39 replies to this topic

[dyn coed]

maybe they had more value than just that, would you slaughter animals which could have ploughed land for you to grow food on though.

we do know that cattle was domesticate in the middle east and came through europe, and possibly to britain. certainly the finding of ox bones in britain buried around monuments dated as early as 3-4000 bc in itself proves the animals were here even then, its most probable that they had been domesticated, but no one seems to have made the link in britain.
throughout most cultures along europe, the bull is revered, and plays an important part in myth. the difference is that there hasnt been recorded evidence in britain like there has elsewhere.

most britains, no, people in the western world cant grasp the importance that animals had in our everyday life before the mechanisation of agriculture occurred.
little do you realise the importance an animal, whether it be a working ox or horse had on your ability to work the land, that is why i dont think they would have been killed for ceremonies or food unless they had been domesticated and bred to.

[wally]

myself stakes on the grill makes sence to me, no matter how the stones were moved they had to eat. I do agree levers were employed, but using them in a none typical fassion works best for me. instead of placing leverage under,  just go over.
When I first began my projects, a metal lever came in quite handy, after a while found it to be to limited. Eventualy found metal lever to be totaly useless as weights increased. Ended up giving it away, don't have need for it at all, wooden tools or weights work just fine for me, refer to it as using gravity. Will be continueing my projects this year, using heavier weights if anyone is interested and maybe doing another follow up segment for tv.
Thanks for the exchange of ideas.
Wally
www.theforgottentechnology.com

[Jimit]

Wally, I have visited your site (again) and found it facinating. However I wonder how you suggest they moved the great stones of Avebury from a couple of miles away from a site which even now is littered with car sized blocks every couple of yards and moved the extremely irregularly shaped stones up quite steep hills.
The blocks you are using have a regular cross-section so the balance point is easy to find. How would you do that with a heavily weathered and pitted block with few flat faces, very roughly lozenge shaped and weighing 150 tons?  

P.S. Still working on the draught animal problem, lack of hard evidence at the moment.

[GordonP]

Watch Channel 5 (British Television) on 20/21st June or National Geographic at a later date. Prepare to be amazed.

[wally]

Come on Gordy you can't keep a secret any better than me.



Jimit: it may take me a couple more years to get to 150 tons.
And you are correct flat ones are easier, but pitted holes would come in handy.

[dyn coed]

i'm in the stone age myself, dont have tv and dont miss it, so come on spill the beans!

[wally]

Gordon tell Victoria, Wally said Hi!

[GordonP]

Hi Wally
Howya doing? Who's Victoria?

[dyn coed]

so gordon p, are you the man who's website ive just been to?

like wally, you seem to have made up your mind on this subject, that prehistoric man used his own muscle. can you not even admit that it was a lot of work moving that 4ton stone, would you attempt to move it over rough terrain? and not 4 ton but 40 using your system?

[GordonP]

Hi Dyn
Have you ordered a telly yet?

[GordonP]

Hi again Dyn
No muscles needed with my method, just bodyweight.

[dyn coed]

no signal mate, and anyway dont have time to vegetate in front of the thing?

[dyn coed]

and 20 ft larch poles!

[GordonP]

cutting down to 15ft, easier to manhandle. Do you drink? Sometimes you can find a pub with a telly, though normaly pubs with a telly are best avoided. regards gordon

[dyn coed]

being a forester, i know that larch is an introduced species, so doesnt this give you an unfair advantage, why not use a native species.