15th Century sketch of Stonehenge is found

[Blackleaf]

Early sketch of Stonehenge found



[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Maev Kennedy[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Monday November 27, 2006[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The Guardian[/FONT]

[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The oldest detailed drawing of Stonehenge, found in a 1440 manuscript, the Scala Mundi[/FONT]




They got the date wrong by some 3,000 years, but the oldest detailed drawing of Stonehenge, apparently based on first hand observation, has turned up in a 15th century manuscript.

The little sketch is a bird's eye view of the stones, and shows the great trilithons, the biggest stones in the monument, each made of two pillars capped with a third stone lintel, which stand in a horseshoe in the centre of the circle. Only three are now standing, but the drawing, found in Douai, northern France, suggests that in the 15th century four of the original five survived.

In the Scala Mundi, the Chronicle of the World, Merlin (King Arthur's magician) is given credit for building Stonehenge between 480 and 486, when the Latin text says he "not by force, but by art, brought and erected the giant's ring from Ireland". Modern science suggests that the stones went up from 2,500 BC, with the bluestone outer circle somehow transported from west Wales, and the double decker bus-size sarsen stones dragged 30 miles across Salisbury plain.

The drawing, recently identified by the art historian Christian Heck, has never been exhibited, but according to the Art Newspaper it will be seen next year in an exhibition at the Royal Academy in London, marking the 300th anniversary of the Society of Antiquaries.

There are two earlier images of Stonehenge, one in the British Library and one in the Parker Library in Cambridge, but the Douai drawing is unique in attempting to show how the monument was built.

It correctly shows tenon joints piercing the lintel, a timber construction technique, although in fact the real Stonehenge tenons only go partly into the top stone.

Stonehenge is rare among prehistoric landscapes, because its sheer bulk meant it was never lost. An Anglo Saxon poet wondered about the origin of the stones and inspired some of the earliest photographs.

guardian.co.uk

 

[selfactivated]

Goddess I miss England! Thank you for the post

 

[Blackleaf]

Stonehenge was a site for sore eyes in 2300BC


By Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent


27/11/2006






Stonehenge was the Lourdes of its day, to which diseased and injured ancient Britons flocked seeking cures for their ailments, according to a new theory.

For most of the 20th century archaeologists have debated what motivated primitive humans to go to the immense effort of transporting giant stones 240 miles from south Wales to erect Britain's most significant prehistoric monument.

Druids gather at Stonehenge for sunrise on the summer solstice. A new book suggests the gathering should take place in December



Stonehenge was built in different stages between 3000BC and 1600BC and theories about their meaning and purpose have ranged from the serious to the wacky. The most widely accepted view is that it was to honour their ancestors.

Now Timothy Darvill, professor of archaeology at Bournemouth University, has breathed new life into the controversy with the publication of a book which proposes that the monument was in fact a centre of healing. Prof Darvill also backs the recent view that modern-day druids and hippies who celebrate the summer solstice at the site in the belief that they are continuing an ancient tradition should in fact carry out their rituals in December.

In his book Stonehenge: The Biography of a Landscape, Prof Darvill points to evidence that many of the human remains excavated from burial mounds around Stonehenge, dating from around 2300BC, show signs of the individuals having been unwell prior to their death.

Chemical analysis of their teeth has shown that a good proportion of those buried near the monument were not locals, but in fact came from as far away as Wales, Ireland and the Lake District. A grave uncovered in 2002 three miles from Stonehenge revealed the remains of a man who became known as the Amesbury Archer. He was found to have originated in what is now Switzerland.

Prof Darvill also points to 14th century folklore in the form of written accounts referring to a magician bringing the stones from the west of the British Isles.

"It was believed that these particular stones had many healing properties because in Preseli there are many sacred springs that are considered to have health-giving qualities," said Prof Darvill.

"The water comes out of the rocks used to build Stonehenge and it's well established that as recently as the late 18th century, people went to Stonehenge to break off bits of rock as talismans.

"In the case of Stonehenge, I suggest that the presiding deity was a prehistoric equivalent of the Greek and Roman god of healing, Apollo.

"Although his main sanctuary was at Delphi in Greece, it is widely believed that he left Greece in the winter months to reside in the land of the Hyborians — usually taken to be Britain.

"With the incorporation of the stones from Wales, Stonehenge is a very powerful and positive place of pilgrimage."

Prof Darvill believes those seeking to tap into the monument's powers should do so in December during the winter solstice when our ancestors believed it was occupied by Apollo.


telegraph.co.uk

 

[selfactivated]

Another theory is that not to far away is a site called woodhenge and it is said that when people died they were placed at woodhenge in ceramony, sybolising that the wood as the body will decay. Then the body is taken to stone henge where the ceramony there depicts that as the stones are eternal so is the spirit. Its a very magical place. I was there on my birthday 6/23 I concicrated my sons dragon amulent and I sat and meditated nearly 2 hours. The ground itself is warm and inviting and I could feel the hopes of the many circles that had been laid. I will return someday.

This is a short BBC story on woodhenge

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/434821.stm