Feed from the main sections of our forums devoted to the world of European megaliths and other ancient places. http://www.stonepages.com/forum Sun, 09 Jun 2013 01:26:09 +0000 60 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4523-stone-circle-near-inver-scotland/ Long  3°57'48.77"W

Can anyone identify this please?

It looks stonecirclish and has a prominent stone in the centre but there are no photos tagged on google for that place.

I was looking at the shoreline via GE as the BBC had shown 'Coast' featuring the seals that chill out on the strand there. I was checking to see if there were any to be seen on satelite...

But I saw the circle feature.


Thanks

Wayne//]]> Sun, 09 Jun 2013 01:26:09 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4523-stone-circle-near-inver-scotland/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4522-stones-list-email-convo-list-of-a-decade-ago/ Is this where the listers hang out now? Sun, 09 Jun 2013 01:17:22 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4522-stones-list-email-convo-list-of-a-decade-ago/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/3085-building-stonehenge/ Built without blood, sweat or tears.

For hundreds of years, since the word archaeology was first used, it has been the accepted wisdom that hundreds if not thousands of men would have been needed during the construction of Stonehenge.

How else could it have been achieved 4000 years ago? Without wheels or roads or modern lifting equipment of any kind how else could such massive blocks of stone, some weighing up to 45 tons each, have been moved the 20 miles overland from their source on the Marlborough Downs? How else could such massively heavy stones have been planted upright in the ground and how else could the lintel stones have been lifted as high as 28 feet into the air and placed on top of the uprights? How else without a very large workforce, blood, sweat and tears?

Yet this solution raises as many questions as it provides answers, from a population of perhaps no more than 100,000 people scattered thinly from Lands End to the Orkneys how was such an army of men assembled? And from a society of early farmers living at near subsistence level how were these men sustained during their labours, which must have taken many years? And even if such a body of men could have been assembled and fed is it actually possible to move such massive stones by human muscle power alone? Many practical experiments have been mounted by archaeologists in the last 20 years to prove this point, none have been entirely convincing, indeed most have served only to illustrate how impossible the task really is.

As a professional builder this question occupied my idle thoughts for more than 20 years, the more I thought about it, the more experiments I watched on TV, the more convinced I became that Neolithic man must have used their intelligence rather than their muscle power in order to build Stonehenge. Only when I became totally convinced that the stones could not have been dragged overland did I begin see how else it might be done. If the stones were too heavy to drag then the only way they could be moved was if the were picked up. Immediately I could see how this could have been achieved, levers can pick things up with little effort but levers can also be used to move things forward at the same time!!! Arrange enough simple wooden levers each side of the stone and the stone can be picked up, moved forward a short distance and replaced on the ground, the levers can then be reset and the stone moved further forward, again and again all day long. Furthermore this can be done with very little physical effort, just like rowing a boat.

Over the next 10 years I spent many hours experimenting with stones of ever increasing weight, I did experiments into the problem of transporting the stones, erecting the stones and placing the lintel stones. Many of these experiments were filmed by TV news broadcasters (BBC News 24) and documentary filmmakers (Channel 5 and National Geographic Channel).

My main conclusions from these research experiments are surprising and if eventually accepted by archaeologists will mean a total rethink of Neolithic life 4000 years ago. No longer will it be thought necessary for Neolithic man to have gathered an army of workers to transport the sarsen stones to Stonehenge, my experiments prove that even the largest of the uprights could have been transported by as few as 60 men and that these few men could have completed the movement of each of these uprights in less than 6 weeks.

No longer will it be thought necessary for great earth banks to be constructed in order to erect these stones, my experiments prove that by utilising the known profiles of the stone holes at Stonehenge as few as 40 men using simple wooden levers could have erected each of these stones in no more that 3 days.

And my experiments prove that far from being the most difficult task at Stonehenge elevating the lintel stones is the easiest task of all, a task that can be completed by as few as 20 men in less than 1 day for each stone.

In the 1960s Prof G S Hawkins estimated that Stonehenge in the form we see it now represented more than 1,136,000 man-days work and that was just for the transport and erection of the stones. After 10 years of practical research I believe that this figure can now be reduced by almost 1 million man-days to a more believable 196,000 man –days. This figure still shows a tremendous amount of work went into the building of Stonehenge and why it was built at all will perhaps always remain a complete mystery but I believe my research proves that it was not only possible but that it could have been done without blood sweat or tears.

