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Search results for: menhir in all categories
40 results found.
2 pages of results. 1. The Cairns Of Kintraw [Journals] [Kronos]
... 1979 by Dwardu Cardona. Dr. Euan MacKie's archaeological excavation at Kintraw, Argyllshire, Scotland, has been hailed by some as a dramatic confirmation of the astronomical function of this megalithic site. According to Alexander Thom's earlier work, the site consists of what he mistook for a small circle of stones approximately twenty feet in diameter, an outlying menhir twelve feet high, a fallen stone which would have been some seven feet high, and a ruined cairn the diameter of which is slightly over fifty feet. The arrangement, as shown in the accompanying diagrams, occupies a small level piece of ground, the only such place on a very steep hill. To the southwest are the ...
2. Megalithic Lunar Observatories -- A Critique [Journals] [Kronos]
... proposal has been developed by his supporters into the paradigm of Megalithic Theocracy- the astronomer priesthood- organising and dominating their more humble brethren. The concept of this intellectual elite is, however, somewhat peripheral to the aims of this article which is mainly concerned with the following problems: (a ) How convincing are these lunar lines from a menhir or group of menhirs to horizon features? (b ) Could Megalithic man have actually determined the lunar perturbation, given that he was interested in doing so? HOW CONVINCING ARE THOM'S LUNAR LINES? Is the evidence that Thom presents of the lunar lines which supposedly run from the Megalithic remains to natural features on the horizon convincing? Can ...
3. Observations At Kintraw [Journals] [Kronos]
... authors and Cambridge University Press. - LMG ABSTRACT We have made six visits to the Kintraw site which has been claimed by Professor Alexander Thom as a prehistoric astronomical observatory used for the detection of the midwinter solstice. This claim has been disputed on several grounds, notably that the foresight is not visible from the backsight on the ledge overlooking the menhir. From the results of our observations at the backsight we contend that this particular dispute is easily resolved. Other work done by us on the ledge indicates that it could not have been used as an observation platform to determine the exact day of the midwinter solstice. Of the many megalithic sites claimed by Professor Thom as remains of prehistoric ...
4. Cosmic Catastrophes and the Origin of Megalithic Cultures [Journals] [SIS Review]
... more than well-represented in Europe and especially in Great Britain. We are strangely touched by its remains when we encounter them: picturesque, grandiose, eminent, mysterious features of the landscape. The question of their origins, of the motives that led to their construction, depends decisively on their dating. Over the last 60 years, dolmens, menhirs and statue stelae, forts, giant's graves, and megalithic temples have been dated to totally different periods. Before we can ask ourselves, therefore, what joy of living or anticipation of death could have led to this type of architecture, we should try at least to determine the correct millennium of their construction. Dating the megalith culture ...
5. The Stones Of Ballochroy [Journals] [Kronos]
... No. 3 (Spring 1979) Home | Issue Contents The Stones Of Ballochroy Dwardu Cardona Copyright (c ) 1979 by Dwardu Cardona. 1. Cara Isle. About twelve miles south of Tarbert, on the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula, Scotland, one comes across the standing stones of Ballochroy. This megalithic site consists of three menhirs set in line with each other and a kist (or cist), i.e . a sepulchral chest constructed of stone slabs. Seven miles away is the tiny island of Cara. It has been noted that, at midwinter, the Sun sets behind Cara Isle as seen in line with the menhirs on Kintyre. Alexander Thom ...
6. Earth Magic: A Review by FRANCIS HITCHING [Journals] [Kronos]
... his part, the fact is that his treatment of megalithic mysteries is tentative, restrained, and highly empirical. On the other hand, he does not hesitate to follow leads provided by local legends and to employ dowsers and other psychics to supplement the information supplied by archeology and mineralogy. In both France and England, rural folklore applies to menhirs, or upright monoliths, a collection of epithets such as "tingling," "twirling," "dancing," "rolling," and "healing". Tradition asserts that some stones change position, especially at night. And farmers report that their livestock react strongly to megalith arrangements, avoiding some but being salubriously affected by ...
