The Unsolved Mystery of The Stonehenge Fence [11:25]

Transcript
· Intro
0:02 · so just up there on the horizon if I zoom in is Stonehenge and the hundreds of people that you see
0:08 · there today probably thousands, if I stood here at the time of construction of the the megaliths
0:13 · the big ones on the outside right here well I wouldn't have been able to see the same view
0:19 · it would have been obstructed obstructed by a huge fence maybe 12 to 20 ft High what's even
0:28 · more intriguing about this story is it wasn't a circular feature around Stone Henge this was a
0:34 · linear feature one that stretched from Far Beyond the Horizon down there 2 km past Stonehenge down
0:43 · here alongside the avenue to where it then veer off an adjacent angle up toward the trees on
0:49 · the horizon through Stonehenge bottom. Welcome to the story of the really curious Stonehenge fence
· The Line
1:00 · Right I'm going to draw you on this extremely accurate and Scale map I'm going to draw you a
1:04 · line but before I do let's stick in Stonehenge okay we're also going to
1:10 · draw the Avenue cuz that's quite important so the Avenue went from roughly here headed east
1:16 · down to Stonehenge bottom and up to there and the line in question is going to be drawn in
1:21 · green yeah from right down here all the way up here up past Stone Henge bit of a gap,
1:27 · gaps are important we'll come to that we can carry on then we've got another Gap
1:31 · over 250 maybe 300 Meters long and when we get to Stonehenge bottom we take a completely different
1:36 · direction to the Avenue which heads East and our line is going to head directly north there's our
1:44 · [Music] fence so as I leave Stonehenge and walk down the Avenue here before we ask the
· The Fence
1:54 · really important questions of what it was for what did this look like first of all we
2:00 · have oak trees between 15 to 40 cm in diameter all butted up against one another along this
2:07 · linear Palisade was found in a a v-shaped ditch 1.4 M deep 2 m across here is a useful sign this
2:17 · is the point as well where the Avenue would have veered off to the East and the Palisade
2:22 · went off to the north through that Valley up there Stonehenge bottom towards the trees in
2:27 · the distance it turns out well this doesn't tell us anything about the Palisade whatsoever this
2:33 · useful sign however what I will tell you is the uh the Palisade itself was contemporary with the
2:39 · uh the Assassin the big megaliths that surround the structure that is Stone Henge let's go head
2:46 · off up the Avenue for the moment and start asking some of these big questions the year is 1967 and
· The Obvious Stuff
2:54 · the underpass on the old road the a344 is being constructed this would allow for safe passage from
3:02 · the car park to the site now during excavation of the underpass this Palisade was discovered
3:08 · the ditch in its v-shape the depth and the width and the holes that the post once stuck themselves
3:14 · in were there for all to see so if like me when you first heard of this Palisade this fence you
3:20 · may have thought it was a stock enclosure and that's a sensible idea great minds think alike
3:25 · I'm sure but there's two problems number one this was it at least 12ft High depending on the models
3:32 · of how high you build a fence and how high the uh the foot holding is and number two this was a
3:37 · 2 km linear fence not a complete straight line but linear nonetheless it wasn't a circled or
3:45 · Square or whatever enclosure that would have sensibly held your stock there are a few other
3:53 · theories that don't quite add up some discounted by paper by Fisher and Sims in 2012/7 such as a
4:00 · Bronze Age linear boundary where that would imply habitation dwellings settlements here
4:06 · and of course why would you have the Gap so next up let's have a look at the line of the Palisade
· Block the View in.
4:15 · especially in context of the Avenue that makes its Journey up here if we look from above at both
4:21 · mapped out well it seems pretty clear that the Palisade was to protect the view of Stonehenge
4:30 · so here in the landscape walking down the Avenue you can kind of get a a feel for the random
4:36 · ceremonies that would have took place here the high priests walking down the Avenue conducting
4:42 · their business and the Palisade across the Horizon in front of me blocking the view from the North
4:47 · and the west and of course the topography here blocking the view down to the Avenue in the South
4:53 · really was a secluded Avenue at least at this point so that's it right job done that was it
5:01 · the view held in 2008 and I think the likes of Mike pitts almost said the word that I've just
5:06 · repeated back to you just then and I think he even suggested that the the palisade would have
5:11 · heightened The Mystery of the ceremonies that went on here that all makes good sense at least
5:17 · until we get into Stonehenge bottom when something doesn't quite add up so this is Stonehenge Bottom
5:26 · now this is the point where the Avenue uh and the Palisade converge or par depending on which way
5:32 · you're facing so I've come from the East along the Avenue and from the north the Palisade comes
5:38 · down here to meet it where they then both head towards Stonehenge and if we Imagine A
5:43 · View From the west where we're trying to block out things well there's two problems with that
5:50 · theory so number one well we're down here in Stonehenge bottom you need a 20 Metre fence let
6:00 · alone 12ft or 20tf fence the view from up there on the west you You' be able to see
6:06 · all across the landscape there and probably onto the Avenue that's not really blocking
6:11 · the view and number two do you remember those gaps that are Drew in the Palisade the fence
6:18 · there's one that's over 200 Metre maybe closer to 300 metres and there's one that's close to
6:22 · Stonehenge as well well if you're blocking the view from that side why have gaps in the palace
6:30 · the mystery [Music] deepens so with the next model things start to get a bit interesting because the
· Block the View in.
