Posted on 01/13/2007 3:00:37 PM PST by blam
Stonehenge Didn't Stand Alone, Excavations Show
James Owen
for National Geographic News
January 12, 2007
Recent excavations of Salisbury Plain in southern England have revealed at least two other large stone formations close by the world-famous prehistoric monument.
One of the megalithic finds is a sandstone formation that marked a ritual burial mound; the other, a group of stones at the site of an ancient timber circle.
The new discoveries suggest that many similar monuments may have been erected in the shadow of Stonehenge, possibly forming part of a much larger complex, experts say.
The findings were part of the Stonehenge Riverside Project, a joint initiative to explore the land around the iconic monument. Led by Mike Parker Pearson of Sheffield University, the project involves six English universities.
Cremation Mound
The first monument—a 9.2-foot-long (2.8-meter-long) sarsen stone—was found lying in a field next to the River Avon, 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) east of Stonehenge, which is located near the modern-day city of Salisbury (United Kingdom map).
The riverside sarsen—large sandstone blocks that occur naturally in southern England—had been stood upright, archaeologists say, like the blocks that form the main structure of Stonehenge.
A team lead by Colin Richards of Manchester University and Joshua Pollard of Bristol University found the hole that originally held the stone, dug between 2500 and 2000 B.C., as well as human remains and artifacts that date to the same period.
The partially cremated remains of two people were buried next to the stone, Pollard said. One was a large male whose unburned vertebrae suggest he was at least 6 feet (182 centimeters) tall.
"Seemingly he was so big they weren't able to cremate him properly," the archaeologist noted. "The unburnt bone is the product of that poor process of cremation."
Stone knives and arrowheads, a piece of limestone carved into the shape of a megalith, two pottery bowls, and a rare rock crystal were also unearthed near the burial site.
The rock crystal find is the earliest known example from Britain and possibly came from as far away as the Alps, Pollard said. Archaeologists have suggested that other prehistoric burials in the area were connected to mainland Europe, Pollard added.
Such a connection ties in with theories that Stonehenge was an important pilgrimage destination or a place where people traveled in the hope of miracle cures. (Related: "Pagans Get Support in Battle Over Stonehenge" [October 31, 2002].)
The megalithic burial site could also support theories that link Stonehenge and other standing stones to ancestor worship and commemorating the dead, Pollard added.
Circle of Stone
Pollard's team also found new evidence for stone settings at Woodhenge, a site 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) northeast of Stonehenge where a timber circle was constructed in about 2200 B.C.
Pollard said excavations in the 1920s hinted a stone monument may once have been present at the site.
"We were able to confirm last summer that there had been standing stones—some very considerable stones—at Woodhenge," he said.
While only fragments of the formation were found, the holes the stones were set in suggest the blocks stood up to 3 meters (9.8 feet) tall, Pollard said.
The team also found evidence for two phases of stone settings that probably came after the timber circle had rotted, he added.
"Four smaller stones were replaced by two much bigger sarsen settings," he said. "So it goes from a timber monument to being a megalithic monument, albeit not on the same scale as Stonehenge."
What happened to the stones at Woodhenge remains a mystery, Pollard added, though one possibility is that they were added to Stonehenge.
Network of Monuments
The research team says there is evidence from old maps and ancient sources for other similar monuments near Stonehenge.
"There may have been many smaller megalithic settings across this landscape," Pollard said.
"I think it's extremely likely there would have been other standing stones," particularly to the east, added Julian Thomas, professor of archaeology at Manchester University.
Such monuments would have had an important connection to Stonehenge, Thomas said. The stones and artifacts buried alongside the satellite monuments may have also played a symbolic role in spreading the authority of Stonehenge into the wider landscape.
"It was a way of referring to its powerfulness and to the importance and significance of the activities that are taking place at the henge and the people who are officiating," Thomas said.
He added that these latest finds show that Stonehenge shouldn't be seen in isolation.
"There's an overarching scheme of things which links Stonehenge to the broader landscape."
Descendent Of Stone Age Skeleton Found (Cheddar Man - 9,000 Years Old)
"British scientists Saturday celebrated their feat of tracing a living descendant of a 9,000-year-old skeleton and establishing the world's oldest known family tree. "
Then I shall hopefully go but via Scotland.
Nice response.
My visit left an entirely different impression than that experienced by U.P. There is something mystical about the place, I agree. But for me it was more a "connectedness" with a very long stream of human experience. I loved it and would go back at any opportunity, just to experience that feeling again.
My visit included other nearby mystical places: Avebury, very much the equal of Stonehenge in its own way; Woodhenge, Silbury Hill, etc. Those places are all within direct line-of-sight with each other, and at the time I visited I realized this part of the Salisbury Plain must have had particular significance to the builders of all those monuments and others nearby.
I heard it was the first futures exchange.
Au Contraire! It has long been the central sacrament of the religious left, including the "Born Again Pagans" of America's unconstitutional state religion... GovernMental EnvironMentalism!!!
There is an obelisk monument smack dab in the center of Placerville, CA, the county seat of El Dorado County that was erected by the CA Druids in the early 1950's. What do you make of that? Now Placerville is aka "Old Hang Town" from the gold rush days. What do you make of that?
I went there about 10 years ago. As you come over the hill...you realize that the exit is approaching and suddenly you are there at the parking lot. The entire surroundings...360 degrees...looks like a cow field. There are no other structures other than the kiosk for tourists...perhaps planned that way.
I felt the unsettling effect as well. Our group was there for 90 minutes. I felt prepared to leave after 15 minutes. I will only say this in passing...I went to Dachau back in the mid 1980s...and felt the same way there. I will not make a comparison between the two...but it was the same precise feeling...needing to leave shortly after arrival. I've been to WW II cemetaries, Normandy, various castles throughout Europe, the Tower of London, and even the Shiloh battleground...none gave me that immedate feeling of needing to leave except those two locations.
My suspicion is that something else went on there besides the measurement of the year. Perhaps the early Celtics weren't the easy-going types that we often dream of.
amazing! and we were impressed when grandad
was able to go back 30 some generations...
it's interesting that so many have had varied reactions
from visiting stonehenge and these other nearby places.
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I visited Stonehenge this past May. The sky was gray and it was drizzling. Unfortunately I was on a bus tour and because it was a Saturday, there were many other people there as well, so I really wasn't able to pick up any feelings about the place. But I do know what you mean about a "foreboding experience" and feeling of "dread" about a place. My first visit to Andersonville Prison (Civil War POW) in Georgia made me feel that way. I was practically alone walking around the grounds. I couldn't shake the feeling of sadness that had come over me. It wasn't until I had left the place and was on the road that I started feeling better.
Scotland is amazing. I'd love to go back there someday.
Maybe it's where the Dems held their first convention.
New glacier theory on Stonehenge
The debate over how the stones arrived at Stonehenge continues
A geology team has contradicted claims that bluestones were dug by Bronze Age man from a west Wales quarry and carried 240 miles to build Stonehenge.
In a new twist, Open University geologists say the stones were in fact moved to Salisbury Plain by glaciers...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/5072664.stm
Believe it or not.
it's plausible.
New glacier theory on Stonehenge
BBC News | June 13, 2006
Posted on 06/13/2006 10:27:54 AM EDT by billorites
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1648503/posts
Wish I could go back in time...
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