Stonehenge: Neolithic Man and the Cosmos

COPYRIGHT

William Collins

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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 1996

Copyright © John North 1996

John North asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780002558501

Ebook Edition © JUNE 2016 ISBN: 9780008192167

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PRAISE

Further praise for Stonehenge:

‘North has many ingenious new proposals … the leading title for scientists who take an interest in archaeology.’

CHRISTOPHER CHIPPENDALE, New Scientist

‘Professor North is a distinguished historian of science teaching in the Netherlands, and therefore also a historian of past ideas and beliefs … He is the right kind of person to be involved in these immensely taxing enquiries and can alone offer fresh understandings of what may have driven and coloured Neolithic activity … The book’s length partly reflects the author’s successful intent to provide explanations in near-plain language. Occasionally the prose seems quite lyrical … I suspect we shall never know what certain phases of Stonehenge were really designed for, and the same goes for some of the less intricate monuments in that region, but I also now suspect that John North is nudging us with considerable skill in the only credible direction.’

CHARLES THOMAS, Literary Review

‘Stonehenge covers years of study by an eminent historian of science, and pays meticulous attention to archaeological surveys, ancient knowledge of the heavens and other prehistoric remains in Britain and northern Europe.’

Hampstead and Highgate Express

DEDICATION

TO

MARION

CONTENTS

COVER

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT

PRAISE

DEDICATION

LIST OF FIGURES

GLOSSARY

PREFACE

CHRONOLOGY

1 INTRODUCTION

The People

Alignments and Orientations

2 THE LONG BARROWS

Neolithic Chamber-Tombs—an Introduction

Orientation of the Body

Inconstant Stars

First Thoughts on the Taper of Long Barrows

The Orientation of Long Barrows

Fussell’s Lodge

Wayland’s Smithy I

Wayland’s Smithy II

Frame and Form at Wayland’s Smithy

Fussell’s Lodge Revisited

Lambourn

Horslip (Windmill Hill)

West Kennet and its Star Chambers

The West Kennet Ditches

The West Kennet Neighbourhood. Silbury Hill

Beckhampton Road. Stars and the Sun

South Street

Skendleby: Giants’ Hills 1 and 2. Stars and Sun

The Radley Parallelogram

The Grendon Square Barrow

Hazleton North and Burn Ground—Cotswold–Severn Long Cairns

An Assessment

A Postscript on Venus

A Postscript on Chance

3 CURSUS AND ENCLOSURE

The Great Earthen Monuments

Windmill Hill and Barrow Rings

The Two Stonehenge Cursus and their Dorset Precursor

The Probable Evolution of the Dorset Cursus

Another Bokerley Cursus?

The Lesser Stonehenge Cursus

Long Barrows, Territories and Totems

The Greater Stonehenge Cursus

The Coombe Bissett Parallelogram

4 STARS IN CHALK

The Uffington White Horse

The Wilmington Long Man and Neighbouring Barrows

The History of the Long Man and his Staves

The Bledlow and Whiteleaf Crosses

The Cerne Giant

5 SUN AND MOON

The Seasons: an Astronomical Sketch

Risings and Settings of the Sun and Moon

Some Examples of Extremes of Rising and Setting

6 AVENUE AND ROW

From Cursus to Avenue

Pits and Posts

Avenue and Row

The Stonehenge Avenue

The Stone Rows. Tracks across Dartmoor

The Avenues near Avebury: Introduction

The West Kennet Avenue

The Beckhampton Avenue

The Principle of Tangent and Centre

Long Barrow, Cursus, Avenue and Row

7 TREEHENGE AND AUBREY CIRCLE

Changes of Style

Henges of Timber

Barrow Rings in the Low Countries

Harenermolen and the Counting of Holes

Harenermolen: Symmetries and the Spacings of Rings

Probable Styles of Observation Using Posts

Harenermolen: Alignments in Both Rings

Numbers of Posts

The Earliest Stonehenge Structures

Why Fifty-six Aubrey Holes?

Ditch, Bank, Treehenge and Aubrey Holes

The Aubrey Holes and Normanton Down Tracks

Post Numbers as a Guide to Events

8 THE GREAT TREEHENGES

Stonehenge’s Timber Ancestry

Woodhenge

Woodhenge: the Supernumerary Posts

Woodhenge: the Third Dimension

Woodhenge: the Integration of Sun and Moon

Durrington Walls: the Constant Horizon

Durrington Walls: the Circles

Durrington Walls: the Dimensions of the Posts

Durrington Walls: the Southern ‘Façade’