Building Stonehenge A radical new Theory by Gordon Pipes is published by Birchwood Publishers Ltd and is available online at Amazon Books or from all good bookshops. ISBN 9780956280701]]> Tue, 04 Jun 2013 18:01:20 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/3085-building-stonehenge/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4516-silbury-paths-damage/

PeteG]]> Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:51:04 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4516-silbury-paths-damage/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4515-lake-garda/
Off to Lake Garda, (Limone), Italy, this spring.........What should I look out for?]]> Wed, 02 Jan 2013 09:30:31 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4515-lake-garda/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1040-grianan-of-aileach-fort-restoration/ We visited that monument back in 1989 and at that time we found it in great shape. Unfortunately, the subsequent "restorations" really made a disaster of such a beautiful fort.
This is one of the photos we took back in 1989:


And this is how it looked it 2005 (Photo courtesy Bettina Linke):


To follow closely the slow destruction of this fort, please visit Bettina Linke's website devoted to Grianan.

Below is an abridged version of an article appeared on Derry Journal and Derry Today:

Grianan fort restoration an 'act of cultural vandalism'
Internationally-acclaimed sculptor, Maurice Harron, has branded restoration work at Grianan Fort (Co. Donegal, Ireland) as "a gross act of cultural vandalism". Mr. Harron says that, as a result of the ongoing renovation works, the historic monument has dramatically changed shape. The restoration work, he insists, should stop immediately and expert stone masons brought in to "try to undo the damage already done." However, the Office of Public Works (OPW) - which is overseeing and carrying out the work - insists its 'intervention' will not only considerably improve the future stability of the monument but also ensure safe public access to the site.
     The OPW says its conservation design team at the Grianan of Aileach site includes specialist archaeological and engineering consultants and that all work is being overseen by an expert team from its Heritage Services branch. Maurice Harron, however, maintains that the original loose-stone technique used to construct the pre-Christian stone fort - known as corbelling and giving the structure its "wonderfully subtle curved wall surface" - has been abandoned "and the walls are now being knocked down in 15 foot sections and rebuilt flat and straight." As a result, says Mr. Harron, "the round fort of Grianan is now a polygon. There is no blame on the workers themselves but those who planned and are supervising this carry-on deserve to be criticised. They are using contemporary building techniques and materials presumably in an effort to make the building more safe and functional. Grianan of Aileach was not built to be 'safe and functional'. It is an extraordinary, evocative structure which has survived for more than two thousand years."
     In response to Mr. Harron's concerns, the OPW in Dublin revealed that, following a series of major collapses, the monument was placed in State care in 1904. A spokesperson said: "Local repairs were carried out at the time but, due to the unsatisfactory nature of the restored external masonry works and rubble/earth centre fill, sectional collapse continued at regular intervals." "A specialist structural engineering and archaeological survey undertaken by OPW in 2001 revealed the lower 'original' sections of wall and confirmed the reasons for the monument's instability. The original inward leaning and stable profile and line of the Grianan wall was established and the monument is now being restored to that design. The present intervention should considerably improve the future stability of the monument and ensure safe public access to the site," he concluded.

You can post here your feedback.]]> Sun, 16 Dec 2012 20:07:17 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1040-grianan-of-aileach-fort-restoration/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4504-mayan-long-count-deciphered/ MAYAN LONG COUNT DECIPHERED



A review of the original verse which has sparked widespread expectations of a variety of cosmic conjunctions projected for 21 December 2012, reveals that the Long Count which it refers to, delimits a purely calendrical 'end-time' (not a cataclysm or galactic alignment).

The seventh-century verse on 'Tortuguero Monument 6' from southern Tabasco, Mexico (reportedly the only recognized inscription preserving an explicit reference to B'ak'tun 13) reads: "It will be completed the 13th b'ak'tun. / It is 4 Ajaw 3 K'ank'in / and it will happen a 'seeing' (?). / It is the display of B'olon-Yokte' / in a great 'investiture'." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon]

The translators have tentatively identified two of the three elements in the name of the putative god 'B'olon-Yokte' as "nine" and "god" (with 'OK-te' undeciphered). [Sven Gronemeyer and Barbara MacLeod, 'What Could Happen in 2012: A Re-Analysis of the 13-Bak'tun Prophecy on Tortuguero Monument 6.' 2010: Wayeb Notes 34: University of Copenhagen: European Association of Mayanists, pp1-68]

As shown in my books [http://archive.org/search.php?query=drumbolis], numerous ancient cultures recognized that the lunar cycle known as the lunation was dominated by nine identifiable phases to which they piously ascribed exceptional divinity (the Egyptian Ennead or Paut being the best-known example). The only phases in the lunation identifiable on sight (opposing crescents, opposed half-moons, twin full moons, first waning phase and two successive dark nights), the dominion of these focal deities was the calendar.

