Archaeoastronomy of the Bronze Age: Stonehenge - Essay Example

www.academia-research.com Sumanta Sanyal d: 6/2/2006 Archaeoastronomy of the Bronze Age: Stonehenge Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2 1.1 Archaeoastronomy 2 1.2 Stonehenge 2 1.3 Special Significance 3 2. Stone - The English Heritage 3 2.1 Introduction 3 2.2 The Location 4 2.3 The 1st Phase 4 2.4 The 2nd Phase 4 2.5 The 3rd Phase 5 3. Conclusion and Discussion 5 4. References 7 5. Appendix 8 Figure 1: Mesolithic Activity 8 Figure 2: Bluestone Settings 9 Figure 3: Sarsen Settings 10 Figures 4 & 5: General Views 11 1. Introduction 1.1 Archaeoastronomy: Archaeoastronomy is the study of astronomical practices of ancient cultures and celestial lore, mythologies, religions and worldviews of these cultures that are in any way connected to astronomy and astronomical objects (The Center for Archaeoastronomy, 2002). Since, like many subjects, astronomy has its roots in such cultures archaeoastronomy helps the present generation of scholars spotlight the rudimentary stages of astronomy - the study of celestial objects. It does so by the careful study of the great monuments and other ceremonial constructions of ancient cultures that were often associated with astronomical findings of that age. Thus, careful study of the accurate cardinal orientation of the Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt, and the Venus alignment of the Maya Palace of the Governor at Uxmal in Yucatan can reveal to what extent associated ancient cultures were advanced in their knowledge of astronomy and possibly provide scope for amazement at such achievements of monumental precision ((The Center for Archaeoastronomy, 2002). 1.2 Stonehenge: Stonehenge (Figures 4 & 5) has special significance to archaeoastronomy. It is certainly not the largest ancient stone circle in the world but it is certainly the only one with lintels on the upright stones (English Heritage Website, FAQs on Stonehenge). "Stonehenge, the word, is believed to have originated from the Anglo-Saxon period, from the old English word "henge' meaning 'hanging' or 'gibbet'. Thus, Stonehenge literally means the 'hanging stones' and may have been derived from the lintels that seem to hang above the uprights (English Heritage, Historical Background, Stonehenge, 2006). Today 'henge' has a special significance in archaeology meaning a circular construction of either stone or timber (English Heritage, Historical Background, Stonehenge, 2006). 1.3 Special Significance: The discoveries at Stonehenge in the 60s have made the interdisciplinary fields of archaeoastronomy and ethnoastronomy (the study of contemporary native astronomies) active fields wherefrom scholars derive knowledge of our species' continuous interaction with the cosmos (The Center for Archaeoastronomy, 2002). The report seeks to find clearly why Stonehenge was built, when it was built and by whom. It shall explore available literature with research findings in recent years to attempt to do so. 2 Stonehenge - The English Heritage Monument: 2.1 Introduction: English Heritage and the National Trust look after Stonehenge jointly. Though curious visitors have been coming to the ancient site to gawk at the monumental constructions for over 5000 years it has only recently in 1986 been declared a World Heritage Site (English Heritage, Historical Background, 2006). Researchers from the English Heritage Scientific Dating Service used a variety of dating techniques to assess dates when the monument was built. The researchers assert that Stonehenge was built in three phases - the oldest construction was the Mesolithic activity in the present car park attached to the site. It must be noted here that the team did not make the actual findings. Nevertheless the report selects them as a source of dates as their work is the most recent and they are highly reliable as a team associated with a body that actually is involved in the keeping of the monument (Dating Stonehenge, 2006). 2.2 The Location: Even before the first Mesolithic activity (Appendix: Figure 1) in the car park area the site of Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plains was a forest of tall pines and hazel woodlands. Later it was gradually converted to the down chalklands it is today. Rudimentary artifacts found in the car park date over a range of 300-1600 years and date back to the Mesolithic - 8500-7650 cal BC and 7500-6700 cal BC. The dates are suggested while implies possible changes with more advanced techniques at later dates. 