Durrington Walls: the Four-Posters and Post Rows

Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant: Alignments on Stars

Mount Pleasant: the Glare of the Sky

The Henge at Arminghall

Treehenge and Barrow

9 STONEHENGE ASTRONOMY—A HISTORICAL PROLOGUE

First Reports

Stonehenge and the First Calculators

Symbolism on a Grand Scale

The Coming of the Theodolite

10 STONEHENGE—AN INVENTORY

Banks and Ditch

Timber Posts and Rings. Post Holes A

The Aubrey Holes

Bluestones in the Q- and R-Holes

Stone 97 and the Heel Stone (96) and its Ditch

The Avenue

Stones B and C, and the Hollow

The Sarsen Trilithons

The Ring of Sarsens

Stone Holes D, E and the Ditch Stone

The Station Stones (91–94)

The Altar Stone (80)

The Slaughter Stone (95) and Holes D and E again

The Extant Bluestone Circle

The Bluestone Horseshoe

The History of the Dressed Bluestones

The Y- and Z-Holes

11 THE FIRST THREE STONEHENGES

The Q-R Henge

Reversible Alignments

The Levels of the Sarsen Trilithons and Circle

The Geometry of the Sarsen Pillars

The Geometry of Obscuration

The Blocking of Rays through the Q- and R-Circles

Sarsen Ring and Midwinter Sun

Altar Stone and Midwinter Sun

Geometers, Engineers and Astronomers

The Sarsen Ring and Midsummer?

The Sarsen Ring and the Moon

The Moon and the Stone Stations

The Trilithons

The Trilithons—an Independent Monument?

The Geometrical Design

A Chronological Summary

12 LOZENGE AND CALENDAR

The Lozenge Motif

Bush Barrow

The Bush Barrow Lozenge Was Not a Calendar

The Lozenge as Geometrical Construct

The Lozenge as Symbol

13 RITUAL AND BELIEF

Tokens of Religion

Signs of a Priesthood?

The Objects of Worship

Myth, Explanation and Logic

Solar Symbols

High Places

Sun, Moon and Sacrifice

The Cult of the Ox

Prejudice and Principle

APPENDIX 1—Radiocarbon Dating

APPENDIX 2—The Astronomical Framework

APPENDIX 3—Tables of Directions

APPENDIX 4—Heliacal Rising and Setting

APPENDIX 5—The Rising and Setting of Venus

APPENDIX 6—Alignment in Later Religions

FOOTNOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

OTHER BOOKS BY

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 1 The directions of the rising and setting Sun at Stonehenge, around 2000 BC.

Fig. 2 The absolute extreme directions of the rising and setting Moon at Stonehenge, around 2000 BC.

Fig. 3 Maps of Britain and Ireland (the main henges) and Southern Britain (principal prehistoric monuments discussed).

Fig. 4 A star map for the year 3000 BC with the names of the brightest stars then visible from Wessex.

Fig. 5 Earth-covered long barrows near Stonehenge.

Fig. 6 Four different examples of taper in long barrows.

Fig. 7 A general plan of the Fussell’s Lodge long barrow, drawn by P. J. Ashbee.

Fig. 8 Details of the preceding figure.

Fig. 9 The Fussell’s Lodge long barrow, viewed from the north.

Fig. 10 A general plan of the long barrow at Wayland’s Smithy (after R. J. C. Atkinson).

Fig. 11 The central area of Wayland’s Smithy, phase I.

Fig. 12 Alternative ways of viewing at right angles.

Fig. 13 The long barrow, Wayland’s Smithy II.

Fig. 14 Lines of sight from the eastern ditch over the crossing in the burial chamber at Wayland’s Smithy.

Fig. 15 Three potential solutions for the viewing of stars across the Wayland’s Smithy long mound.

Fig. 16 The stone mortuary chamber of Wayland’s Smithy II.

Fig. 17 The central area of the next figure.

Fig. 18 A general view of the planning of the mortuary house and its ditches at Wayland’s Smithy.

Fig. 19 A detail of the previous figure, showing the shape of the shallow pitched roof of the earliest mortuary house at Wayland’s Smithy.

Fig. 20 Two possible forms of roof for the Fussell’s Lodge mortuary house.

Fig. 21 Potential right angles in the forms of the barrows at Fussell’s Lodge and Wayland’s Smithy.

Fig. 22 A cross-section of the ditches at Fussell’s Lodge.

Fig. 23 Plan of the Horslip long barrow.

Fig. 24 Sections of the ditches at the Horslip long barrow.

Fig. 25 Sections of the West Kennet long barrow (as drawn by Stuart Piggott).

Fig. 26 Outline plan of the West Kennet long barrow and ditches.

Fig. 27 The five chambers at the eastern end of the West Kennet barrow, with surviving blocking stones in position.

Fig. 28 The West Kennet chambers with blocking stones removed.

Fig. 29 Construction lines abstracted from the previous figure, defined by the faces of stones.

Fig. 30 Suggested profile of the original West Kennet long barrow, looking across it from the south.