Given the tendered translation of the recognized elements in the construct 'B'olon-Yokte' ("nine gods", arguably representing 'the completed lunation'), the possibility emerges that the anticipated 'end-time' of B'ak'tun 13 could well signal an integral compound lunar interval.

One b'ak'tun (20 k'atun) is equal to 144,000 days (a k'atun of 7200 days being equal to 20 tun, which each comprise 18 twenty-day uinal, or 360 days). Thus 13 b'ak'tun equal 1,872,000 days.

The verse in question, in other words, appears to purport that "a display of B'olon-Yokte' in a great investiture" will ensue every 1,872,000 days.

Parcelling 1,872,000 days into lunations (each extending 29.530588 days, as scientifically computed) produces a quotient of 63,391.897242 lunations (equivalent to 5125 years 133 days 17 hours 24 minutes 4 seconds).

Given the protracted difficulty in calculating the mean measure of the lunation empirically, it is not inconceivable that the culture responsible for the verse (Mayan, Olmec, Zoque or other) arrived at a computation which divides precisely into 1,872,000 days. As 63,391.897242 lunations so nearly approaches the figure 63,392, their putative 'measure of mean lunation' may be computed simply by dividing 63,392 into 1,872,000 days.

The result (29.530540 days) deviates from the modern measure of mean lunation (29.530588 days) by a mere .000048 days or 4.1472 seconds. In other words, this putative ancient calculation comes within 4 seconds of the current scientific measure (a remarkable feat given that lunations vary in duration). The later Dresden Codex attests to Mayan interest in a measure of mean lunation (surrendering, however, the somewhat less accurate average of 29.5302 days).

In actuality 63,392 lunations consume 1,872,003.034496 days; meaning that the anticipated conjunction (or "investiture") of 'observable lunations' (or "display") with 'a round number of days' would 'converge' just under 50 minutes after midnight, 25 December 2012, granted the conventional starting date (11 August 3114 bc). Which ironically approaches Michael Coe's initial projection of the 24th (The Maya, 1966, p149).

Needless to say, because of the discrepancy between ancient and actual mean measures of lunation, no convergence of 'an integral compound of lunations' with 'a round number of days' ensues.

December New Moon, moreover, falls on the 13th (at 8:42 GMT), not the 21st, 23rd, 24th or 25th, as the Long Count cycle has been variously interpreted.

Granted my thesis (that the Long Count projects an integral compound of complete lunations), this means that the presumed start date of the Mayan calendar must be out by 9 days, and the 'end-time' should be backdated accordingly from the 21st to the 12th (the day before December New Moon): a provocative 'convergence' by current standards (12.12.12), if their calculation weren't in fact flawed.

Had the Maya  (or whoever made the calculation) ever actually witnessed one of these 13-B'ak'tun 'convergences' it would have become painfully clear that their long-held belief was terribly in error.

As prevailing archaeoastronomical theories about the 'end-time' focus on the 25,920-year cycle governing the wobble of the earth's axis, it bears commenting that such Precession theorists (influenced heavily by Hertha von Dechend's thesis in Hamlet's Mill, 1969) too readily overlook the far more conspicuous variability (or wobble) of the lunar cycles, in their interpretation of ancient texts: [1] the lunation; [2] the 230-lunation Course cycle; and [3] the 235-lunation Phase cycle.

'Quetzalcoatl', for example, accords with the lunation, a natural "plumed serpent" in soaring for 27 nights and crawling during the two dark nights with no moon in the sky. The waxing arc of the lunation, in other words, is characterized by the quetzal; the waning arc by coatl.

Accordingly, the four 'first men' embody the quarters of the lunation: their identification with the jaguar, a spotted cat, symbolizing the aggregate phases resident in each quarter (with the rarer black jaguar reflecting the rarer dark nights). The esoteric significance of the term 'Balam' ("sorcerer" as well as "jaguar"), thereby alludes to the computational 'sorcery' of the complex Mayan calendar. While 'Xbalba' merely refers to the underworld in which the moon is confined during the two dark nights.