2.3 The 1st Phase: As mentioned earlier Stonehenge was built in three phases by three different cultures in three periods of time. The first cultural group - the Windmill (English Heritage, Stonehenge FAQs, 2006) - built a circle of timber surrounded by a ditch and bank. They built the ditch with rudimentary tools like deer antlers and shoulder blades of oxen and cows and some of these have been unearthed from nearby. Carbons dating of these suggest a building date preceding the present age by some 50 centuries, that is around 3100 BC (English Heritage, Stonehenge, Historical Background, 2006). Later, dating back to the same period, holes were discovered that had been dug to hold the stone pillars that are evident today. These are called Aubrey Holes after their discoverer, John Aubrey, a 17th century antiquarian (English Heritage, Stonehenge, Historical Background, 2006). 2.4 The 2nd Phase: The next cultural group that was to leave its indelible mark on Stonehenge was the First Wessex (English Heritage, Stonehenge FAQs, 2006). They promoted their influence at around 4500 years ago - 2500 BC. The First Wessex brought blue stones from the Prescelli Mountains, Pembroke, South Wales, for arranging them where the timber posts of the 1st phase stood. Each stone weighs on an average 5 tons and it was no mean feat in those days to bring them roughly 400 Km by sea, river and land. This was the 2nd phase, 'The Bluestones' of Stonehenge (Appendix: Figure 2), built almost 2400 years before the Romans set foot on British soil (English Heritage, Stonehenge, Historical Background, 2006). 2.5 The 3rd Phase: The third and final phase of Stonehenge was started 4300 years ago in 2300 BC by the cultural group known as the Beakers - so named because they buried dead with the dead person's pots interred with him or her (English Heritage, Stonehenge FAQs, 2006). The Beakers rearranged the Bluestones and brought even bigger stones from the Marlborough Downs 32 Km away. These are giant sandstones - or 'Sarsen Stones' (Appendix: Figure 3) as they are called - and some of them weigh as much as 45 tons. The Beakers used advanced woodworking techniques to build the lintels above the stones. This was cleverly arranged in such a way that the alignment was to the rising of the mid-summer sun (English Heritage, Stonehenge, Historical Background, 2006). 3.1 Conclusion and Discussion: Though some theories do prevail on why Stonehenge was built but this report does not put forward any of them because none of them has been officially promulgated. Instead, the report forwards the view that Stonehenge, together with other smaller attendant sites in the vicinity, was built as a symbol of ultimate power, probably over what seemed like the supernatural, to hold the ancient societies together (English Heritage, Stonehenge, Historical Background, 2006). The same position prevails for other such monuments in other parts of the world and archaeoastronomy can prove to be a beneficent science that unearths such mysteries inherent within such monuments and earmark how ancient people discovered and put to task the cosmos around them. Please also note that since the dates were mostly derived from organic matter recovered from the site radiocarbon dating, a very reliable process, was possible. References A Brief Introduction to Archaeoastronomy, The Center for Archaeoastronomy, 2002. Extracted on 4th February, 2006, from: http://www.wam.umd.edu/tlaloc/archastro/cfaar_as.html Dating Stonehenge, English Heritage, 2006. Extracted on 4th February, 2006, from: http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/stoneh/start.htm#aims FAQs on Stonehenge, English Heritage, 2006. Extracted on 4th February, 2006, from: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.883 Stonehenge - Forever a Background, Historical background, English Heritage, 2006. Extracted on 4th February, 2006, from: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.881 Appendix 1. Mesolithic Activity 2. Bluestone Settings: 3. Sarsen Settings: 4. General View 5. General View Figures 1-3 derived from English Heritage Website: http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/stoneh/start.htm#aims Figures 4-5 derived from English Heritage Website: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.881 Read More