Fig. 31 Section of the northern ditch of the West Kennet Long Barrow.

Fig. 32 Years at which the two stars Sirius and Arcturus could have been seen at right angles to the various sections of the West Kennet barrow, plotted against altitude.

Fig. 33 A supplement to Fig. 32, with the graphs for Rigel and Vega.

Fig. 34 The internal structure of Silbury Hill.

Fig. 35 The overall structure of the Beckhampton Road long barrow, as indicated by the ditches, the approximate edges of the mound, and selected rows of stake holes.

Fig. 36 The overall plan of the South Street barrow.

Fig. 37 The dating of the South Street barrow, with graphs for Sirius, Vega, Regulus and Bellatrix.

Fig. 38 Important sections of the ditches at barrows 1 and 2 at Giants’ Hills, Skendleby.

Fig. 39 Outline of the Skendleby 1 long barrow.

Fig. 40 Outline of the Skendleby 2 long barrow.

Fig. 41 Plan of the area around the façade of the Skendleby 2 long barrow.

Fig. 42 The front ditch and (original) rear ditch of the long barrow Skendleby 2A.

Fig. 43 Outlines of the ditches surrounding the long barrow at Barrows Hills, Radley.

Fig. 44 Potential geometrical construction lines for the entire original system of ditch and mound at Radley.

Fig. 45 The probable overall shape of the Radley mound, in idealized form.

Fig. 46 The mound area and inner ditches of the Radley long barrow, in the form of a parallelogram.

Fig. 47 The Grendon square barrow with potential lines of sight and possible construction lines.

Fig. 48 The two Grendon ring ditches surrounding the earlier square barrow.

Fig. 49 General plan of the dry-stone walls of the Hazleton North cairn (after Alan Saville).

Fig. 50 A detail of Fig. 52.

Fig. 51 The stake holes and post holes under the Hazleton North cairn.

Fig. 52 The proposed cell structure of the Hazleton North mound, with construction lines.

Fig. 53 The probable overall shape of Hazleton North.

Fig. 54 The rings of ditches and mounds at Windmill Hill, near Avebury.

Fig. 55 The directions at right angles to straight sections of the ditches at Windmill Hill.

Fig. 56 The Dorset Cursus and its surroundings.

Fig. 57 Long barrows in the vicinity of the Dorset Cursus.

Fig. 58 The changing levels along the Dorset Cursus.

Fig. 59 The principal alignments of locations at the northern end of the Dorset Cursus.

Fig. 60 The principal astronomical alignments at the Dorset Cursus.

Fig. 61 The path of the setting Sun as seen from the centre of the Wyke Down terminal, looking over the long barrow on the ridge of Gussage Hill.

Fig. 62 An unfinished cursus on Bokerley Down?

Fig. 63 The Lesser Cursus to the north of Stonehenge.

Fig. 64 The geometrical plan of the Lesser Cursus.

Fig. 65 Alignments of the positions of long barrows in the Stonehenge region.

Fig. 66 The distribution of long barrows in Wiltshire.

Fig. 67 The long barrows to the east and west of the Stonehenge region.

Fig. 68 Heights in metres (above the Ordnance Datum) of long barrows and other key points in the Stonehenge region of Fig. 65.

Fig. 69 Alignments of long barrows in the Avebury region.

Fig. 70 Alignments of long barrows in the region of Cranborne Chase.

Fig. 71 The azimuths of lines connecting three or more long-barrows in the Stonehenge and Avebury regions.

Fig. 72 The azimuths of lines connecting three or more long barrows in the Cranborne Chase region.

Fig. 73 The chalk levels in a section of the southern bank, 225 m from the western end of the Greater Stonehenge Cursus.

Fig. 74 The Greater Cursus at Stonehenge.

Fig. 75 One potential method of viewing, using a forked staff, to achieve a standard eye level.

Fig. 76 The parallelogram on Coombe Bissett Down.

Fig. 77 The probable plan of the parallelogram within the ‘field’ on Coombe Bissett Down.

Fig. 78 The White Horse, after Flinders Petrie.

Fig. 79 The profile of White Horse Hill.

Fig. 80 The setting of the White Horse in relation to other monuments at Uffington.

Fig. 81 The profile of the ridge with the White Horse, as it might have been seen from the lower part of the gallery AB in the late fourth millennium BC.

Fig. 82 The ‘Long Man’ at Wilmington, East Sussex, after Flinders Petrie, together with the foreshortened version as seen from a point near the modern road.

Fig. 83 The surroundings of the Long Man.

Fig. 84 The present view of the Long Man from the gate to the road, with the chief stars of Orion for 3480 BC.

Fig. 85 The Whiteleaf cross according to Wise (1742) and Petrie (in the 1920s) and the Bledlow Cross according to Petrie.

Fig. 86 The surroundings of the Whiteleaf Cross.