Nick Drumbolis

Myth as Math abstract 15]]> Wed, 14 Nov 2012 00:43:42 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4504-mayan-long-count-deciphered/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4496-yhwh-ishtar-and-the-neptune-equation/ http://issuu.com/eanbardsley/docs/yhwh_ishtar

Imagine my surprise when Dovid Krafchow (The Jewish Bohemian) said – talking about his book 2012 And The Cabala -- that Venus was going to transit the sun for six minutes on the sixth of June (2012) which is the sixth of Sevon which is the same day the Jewish people received the Torah, about 3500 years ago because my Neptune Equation is based around Venus creating the multiplier of 7.2, and Krafchow further pointed out that 72 is the highest gematria for the name of the God of Israel, YHWH.

For months that preoccupied, my mind as to what it meant, until the next clue came.  I learned before the Jews received the Torah, they were Amorites of Syria and Cannan who eventually migrated to Mesopotamia (Iraq) to live in the Akkadian Empire with the Sumerians.  It would seem the Sumerians of Nineveh worshiped Ishtar.  Why is that important to all of this?  I wrote the following:

The Constant of Nineveh, which was in Ancient Sumerian Cuniform tablets was recognized to be, by Maurice Chatelain, who was in charge of developing the communication systems for the Apollo Missions (landing on the moon), the long sought after number that would describe every cycle in the solar system, has verified my Neptune Equation (Read A Distant Echo From The Past in my book The Genesis Hypothesis, or first story in my book A Distant Echo From the Past.)  I find this interesting because in the Assyrian Religion (Ashurism), Ishtar represents Venus, and was the patroness of Nineveh, where the constant was found.  Venus is the multiplier of 7.2 in my Neptune Equation, which comes from the ratio of venus orbit to earth orbit multiplied by the mass of earth divided by the mass of the mars.  Further the latter ratio is 10 so the former is 0.72.  Now Maurice Chatelain has made the compelling argument in his book Our Cosmic Ancestors, that the Sumerians could not have derived this number, that modern mathematicians looked for and could not find, but that it had to be given to them by gods or astronauts.  He makes the argument that we are the descendants of ancient astronauts.  He further suggests many of our Gods have something to do with these Ancient Astronauts, who gave us technology such as metallurgy and so on.

Just what is The Neptune Equation?  I talk a bit about it in this interview:

The Secret Of Neptune: Interview with Ian Beardsley

Interviewer: Ian, you believe that the planet Neptune holds a clue as to the fate of the Earth, and that it is no coincidence that the planet is named after the Roman Sea God, because we must one day sail the cosmic ocean to survive as a species.  Do you want to elaborate on that?


Ian: We have an equation for a sequence that shows the Earth straddled between Venus and Mars. Venus is a failed Earth.  Mars promises to be New Earth. The equation that I presented in my work: The Secret Of Neptune, is:

Venus orbit divided by earth orbit times earth mass divided by mars mass, all that times n minus the mars orbital number equals the nth term of the sequence.

I call it The Neptune Equation.

The Mars orbital number is 4.  If we want to know what planet in the solar system holds the key to the success of Earth, or to the success of humans, we let n =3 in the Neptune equation since the Earth is the third planet out from the Sun, and the result is that the third term = 17.6.  This means the planet that holds the key is Neptune. It has a mass of 17.23 earth masses, a number very close to our 17.6.

Not only is Neptune the indicated planet, I found it had nearly the same surface gravity as earth. Though it is much more massive than earth, it is much larger.  That was why it comes out to have the same surface gravity.

Interviewer: I see, and how did you derive The Neptune Equation?

Ian: It started with my discovery of nine fifths in the Universe. It is in the orbit of Saturn at its closest approach to the Sun compared to the orbit of Jupiter at its closest approach to the Sun. That calibration puts the earth mystically at one unit from the Sun. Jupiter and Saturn are the largest planets in the solar system and named after the Roman and Greek Gods of the Gods.
As well the ratio of the molar masses of Gold to Silver is nine-fifths, and the ratio of the Sun’s radius to the moon’s orbital radius is nine-fifths.

Once I had discovered this enigma of nine-fifths in the Universe I guessed we were not just dealing with nine-fifths, but any whole number multiple of nine-fifths, or any whole number multiple of 1.8 in other words. That is I wrote the sequence:

1.8, 3.6, 5.4, 7.2, and on…

It did turn out to be an expression of the solar system as a whole.

