baza
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Re: Wood from the trees
Aug 02, 2003, 14:54
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Yesterday, I just happened to pass by my nearest henge, Condicote in Glos.
There`s very little to see now :o(
However, it has been excavated, and from the snails found, they deduce that it was situated in woodland.
Another thing that I noticed, which is true of others, is that the ditch was dug six feet down *into the bedrock*. That makes me think that they *really* needed to have a ditch there.
Unless `the tribe next door have got a henge so we`re going to have one, too.....whatever it takes.`
baz
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Moth
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Tits are boring anyway
Aug 02, 2003, 14:55
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Shut up Baz. I always end up looking like your 'yes' man.
love
Moth
PS I didn't mean it about the 'boring' thing.
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FourWinds
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There you go ...
Aug 02, 2003, 15:37
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... I reckon it's finished now :-)
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Moth
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'Sleeping Beauty'
Aug 02, 2003, 19:03
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Bugger. Can't get hold of me mate with the scanner....
Soon though!
love
Moth
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BrigantesNation
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Re: Wood from the trees
Aug 03, 2003, 00:14
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I've just started reading Neolithic Britain and Ireland by Caroline Malone.
In it she has a table showing chronology and features:
4000-3200BC - Wooded Landscape, causewayed enclosures, cursus monuments.
3200-2800BC - Semi Cleared landscapes, Enclosures, henges, avenues and alignments.
2800-2000 BC - Open Landscape, elaborate henges and stone circles, stone rows, avenues and pit alignments.
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baza
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Re: Wood from the trees
Aug 04, 2003, 14:45
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My current opinion, for what it`s worth, is that henges would be used for corralling livestock.
How do you control livestock in wooded areas? Tether them all?
Presumably, they`d have to gather them together, sometimes. The ditch inside the bank would prevent their escape.
baz
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BrigantesNation
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Re: Wood from the trees
Aug 04, 2003, 14:56
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I don't agree, unless they had some pretty massive animals :o)
you can keep a few animals in by building a fenced enclosure. There's no need for a ditch - a waste of effort - animals will quickly erode the sides and do themselves and injury in the process. A henge bank would similarly need a lot of maintenance to prevent it eroding to a point where animals can just stroll up it - sheep can climb hills steeper than you can make with loose earth. The design issues alone make a henge an impractical animal enclosure.
The other option to keep animal coralled is of course - trees.
I do think however, that some stone circles may be particulalrly ornate sheepfolds!
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Moth
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Re: Wood from the trees
Aug 04, 2003, 15:34
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I'm with you Brigantes (except on the 'sheepfold' theory). What advantage would a henge have over just a fence or stockade or something?
love
Moth
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BrigantesNation
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Re: Wood from the trees
Aug 04, 2003, 15:49
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No I'm talking (in a light hearted sort of way) about some particulalrly small "possibles" that I've seen.
There are also possibly a couple of enclosures that I've seen that may have been henges that were converted into sheepfolds by filling in the gaps. There's a one by Reeth, at a place called Castle, which has a single stone in the centre and has a large number of orthostats in the roughly circular enclosure. I think of it a some sort of ritual enclosure linked with the mines. Shall I post it? When I first saw it I was not confident of my interpretation, I'm a lot more confident of an early date for this one now (not the henge bit though, since it's more of a banjo enclosure built of orthostats.).
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Moth
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Re: Wood from the trees
Aug 04, 2003, 15:58
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"...Shall I post it...."
Well I'd like to see it, but I'm not sure if that's a criterion!
love
Moth
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