7. Letters [Journals] [SIS Workshop]
... myself, to judge the plausibility of the current theories. The story goes that the original megalithic people inhabited the island from around 4000 BC until 1400 BC, when it was invaded and taken over by the Torreans, or tower builders. Early megalithic structures consisted of low circles of standing stones surrounding a stone cist and associated with a single menhir. Later, alignments of standing stones were built but none of the usual astronomical explanations based on the rising or setting of the Sun or Moon can apply here, as the alignments run north-south. Another puzzle on Corsica is the unique development of statue menhirs, where a standing stone is carved in an anthropomorphic fashion. These vary from ...
8. Kintraw and Bibby (Forum) [Journals] [Kronos]
... on repeating the experiment, my colleagues and I found that, at these positions, the col is always invisible - irrespective of the observer's eye level. We noted: "It is quite clear, therefore, that the series of observations which Thom's theory requires could no more have been made on the ledge than from the field beside the menhir itself."(10) Thus the hypothesis that the ledge could have functioned as a prehistoric observing platform is in error. This leaves no known reason why the megalith builders at Kintraw would have been interested in constructing a stone platform on the ledge - thus Bibby's exercise on this ledge was merely one of futility. REFERENCES 1. ...
9. Ballochroy, Kintraw, and Mackie (Forum) [Journals] [Kronos]
... As I stressed in my article, the midwinter solar flash in the col of Beinn Shiantaidh is the only factor which cannot be discounted. But may I remind MacKie, as I think I have already done, that it was not the megalith builders who fashioned this col. That there is no line running to it through the 12-foot high menhir, I have already shown. That, before it began to lean, this menhir "pointed more accurately" to the col, I already knew.(31) "More accurately," however, is not accurate enough. Even as the menhir stands corrected today, it still indicates a point to the northwest of the col ...
10. The Past Comes Down [Journals] [SIS Workshop]
... are more or less close together (81). This is corroborated by the navetas of Minorca, which up to now had to be dated 2,000 years earlier to the 3rd millennium BC (84). The Maltese temples consequently can no longer be claimed to represent the earliest cult rooms of human history (82). The menhir statues of southern France, dated to the late 3rd millennium BC, have their counterparts in Corsica (where they are dated to the 1st millennium BC), and in the stelae of Luni, which on account of their inscriptions are unanimously dated to early Etruscan times (85). If this uniformity in style is taken account of ...
11. Night of the Gods: The Pillar [Books]
... . Peredur is one of 7 brothers, and Corvann the horse of the sons of Elifer bears only Gwrgi and Peredur, who thus resemble a sort of Castor and Pollux, and both became Christian Welsh saints. (Some of the Welsh mythic names in El may disclose to us more than we expect.) THE OBELISK. If the Menhir be, as Capt. Conder considers, 35 the ancestor of the obelisk, we should at once claim all such " long stones" or rather tall stones (menhirs), as symbols of the Universe-axis. At Sicyon a pyramidal stone was adored under the name of Zeus Meilichios (Paus. ii, 9, 6). ...
12. "In Search of Ancient Astronomies": A Review [Journals] [Kronos]
... Thom is so seriously flawed that it belongs with that category of literature enumerated above. Ironically, the only chapter that can be excluded from such criticism, that by Eddy, concerns itself with the relatively modern sites of post-Columbia North America and is thus irrelevant to the subject at large. The chapter by the two Thoms, "Rings and Menhirs: Geometry and Astronomy in the Neolithic Age," can be dismissed for an entirely different reason. The most recent archaeological and scientific research has demonstrated that the Thomist hypotheses comprising the megalithic yard, the convoluted geometries of the stone rings, and the various astronomical alignments, are nothing more than the products of a massive misinterpretation by the ...