I took, as well, the sequence where you start with five, then add nine to each successive term, which is:

5, 14, 23, 32, and on…

I then took the difference between these two sequences to arrive at a third sequence, which is:

3.2, 10.4, 17.6, 24.8, and on…

That is an arithmetic sequence that can be written 7.2n minus 4 equals the nth term.  That is the Neptune equation.

Interviewer: You also claim your work indicates we are here for a reason.

Ian: Yes, I find that my enigmatic discovery of nine-fifths in the solar system and nature, unifies the two most important ratios in mathematics, pi, which is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter and the golden ratio, which is the ratio you obtain by dividing a line such that the whole compared to the longer section is the same as the longer section compared to the shorter section.

Pi is 3.141 to three places after the decimal and the golden ratio is 1.618 to three places after the decimal. If we add those two values, we get 4.759.

Considering the important part, the values after the decimal, which is the fraction, the seven is the average of nine and five and the next term is 5 and the one after that is 9.  It is further interesting that the fourth and fifth digits after the decimal in pi are five and nine respectively.

So I conclude that since the solar system unifies pi and the golden ratio through nine-fifths, that we are here for a reason.  I think it is no mistake that the solar system has such a structure. Though I have no clue as to what could have had a hand in bringing this about. Knowing we are here for a reason, the next logical question to ask is: what is that reason? There is much more to this story, and I have covered it in my booklet Are Humans Alone In The Universe And Are They Here For A Reason published at lulu dot com in paperback, and is available for free download at Issuu and Scribd.]]> Sat, 30 Jun 2012 23:01:10 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4496-yhwh-ishtar-and-the-neptune-equation/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4498-conference-on-prehistoric-enclosures/
A conference on late prehistoric (Megalithic) enclosures will be held in Lisbon on November 6-7 (with optional field trip on the 8th). The organizer is Dr. Antonio C. Valera, who, among other activites writes a very interesting blog in English language on the matter: Portuguese Prehistoric Enclosures.

The program and inscription sheet can be found at ERA-Arqueologia. Fees are accessible.

The location seems to be a most beautiful foundation at Lisbon, the Calouste-Gulbenkian Foundation.]]> Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:13:37 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4498-conference-on-prehistoric-enclosures/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4495-last-revelations-the-key-of-rennes-le-chateau-mystery-discovered/ 2 family's paintings, 2 unknown and coded Poussin's paintings ,are the key of this mystery ..


There has been a reportage about my discoverings on the biggest french TV .

It's an incredible story with this paintings. Paintings come from my ancestor a priest Henri Gasc priest near Rennes le chateau.In these paintings there are HIDDEN PICTURES, symbols ,codes,SACRED GEOMETRY , which give the Poussin's secret . It's THIS SECRET,the Poussin's secret  which is the Rennes le chateau mystery
The Poussin's secret 'is in the stars" ,constellations. Poussin is a savant and mysterious painter as De VINCI  .

I explain all my story with my discoverings on my site,soon in english . In the site you can see all details about these paintings .There are much pictures ..There is a new interview on THE LINK PAGE AT ARQA with proofs that these paintings are the key of this mystery..

http://www.lesecretd...n.com/liens.php ]]> Tue, 29 May 2012 12:55:13 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4495-last-revelations-the-key-of-rennes-le-chateau-mystery-discovered/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4494-standing-with-stones-video/ http://standingwithstones.net.

The rental option is a good alternative for anyone who wanted to watch the movie but didn't want to make the full investment in the DVD. The online rental streaming option is only £3.99 for the full two and a quarter hour film.

It is possible to reduce the cost of renting or ownership by sharing the film as I am offering a 20% affiliate fee to customers for sales that result from sharing via Facebook, Twitter, their own websites, blogs, etc..

For those of you who don't know already, 'Standing with Stones' is a feature length documentary of outstanding quality that has you travel through England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, visiting over 100 megalithic sites along the way. I hope there enough of you left out there who have not seen the film to take advantage of this new way of viewing it - and if you need to hear the whole story - and more - go to http://standingwithstones.net

All the best to you all

Michael]]> Tue, 08 May 2012 19:14:24 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4494-standing-with-stones-video/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4227-priddy-henge-damage/ http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/07/2011/neolithic-monument-bulldozed-flat-in-england-provokes-outrage

sign the petition here
http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/protectukheritage

join the Facebook group here
https://www.facebook.com/groups/protectthepriddycircles?ap=1

PeteG]]> Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:31:15 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4227-priddy-henge-damage/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/3710-shamanism-and-megalithic-tombs/
For many contemporary traditional people, death has two stages: leaving the world of the living, followed by joining the world of the dead. Between these stages, the spirits of the dead are thought to stay close to the living and, if such a view prevailed in the Neolithic, this may explain why burial places had so much activity that went beyond mere disposal of the corpse. In effect, whilst they remained between the worlds, the dead became a resource that could be approached and even communicated with as if they were still alive.