6:38 · previous model stopping people from looking in from the West they are weird and wonderful
6:43 · ceremonies well what if we flip that on its head for this model and what if we said it's to stop
6:48 · people looking out from the inside us here during our ceremonies looking that way because if we do
6:54 · accept that to be the case we're blocking 170° of the Skyline there's a couple of question marks but
7:01 · it does seem a little bit more interesting in a paper in 2012 Fisher and Sims suggest that this
7:09 · model has so many more positive considerations than the previous models I'll try and explain
7:15 · as best I can but to do that we're going to need to head to the far Horizon to Robin Hood's ball
7:30 · and you may be asking yourself what exactly is Robin Hood's ball and that's a great question
7:34 · cuz I didn't know before I started this too essentially it's that not that that that there
7:42 · contained a 6,000 year old neolithic causeway enclosure right here Robin Hood's ball now we're
7:50 · around about 4 km North Northeast of Stonehenge and this was used for around a thousand and a
7:57 · half years, 3000 BC to 2500BC coincidentally the same time as the first earthworks started
8:04 · at Stonehenge so we have a possible link there now if you're at Stonehenge and you look North
8:11 · Northeast this is the exact spot on the horizon that you would see you'd see Robin Hood's ball
8:17 · stuck up there so we do have a link so let's step back to the Avenue and keep in mind Robin Hood's
8:23 · ball if we climb the Avenue from the Avon as was likely intended well at the the first Bend of the
8:30 · Avenue the ball would come into view assuming a 12 to 15 ft High Palisade then we continue to
8:37 · approach the second curve of the Avenue where it meets the Palisade the view of Robin Hood's ball
8:42 · is now obscured according to Exxon in 2000 said this was deliberate it shielded the old world
8:49 · from the new but then we have the Gap as we enter Stonehenge itself so if we are going to factor
8:55 · in Robin Hood's ball up here on the top of the landscape as if View from Stonehenge with this on
9:01 · and off blocking of the view via the Palisade well then we do need to factor in one more
9:07 · thing so I'll be the first to admit that when things get Celestial well they get a tad confusing
· Stars and Stuff
9:17 · for me at least but we do need to consider the sky Mike Parker Pearson suggested that these monuments
9:23 · included astronomy in their design and since Horizons are the perceived point of convergence
9:29 · of the landscape to the Skyscape then we should consider this view all that said around 2,500 BC
9:37 · give or take well nothing Celestial seems to align with Robin Hood's ball certainly
9:42 · from the position of Stonehenge and the Gap in the fence the Palisade maybe allowing the view
9:48 · back to Robin Hood's ball no moon or stars of perceived significance if however we head back
9:56 · along the avenue to the point of its highest part before before it goes down into Stonehenge bottom
10:02 · well then you can see Robin Hood's ball over the Palisade and there is a potential that the moon
10:09 · at that time would have lined up it doesn't quite fit in terms of a a unified theory in
10:15 · my head let's consider one more [Music] thing imagine you're trying to capture and kill an
· Beasts
10:24 · orc huge beast of the time you fired your arrows into it you flints and of course it's going to
10:30 · take a time before it runs around the trees or runs around the open plane scattering in
10:35 · a dangerous way well imagine if you had a long linear Palisade to help you Correll that Beast
10:43 · imagine if it had gaps in it and imagine if one of those gaps was very close to Stonehenge where
10:48 · you could make your peace to the gods and thank them for the gift that they' given you that's one
10:54 · Theory and I'm not sure if it sits any worse or any better than the others we've discussed today
10:59 · but perhaps the answer as always will be in archaeology telling us uh these answers one
11:05 · day in the future if you've enjoyed this video and you want to learn about how the uh the Stonehenge
11:11 · house just vanished you can watch the video just here thanks for watching we'll see you next time

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Transcript
	·	Intro
0:02	·	so just up there on the horizon if I zoom in is Stonehenge and the hundreds of people that you see
0:08	·	there today probably thousands, if I stood here at the time of construction of the the megaliths
0:13	·	the big ones on the outside right here well I wouldn't have been able to see the same view
0:19	·	it would have been obstructed obstructed by a huge fence maybe 12 to 20 ft High what's even
0:28	·	more intriguing about this story is it wasn't a circular feature around Stone Henge this was a
0:34	·	linear feature one that stretched from Far Beyond the Horizon down there 2 km past Stonehenge down
0:43	·	here alongside the avenue to where it then veer off an adjacent angle up toward the trees on
0:49	·	the horizon through Stonehenge bottom. Welcome to the story of the really curious Stonehenge fence
	·	The Line