13. The Reality of Extinctions [Journals] [Aeon]
... a cause of extinctions. Let us take this one step at a time. The most famous of all megalithic monuments is Stonehenge. But it is not a solitary example; hundreds of stone rings are extant in Britain alone. In addition, there are rows of huge standing stones in Brittany, just as impressive as Stonehenge. The Grand menhir, now broken, was originally 320 tonnes, probably the largest stone ever moved by manpower. Occasionally, a megalithic society had to work without stones and chose to make long broad excavations on the chalk downs in England and Belgium, given the name "cursus." When new, these excavations, which now resemble the overgrown preparations ...
14. Bookshelf [Journals] [SIS Review]
... is a wider time-span, some late eighteenth century items being included. Starting with fossil footprints and giant skeletons the collection proceeds with cup-marks, petroglyphs, legends of gods and giants, American Indian astronomy, Celtic remains in Jamaica, ancient metallurgy and Noah's Ark, and ends with an extensive section on structural artefacts such as temples, dolmens, menhirs, vitrified forts, henges, pyramids, obelisks and ancient tunnels and mines. Astronomical alignments naturally figure prominently in this section starting with the pioneering work of Lockyer and others and going up to C. A. Newham's article on Stonehenge in Nature (1966). (Thom does not appear in this volume). The two volumes ...
15. Flawed Search [Journals] [Kronos]
... himself is presented as a non-mathematical introduction to practical astronomy. This is necessary for the understanding of subsequent chapters, and is in general comprehensible, though some of the information could have been transmitted with fewer words and greater clarity. For many readers the work of the Thoms will be the most familiar, and their chapter on stone circles and menhirs follows. Thom's eminence in the field is largely based on the accuracy of his measurements and the precision of his analysis. Recent papers and reviews have, however, cast doubt on some of his figures, with serious results for his megalithic yard and megalithic calendar (Moir et al. Antiquity LIV, 3743, 1980). Misidentification ...
16. The Celestial Tower [Journals] [SIS Workshop]
... that it is an essential element of the Hermes/Mercury story. The Greek Hermes of course is linked to the tower in his fundamental symbol, the Kerykeion (Caduceus), the staff or pole which gives him access to the realm of the gods. The Kerykeion is also, significantly enough, connected to the cult of the phallic menhirs, or herme, found throughout the Greek world. Furthermore it should be remembered that the tradition of Hermes is inseparable in all its elements from that of Abraham, the founding-father of Israel, whose abortive sacrifice of Isaac (on a mountain top) takes place after the fall of the Tower of Babel. [3 ] In Greek ...
17. Is Early Bronze the Time of the Exodus? [Journals] [Catastrophism & Ancient History]
... Karkom which had many examples of rock art, one of which was particularly surprising. It depicted a series of worshipers, but instead of a god there was only a slash where the figure of a bull or some other deity should have been shown. After working at Har Karkom a few years Dr. Anati discovered a platform with twelve menhirs. Exodus 24 states that a platform with twelve pillars was erected. On top of the mountain is another rock formation that would fit Exodus 33, where God covered Moses with a rock protection. It is very curious that these remains are dated not to the Late Bronze Age-and- alas for me- not MBIIC but early MBI; ...
18. Earth In Chaos by Peter M. James [Journals] [SIS Workshop]
... The various types of henges, stone circles, non-circular rings, ellipses and egg shapes are all discussed in the book; situations where the available site dictates the format and speculation as to what some of the lines, fans and arrays were laid out to demonstrate are all discussed but the most interesting features by far are the long lines of menhirs at Carnac and the Dorset Cursus. James puts forward an excellent argument in which he proposes that the Dorset Cursus was a broad shallow excavation made by removing the topsoil from the underlying chalk to produce a white scar just the sort of thing to catch the Sun God's attention as he came over the [midsummer] horizon'. However ...
... , of all others, including runes, and long predecessor of the Cadmeian alphabet. By their policy of monopolizing all knowledge of the sciences these Druids were able to dominate the ancient world from an early period and to be the real sovereign power in Celtica. It was the Druids who set up sacred stones as cromlechs or dolmens, as menhirs, as megalithic round temples, and as idols of their deities. With few exceptions, be it noted, these stones were unhewn, because their belief was that the mason's tool defiled them, and they erected their temples in places which were holy in their eyes. Cromlechs and dolmens are usually regarded as one and the same but ...