It is likely that entire corpses were placed in the entrance passageways to the tombs or even left in the forecourt, where they would putrefy and rot. When the remains started to fall apart, certain bones might be removed and used for ceremonies. As the bones hardened and lost all resemblance of flesh, some were returned to the tomb, to be sorted and stacked with matching bones that already lay in the far depths of the chamber. Only now would the deceased pass to the afterlife and enter the realm of the dead. The individual had, perhaps, become an ancestor.

Although the interiors of these tombs were sometimes spacious, they were presumably crowded with bones, and the passageways leading to them were often small and cramped. Moreover, the space was probably highly charged with the presence of the dead and may have been considered dangerous even taboo.

A hint of what might have been involved in rituals surrounding the tomb is revealed in a strange property of the forecourts. Some tombs were laid out to amplify the sound of a drum and achieve the exact frequency required to facilitate trance (what we might call shamanism today). In some Welsh and Irish tombs, there are engraved patterns and these match geometric shapes that are often seen in trance. Some of these images seem to mark significant stages of the journey into the tomb, perhaps signs put there for the dead spirits who may have been thought to be undergoing their own equivalent to a trance journey to other realms. Even the form of the tomb itself, with a passageway leading to the realm of the spirits, closely matches reported experiences of trance journeys and the shared imagery may have been readily understood by Neolithic people as referencing both experiences.

At a very small number of tombs, the route that the dead spirit followed may have been guided by the rising sun, shining down the entrance passageway and illuminating the chamber itself. Such tombs are generally aligned so that this happens on a significant day, such as the solstices or equinoxes, and this is what happened at Newgrange in Ireland. On the midwinter solstice, the rising sun shone through a slot above the door, constructed so that the beam could be angled correctly to reach all the way to the inner chamber. It was a sight few would have witnessed (and those outside the tomb may have had to form a clear route for the sun’s rays to penetrate) but perhaps it was never meant to be seen by the living. When the sun reached the chamber, it hit a small section of wall, low down on the right hand side. Engraved on the wall were three joined spirals and these flare brightly under the glare of the sun. Again, this matches trance visions of spirals and tunnels as providing access to alternative realms. Is this the sign the dead spirits were waiting for: the illumination of the spiral that symbolised access to the afterlife? If so, then it reveals much about Neolithic approaches to death and how this was influenced by their experience of trance.]]> Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:05:02 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/3710-shamanism-and-megalithic-tombs/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1674-orthostat-the-mound-of-the-hostages/
Theories abound as to the meaning of the rock art found on standing stones, orthostats and kerbstones in Ireland and Britain, yet no one has been able to decipher an entire panel by applying those theories. One problem is that each symbol has been deciphered individually and assigned one definition, ignoring the fact that the symbols are likely to have multiple meanings depending on their context, just as words do in our language today. More often than not, they’ve been regarded as being abstract or highly stylized patterns. However, as the following evidence demonstrates, they in many instances depict man-made structures. In the case of the symbols on orthostat L2 within the passage mound Duma na nGiall, the Mound of the Hostages, the panel depicts a map of the Hill of Tara as it existed during the late Neolithic Age, nearly 3,000 years prior to the monuments receiving the names they now bear.

A PDF of the full article can be downloaded at:

Orthostat, the Mound of the Hostages]]> Sat, 06 Aug 2011 07:49:50 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1674-orthostat-the-mound-of-the-hostages/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/3565-petroglyphs-the-bend-in-the-boyne/
Orthostat, the Mound of the Hostages

In an effort to confirm my hypothesis, I applied it to the two (2) panels on Orthostat 8, Site 14 at Knowth, in particular the rear panel.  

ABSTRACT

As far back as the Upper Paleolithic, through the 19th century, art was predominantly representational, whether real or imagined.  However, for some inexplicable reason, the seemingly unanimous conclusion is that, at least with respect to the Neolithic inhabitants of Ireland and Britain, their art was overwhelmingly abstract, or at the very least highly stylized.  While it’s extremely unlikely those inhabitants were millennia ahead of their time when it comes to abstract or highly stylized art, they were well ahead when it came to cartography.  Such is the case of the rear panel on Orthostat 8, Site 14 at Knowth, which is a map of the Boyne as it existed centuries prior to the construction of the mounds at Knowth and Newgrange.