1:00	·	Right I'm going to draw you on this extremely accurate and Scale map I'm going to draw you a
1:04	·	line but before I do let's stick in Stonehenge okay we're also going to
1:10	·	draw the Avenue cuz that's quite important so the Avenue went from roughly here headed east
1:16	·	down to Stonehenge bottom and up to there and the line in question is going to be drawn in
1:21	·	green yeah from right down here all the way up here up past Stone Henge bit of a gap,
1:27	·	gaps are important we'll come to that we can carry on then we've got another Gap
1:31	·	over 250 maybe 300 Meters long and when we get to Stonehenge bottom we take a completely different
1:36	·	direction to the Avenue which heads East and our line is going to head directly north there's our
1:44	·	[Music] fence so as I leave Stonehenge and walk down the Avenue here before we ask the
	·	The Fence
1:54	·	really important questions of what it was for what did this look like first of all we
2:00	·	have oak trees between 15 to 40 cm in diameter all butted up against one another along this
2:07	·	linear Palisade was found in a a v-shaped ditch 1.4 M deep 2 m across here is a useful sign this
2:17	·	is the point as well where the Avenue would have veered off to the East and the Palisade
2:22	·	went off to the north through that Valley up there Stonehenge bottom towards the trees in
2:27	·	the distance it turns out well this doesn't tell us anything about the Palisade whatsoever this
2:33	·	useful sign however what I will tell you is the uh the Palisade itself was contemporary with the
2:39	·	uh the Assassin the big megaliths that surround the structure that is Stone Henge let's go head
2:46	·	off up the Avenue for the moment and start asking some of these big questions the year is 1967 and
	·	The Obvious Stuff
2:54	·	the underpass on the old road the a344 is being constructed this would allow for safe passage from
3:02	·	the car park to the site now during excavation of the underpass this Palisade was discovered
3:08	·	the ditch in its v-shape the depth and the width and the holes that the post once stuck themselves
3:14	·	in were there for all to see so if like me when you first heard of this Palisade this fence you
3:20	·	may have thought it was a stock enclosure and that's a sensible idea great minds think alike
3:25	·	I'm sure but there's two problems number one this was it at least 12ft High depending on the models
3:32	·	of how high you build a fence and how high the uh the foot holding is and number two this was a
3:37	·	2 km linear fence not a complete straight line but linear nonetheless it wasn't a circled or
3:45	·	Square or whatever enclosure that would have sensibly held your stock there are a few other
3:53	·	theories that don't quite add up some discounted by paper by Fisher and Sims in 2012/7 such as a
4:00	·	Bronze Age linear boundary where that would imply habitation dwellings settlements here
4:06	·	and of course why would you have the Gap so next up let's have a look at the line of the Palisade
	·	Block the View in.
4:15	·	especially in context of the Avenue that makes its Journey up here if we look from above at both
4:21	·	mapped out well it seems pretty clear that the Palisade was to protect the view of Stonehenge
4:30	·	so here in the landscape walking down the Avenue you can kind of get a a feel for the random
4:36	·	ceremonies that would have took place here the high priests walking down the Avenue conducting
4:42	·	their business and the Palisade across the Horizon in front of me blocking the view from the North
4:47	·	and the west and of course the topography here blocking the view down to the Avenue in the South
4:53	·	really was a secluded Avenue at least at this point so that's it right job done that was it
5:01	·	the view held in 2008 and I think the likes of Mike pitts almost said the word that I've just
5:06	·	repeated back to you just then and I think he even suggested that the the palisade would have
5:11	·	heightened The Mystery of the ceremonies that went on here that all makes good sense at least
5:17	·	until we get into Stonehenge bottom when something doesn't quite add up so this is Stonehenge Bottom
5:26	·	now this is the point where the Avenue uh and the Palisade converge or par depending on which way
5:32	·	you're facing so I've come from the East along the Avenue and from the north the Palisade comes
5:38	·	down here to meet it where they then both head towards Stonehenge and if we Imagine A
5:43	·	View From the west where we're trying to block out things well there's two problems with that
5:50	·	theory so number one well we're down here in Stonehenge bottom you need a 20 Metre fence let
6:00	·	alone 12ft or 20tf fence the view from up there on the west you You' be able to see
6:06	·	all across the landscape there and probably onto the Avenue that's not really blocking
6:11	·	the view and number two do you remember those gaps that are Drew in the Palisade the fence
6:18	·	there's one that's over 200 Metre maybe closer to 300 metres and there's one that's close to
6:22	·	Stonehenge as well well if you're blocking the view from that side why have gaps in the palace
6:30	·	the mystery [Music] deepens so with the next model things start to get a bit interesting because the
	·	Block the View in.