Fig. 87 The three important sections through the Whiteleaf Cross.

Fig. 88 The surroundings of the Bledlow Cross (Wainhill, Buckinghamshire).

Fig. 89 Three sections through the Bledlow Cross.

Fig. 90 The outline of the Cerne Giant, following Flinders Petrie.

Fig. 91 A typical early medieval manuscript illustration of the classical figure representing the constellation of Hercules.

Fig. 92 A short section of the ecliptic, the annual path of the Sun through the stars.

Fig. 93 Extreme directions of the rising and setting of the upper limb of the Sun and Moon, for altitude zero at four specimen latitudes.

Fig. 94 The area around the Greater Stonehenge Cursus (a repeat of an earlier figure).

Fig. 95 The profile of the ground along the axis of the first section of the Stonehenge Avenue.

Fig. 96 Stones in the Corringdon Ball group on Dartmoor, after W. C. Lukis (1879).

Fig. 97 The terminal stones for rows in the Corringdon Ball group.

Fig. 98 The Avebury circles and avenues, and their surroundings.

Fig. 99 The northern sections of the Kennet Avenue.

Fig. 100 Stones of the Kennet Avenue (1961) in the neighbourhood of West Kennet village, after Isobel Smith.

Fig. 101 Parts of the Kennet Avenue known chiefly through resistivity surveys of the ground to the south of stones 37 (after P. J. Ucko and others).

Fig. 102 The pattern of some of the potential lines of sight to lunar phenomena, seen across the Kennet Avenue.

Fig. 103 The Kennett Avenue. An idealization of the rectangular cells formed around lunar lines and lines north–south, or lunar lines and lines east–west.

Fig. 104 Marks shown up in a resistivity survey in Longstones field, and possibly relating to the Beckhampton Avenue (based on recordings published by P. J. Ucko and others).

Fig. 105 The Drizzlecombe stone rows, after a plan by R. H. Worth.

Fig. 106 The Callanish rows, after plans by D. A. Tait (rows) and R. Curtis (centre).

Fig. 107 The central region of the circle and rows at Callanish.

Fig. 108 Approximate lines of sight at Callanish for the first or last glint of the Sun at its midwinter extreme.

Fig. 109 Relations between the north of the Kennet Avenue and the north and south circles at Avebury.

Fig. 110 The main rings of large stones at Avebury, with some potential construction arcs.

Fig. 111 The estimated positions of whatever was responsible for the marks on the Avebury resistivity survey—presumably post holes or stone holes.

Fig. 112 The chief internal astronomical alignments set by the components of the Avebury circles.

Fig. 113 W. Glasbergen’s types of post rings, as found surrounding barrows.

Fig. 114 The Harenermolen barrow, drawn from the excavation records of A. E. van Giffen.

Fig. 115 Different ways of using two upright posts to align on a part of the disk of the Sun or Moon.

Fig. 116 A schematic view of the Harenermolen barrow in its later phase.

Fig. 117 The eleven posts of the later ring at Harenermolen, showing the poor approximation to a circle but the rather good radial alignments.

Fig. 118 Eight potential alignments for the outer ring of posts at Harenermolen, with three somewhat less plausible ones.

Fig. 119 Some of the numerous potential alignments for the earlier ring of posts at Harenermolen.

Fig. 120 Numbers of posts in a sample of 73 timber circles of Glasbergen’s type 3 excavated in the Drenthe area of the northern Netherlands.

Fig. 121 Directions set by rings of eleven and seventeen posts.

Fig. 122 The causeway post holes at Stonehenge with our nominal grid of two sets of mostly parallel lines superimposed.

Fig. 123 The Aubrey circle at Stonehenge, surrounding the numerous post holes that must have formed one, and possibly several, timber circles.

Fig. 124 Some of the very many speculative construction lines that it is possible to superimpose on the Stonehenge post holes.

Fig. 125 Conjectured values of the altitudes set by the original bank at Stonehenge, looking towards the midwinter or midsummer setting Sun.

Fig. 126 Selected lines of sight across an idealized post circle of the sort assumed to have stood in the Aubrey holes.

Fig. 127 An idealized Aubrey circle of 56 posts.

Fig. 128 Plan of the positions of the actual Aubrey holes, on which most of the sight-lines shown on the idealized figure ( Fig. 127 ) fit almost perfectly.

Fig. 129 An idealized view of the ring of posts in the Aubrey holes, with one of the timber rings and the southern corridor.

Fig. 130 Tracks across Normanton Down.

Fig. 131 Posts for solar and lunar observation across the centre of a post circle.

Fig. 132 The ditches and six nested oval post circles at Woodhenge.

Fig. 133 A vertical section through the northwest to southeast axis at Woodhenge, with posts and lintels of sizes required to produce usable lines of sight.