Petroglyphs, the Bend in the Boyne

Upon completing ‘Petroglyphs, the Bend in the Boyne’, I submitted both papers to Dr. George Nash, a preeminent Prehistoric rock art specialist.  Following are his two most recent responses.

Dated: Sat. 5/29/10 2:11 PM

“I have been through both web-papers and I think that what you are saying is worthwhile, especially the idea of mapping each of the Neolithic landscapes - incidentally this is something I have been barking on about since 1997 with my work in Galicia and Southern Sweden.  The ideas you promote are as valid as anything else that I have read.”

Dated: Mon. 5/31/10 1:19 PM  

“Concerning your web papers.  Although you consider yourself not an archaeologist, it should not deter you from spreading your word through the academic community and therefore I would urge you to have a go - your ideas and discussion points for each web paper are as valid as the next person, including those academics who have researched these areas previously.  The mapping theory opens up potentially a whole new world, turning sites into landscapes.”

Regards,

George


Dr George Nash
Archaeologist & specialist in Prehistoric and Contemporary art,
P/T @ Department of Archaeology & Anthropology,
University of Bristol,
43 Woodlands Road,
Bristol,
BS8 1UU

Associate Professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Spiru Haret University , Bucharest , Romania and
Senior Researcher at the Museum of Prehistoric Art (Quaternary and Prehistory Geosciences Centre), Macao, Portugal

Email: (deleted)
Email: (deleted)

Telephone: (deleted)

Interested in rock-art in Wales? Go to:
http://www.rock-art-in-wales.co.uk/

Also look at:
http://cliftonantiquarian.co.uk/about.htm

Also visit my website at:
http://www.archaeology-safaris.co.uk/gn/index.html]]> Tue, 02 Aug 2011 09:40:06 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/3565-petroglyphs-the-bend-in-the-boyne/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4205-the-prehistoric-peak/
It's been a while since I checked in on Stone Pages. I just thought I would share the news that the guide book I researched and wrote about the Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments of England's Peak District National park is now available at lulu.com.

Here is the full background information:



England’s Peak District National Park is reknowned for its dramatic landscapes and outstanding natural beauty. Scratch below that surface and the visitor can also find and area steeped in thousands of years of mankind’s history. After the ice sheets retreated 10,000 years ago, man returned to the area to hunt and gather, then as the establishment of farming began and those nomadic groups began to settle and cultivate the land, they also began to mark this land with megalithic monuments of all shapes and sizes, many of which can still be seen today.

THE PREHISTORIC PEAK is a practical guidebook to discovering and exploring the Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments of the Peak District. The intention is not to explain their origins, but to encourage everyone to go and see them for themselves as they are today. After all, they are located in some of the most spectacular landscapes available to us in Britain today and make fascinating destinations for journeys that are about experiencing all the wonders of the world around us.

Each site was visited several times in order to record them through photographs, ground plans of what can be seen today, custom maps with step-by-step, clear, concise directions on how to find each one and all the necessary GPS and OS grid references.

It also includes practical advice on how to make your exploration of the Prehistoric Peak as pleasurable and safe as possible as well as a comprehiensive list of all other known sites in the Peak District along with their OS grid reference.

Further details, including sample spreads from the book, plus a downloadable pdf preview can be found at:

www.andrewjohnstonedesign.co.uk/Published/prehistoricpeak.htm

And the book is currently available at discounted price at:

www.lulu.com


Hope you don't mind my shameless plug. The book isn't about making money for me, my intention is simply to share the amazing experience I had (and continue to have) in discovering the prehistoric monuments of The Peak District.

Finally, here is a recent review from Current Archaeology Magazine:

"Every so often, an unexpected gem crosses our desks at CA. The Prehistoric Peak is the latest of these happy occurrences. This book is a step-by-step guide of the author's own journey to each of the 52 featured sites.

The author's casual curiosity developed into a passion for, British prehistory. Neither historian nor archaeologist, Johnstone produced this book for a graduate design course at Central St Martins. The end result is an absolutely gorgeous, easily digestible volume packed with practical tips, packing lists, basic introductions to time periods and monuments, colour photographs, and finally - the monument guides.