20. Megalithic Astronomy and Catastrophism [Journals] [Pensee]
... other sites and is perhaps more indicative of natural violence than the equally widespread phenomenon of standing stones which have fallen over in one piece or have been completely shattered, and which could be due to a number of causes (as at Stonehenge and Avebury) (41). The largest known once standing stone is Er Grah (le Grand Menhir brisé) at Lochmariaquer in Brittany and this colossal mass must have weighed something like 360 tons when entire. The manner of its erection by prehistoric Bretons defies the imagination, but a vivid picture of its fall is obtained from its present condition (fig.11). The stone looks as if it has been struck about a third ...
21. Merlin and the Round Temple [Journals] [SIS Review]
... Age Celts and Germans. The megaliths throughout western Europe are heavily decorated with spiral designs, a motif that would later, in a slightly more developed and sophisticated form, come to be regarded as typically Celtic. In Scandinavia, menhir-style standing-stones occur with great frequency and are virtually identical to those found throughout France - particularly Brittany. Yet the menhirs of Scandinavia are decorated with runic inscriptions and Viking Age artistic motifs. Again, Scandinavian chiefs of the Viking Age were buried, often along with a ship, in barrow-graves. These boat-burials took the shape of the vessel they entombed and were often surrounded by standing-stones. Yet, contrary to what is stated in textbook after textbook, it ...
... chalk and the bases fixed firmly by wedging smaller stones. Two lesser circles of stones occupied a position north and south inside the great circle. These were formed of two concentric rings of upright stones, the outer consisting of 30 stones and the inner of 12 stones. In the centre of the southern or larger circle stood a vast upright menhir of circular or phallic form, 21 feet in height, 8ft. 9 in diameter and towering above the stones in this circle. It recalls the colossal statue entitled Memnon (very similar to menhir, a Gaelic word) which Sesostris was reputed to have set up in the temple of Ammon at Thebes, and whose memorials according to ...
23. In Search of the Exodus [Journals] [Catastrophism & Ancient History]
... design, such as the religiosity of the Deuteronomist, tends to cloud early material, and yet various gems have been preserved intact within the text. The mountain of god (Exodus 24) [26] for example, has analogies with Har Karkom in the Negev Mountains, which contains many examples of rock art and a platform with 12 menhirs corresponding to the 12 pillars of Exodus 24. At the very top of the mountain is a rock formation reminiscent of Exodus 33, and yet the occupation remains are dated to early MBI (immediate post-EB). By-passing the heavenly significance of the 12 menhirs and the EB temple on Har Karkom (with biblical antecedents), the information ...
24. Night of the Gods: The Stone [Books]
... Standing images," " images of stone," ' are forbidden in Leviticus (xxvi, 1). The sacred character of the pillar among Israelites and Canaanites alike is sufficiently illustrated. The Nabatheans at Petra worshipped a black stone about four feet high and two square, called Dhu Shera, Lord of Desire.117 The Ansab or Menhirs are specially condemned in the Koran (Sura v, 92). " Smeared stones " -that is anointed-are often found in Syria. One Menhir group of about 180 dolmens is called el Mareighat, the smeared.118 "A perforated stone to which the Jews come every year and anoint it" is mentioned at Jerusalem by the ...
... sacred reputation, adorned with fine buildings and temples, a seat of learning visited by students from all parts of the world. Its present village, named Threld, means in the Gaelic "great city", and though Iona's antiquities have suffered more destruction by wanton acts than mostly any other site, the remains of stone circles and some menhirs testify to its considerable antiquity. Au these parts, too, were once largely populated, judging from indications in Mull, which was so closely connected with Iona, not merely physically but culturally, as to be inseparable from it. There yet survives an old line of standing stones which used to mark in ancient times the track to ...
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