6:38	·	previous model stopping people from looking in from the West they are weird and wonderful
6:43	·	ceremonies well what if we flip that on its head for this model and what if we said it's to stop
6:48	·	people looking out from the inside us here during our ceremonies looking that way because if we do
6:54	·	accept that to be the case we're blocking 170° of the Skyline there's a couple of question marks but
7:01	·	it does seem a little bit more interesting in a paper in 2012 Fisher and Sims suggest that this
7:09	·	model has so many more positive considerations than the previous models I'll try and explain
7:15	·	as best I can but to do that we're going to need to head to the far Horizon to Robin Hood's ball
7:30	·	and you may be asking yourself what exactly is Robin Hood's ball and that's a great question
7:34	·	cuz I didn't know before I started this too essentially it's that not that that that there
7:42	·	contained a 6,000 year old neolithic causeway enclosure right here Robin Hood's ball now we're
7:50	·	around about 4 km North Northeast of Stonehenge and this was used for around a thousand and a
7:57	·	half years, 3000 BC to 2500BC coincidentally the same time as the first earthworks started
8:04	·	at Stonehenge so we have a possible link there now if you're at Stonehenge and you look North
8:11	·	Northeast this is the exact spot on the horizon that you would see you'd see Robin Hood's ball
8:17	·	stuck up there so we do have a link so let's step back to the Avenue and keep in mind Robin Hood's
8:23	·	ball if we climb the Avenue from the Avon as was likely intended well at the the first Bend of the
8:30	·	Avenue the ball would come into view assuming a 12 to 15 ft High Palisade then we continue to
8:37	·	approach the second curve of the Avenue where it meets the Palisade the view of Robin Hood's ball
8:42	·	is now obscured according to Exxon in 2000 said this was deliberate it shielded the old world
8:49	·	from the new but then we have the Gap as we enter Stonehenge itself so if we are going to factor
8:55	·	in Robin Hood's ball up here on the top of the landscape as if View from Stonehenge with this on
9:01	·	and off blocking of the view via the Palisade well then we do need to factor in one more
9:07	·	thing so I'll be the first to admit that when things get Celestial well they get a tad confusing
	·	Stars and Stuff
9:17	·	for me at least but we do need to consider the sky Mike Parker Pearson suggested that these monuments
9:23	·	included astronomy in their design and since Horizons are the perceived point of convergence
9:29	·	of the landscape to the Skyscape then we should consider this view all that said around 2,500 BC
9:37	·	give or take well nothing Celestial seems to align with Robin Hood's ball certainly
9:42	·	from the position of Stonehenge and the Gap in the fence the Palisade maybe allowing the view
9:48	·	back to Robin Hood's ball no moon or stars of perceived significance if however we head back
9:56	·	along the avenue to the point of its highest part before before it goes down into Stonehenge bottom
10:02	·	well then you can see Robin Hood's ball over the Palisade and there is a potential that the moon
10:09	·	at that time would have lined up it doesn't quite fit in terms of a a unified theory in
10:15	·	my head let's consider one more [Music] thing imagine you're trying to capture and kill an
	·	Beasts
10:24	·	orc huge beast of the time you fired your arrows into it you flints and of course it's going to
10:30	·	take a time before it runs around the trees or runs around the open plane scattering in
10:35	·	a dangerous way well imagine if you had a long linear Palisade to help you Correll that Beast
10:43	·	imagine if it had gaps in it and imagine if one of those gaps was very close to Stonehenge where
10:48	·	you could make your peace to the gods and thank them for the gift that they' given you that's one
10:54	·	Theory and I'm not sure if it sits any worse or any better than the others we've discussed today
10:59	·	but perhaps the answer as always will be in archaeology telling us uh these answers one
11:05	·	day in the future if you've enjoyed this video and you want to learn about how the uh the Stonehenge
11:11	·	house just vanished you can watch the video just here thanks for watching we'll see you next time