There are many people who struggle with map reading, and may be discouraged from visiting sites for this very reason. The maps and monument plans take the mystery and struggle out of this process. Colourful, highly accurate, detailed yet simple, easy to read and understand: truly a resource that puts the visitor in the picture. There is also explanatory text about walking conditions and what to expect, and standard information for each monument — including nearest town, OS map reference, as grid number, GPS data, altitude, and a difficulty rating."

—Review by LWW]]> Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:19:49 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4205-the-prehistoric-peak/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4132-karahan-tepe/
i´m going zu turkey to visit some neolitihic Sites as Göbekli Tepe. Recentltly i´ve read about an unexcavated Site ca. 63 Kilometers south-east of Sanliurfa named "Karahan Tepe" Neo-Lithics 2-3/00.
Does anyone know, if the coordinates 37.125415, 39.432301 are correct or has a precise discription, on how to get to the site?

many thanks frome germany
anakin]]> Fri, 24 Jun 2011 18:13:21 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4132-karahan-tepe/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4174-celebrating-the-bull-ring-henge-talks-and-activities-sat-30th-july-near-buxton-derbyshire/
Celebrating the Bull Ring henge: talks, displays and activities 30th July 2011

Location: Dove Holes Community Hall and the Bull Ring Henge, Dove Holes, Derbyshire, England.

Join us to celebrate the wonderful Bull Ring prehistoric henge and 10 years of the Megalithic Portal web resource. A free day of talks, displays and activities in Dove Holes Community Hall and the henge itself as part of the Festival of British Archaeology.

Many people know Arbor Low but we are celebrating its sister site, the other great henge monument in the Peak District. The Bull Ring is a huge 90m diameter circular earthwork, thought once to have contained a great stone circle as well. There will be talks and displays in the community hall from 1pm to 5.30pm approx, with refreshments available in the hall.

Lunchtime talks
Martha Lawrence from Buxton Museum will give a talk on the Bullring henge

Kirsty Whittall will outline her research on the henge and the recent survey work

Afternoon talks
Tim Prevett (ShropshireTraveller), author and tour guide on Ancient Routes of North Wales

Kevin Kilburn (Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society): The Bridestones Legacy - solstice alignments at Peak District monuments

Simon Charlesworth (Sem) Sacred stones & Secret signs standing stones in Wales and their possible use

Andy Burnham: Little-known stones around the world - 10 years of the Megalithic Portal

Please check talk times at
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/festival/

Displays
Fascinating displays of prehistoric finds from the henge and a fantastic collection of neolithic stone axes, blades and scrapers from around the world.

Photo gallery and 'slide' display to showcase the best photography of ancient sites - bring your own blown up photo prints to display with prizes for the best images.

Tours
Tours of the Bull Ring Henge on the hour to appreciate this wonderful ancient site

Martha Lawrence from Buxton Museum will be available to answer questions and members of the Megalithic Portal Society will be on hand to advise on how find information on ancient sites near you.

Picnic
You are free to visit the henge all day and after the events in the hall we will have a picnic in the henge with acoustic music until approx 7pm, please bring your own instruments and food.

Location: Dove Holes Community Hall, Hallsteads, Dove Holes, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 8BJ

Directions: On the A6, five miles north of Buxton, turn right at the sign for Dove Holes Community Association, the hall is at the end of the road behind the cricket pitch. There is some parking available and it is a short walk from Dove Holes railway station.

Telephone / Text Contact: Andy Burnham - 07910 900298

Many thanks to Buxton Museum for their assistance in the loan of equipment and artifacts for this event. Hope to see you there if you can make it.

More photos and information on the Bull Ring on our page here.
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/festival/]]> Sat, 18 Jun 2011 12:23:52 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4174-celebrating-the-bull-ring-henge-talks-and-activities-sat-30th-july-near-buxton-derbyshire/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4147-malta-cart-ruts/
please have a look on wikipedia

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diskussion:Schleifspuren_%28Malta%29

what do you think about my found of 2001?

If there were obstacles in understanding this discussion on Wikipedia, I could try to translate the most important parts.

It would be also great, if someone might be able to interest a scientist for my found.

Thank you in adavance and have a nice evening.

Best regards

Alexander]]> Sun, 12 Jun 2011 09:29:41 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4147-malta-cart-ruts/ http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4039-just-an-old-stone/ ]]> Sat, 07 May 2011 20:57:54 +0000 http://www.stonepages.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4039-just-an-old-stone/