be able to detect magnetic fields, and theories of dowsing have been based on this by some investigators, notably Yves Rocard, Professor of Physics at the Ecole Normale in Paris, and Dr.Zaboj V. Harvalik, a former Professor of Phusics in the University of Arkansas. Correspondingly it has been conjectured, not only by dowsers, but by other students of geomancy, that the megalith builders selected their sites on account of local peculiarities of the earth's magentic field, which they had some means of detecting. If so the method of sensing remains obscure. It was known to the ancient Greeks as early as the seventh century, B.C. that the mineral later called "lodestone" (magnetite, an oxide of iron) could attract iron and other pieces of lodestone, but there is no suggestion in ancient literature that the lodestone if freely suspended could orient itself with respect to the earth prior to Shen Kua (1030-Q3)ia Chinese mathematician and instrument maker. Similarly nothing remotely resembling a compascor instrument for exploring terrestrial magnetism has been found on or near any ancient site. (There is, admittedly, something of a mystery concerning the orientation of some early churches, but this relates to a period far later than the megaliths). None-the-less the speculation that the megalithic sites are characterized by magnetic anomalies constitutes a well-formula ted hypothesis testable with modern equipment, and was therefore made the subject of an expedition to Britain in June and July 1986, to measure the earth's magnetic field at a number of stone circles. In addition, as subsidiary objectives, the authors acquired information concerning the "Glastonbury Zodiac" and also current research on leylines, which are reported separately. (A.R.G.O. New Horizons). 2. MAGNETIC SURVEYING Magnetic surveying investigates subsurface geology on the basis of anomalies in the Earth's magnetic field. These anomalies result because certain rock types contain sufficient magnetic minerals to produce magnetic anomalies. Magnetic surveying may be used on a small scale to detect buried metallic objects or on a large scale to investigate regional geological structure. A magnetometer is an instrument that measures magnetic field strength. Modern magnetometers are based on nuclear resonance. These instruments measure the resonant frequency of protons of the natural frequenceis of cesium or rubidium atoms. This frequency gives an indication of the strength of the surrounding magnetic field. A ground magnetic survey is used to detect magnetic anomalies. Such surveying is usually performed over a small area around a defined target (tor, hillfort, stone circle, or Zodiac effigy). Readings from the magetometer are taken at spacings of between 10 and 100 meters. Magnetic surveying may increase our understanding of geomancy and psychic phenomena for two reasons. First, magnetic anomalies may be related to extra• sensory information transfer. Second, the generation of magnetic energy may have been an important function of the ancient geomantic network. A researcher at the Stanford Research Institute recently demonstrated that anomalous information transfer is related to the state of the Earth's magnetic field. Experiments in remote viewing yielded significantly greater positive outcomes when the geomagnetic field was relatively weak. It is possible that the existence of magnetic anomalies around geomantic sites may suggest that one of their functions may have been related to anomalous information transfer. Secondly, magnetic surveying may increase our understanding of the energy generated in the geomantic network. The Earth is surrounded by its "magnetosphere," a comet-shaped region filled with plasma and radiation. The magnetosphere contains many regions that are connected through mechanisms of energy, momentum, mass and waves. Interplanetary shock waves and changes in the interplanetary magnetic field can cause drastic changes in the energy of the magnetosphere. Ancient man might have used his mind to interact with the magnetic properties of geomantic sites in order to send shock waves through the magnetosphere, perhaps changing its particle structure and thus generating energy for use on earth. Using magnetic surveying to determine whether geomantic sites do possess unusual magnetic features, we will take the first step toward proving or disproving this hypothesis. 3. Project Report on Geomantic Research in England June 16 - July 22, /Cj&6 Submitted to: Mr. Donald C. Webster Submitted by: Jensine Andresen and Mark Bonchek Date: September 15, 1986 MAJOR ACTIVITIES: Magnetic Surveys Visit to Mr. Charles Brooker Literature Search MAGNETIC SURVEYS: After obtaining permission from the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission (the Department of Environment) to conduct magnetic surveys of the ancient stone circles, we proceeded to Cambridge University where we picked up a proton precession magnetometer from Dr.