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Julian Cope presents Head Heritage

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Ritual Landscapes
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nigelswift
8112 posts

They disappear when you lie down :(
Aug 02, 2003, 09:56
Yes, I can see those might well be seen the same way by local people in ancient times. But what do you feel about the wider landscape – was it’s femaleness strong enough to power a whole religion? I realize this may seem a bit naïve and clodhopping to many people, blasphemous even to some, especially in a site infused with the thoughts of Cope, Gambutas, Dames et al. My forthrightness arises from not having read them, so I have only my own eyes to look through, and on that basis I find it hard to see the female in the landscape with the same degree of clarity or intensity that people suggest ancient people did.

Here’s a rather extreme example (from an otherwise pretty sober article) of stuff that leaves me completely cold:

“The connection of the goddess to the moon has also prompted the idea of her "three ages" since the moon passes through three distinct phases - new (white), full (red), and waning (black) - corresponding to the three ages of womanhood - virgin, mother, and matriarch/crone. This is also connected to birth, death, and rebirth, which appears prevalent in the belief system [e.g. McLean 1989]. The aforementioned view from the top of Brent Knoll is interesting when this idea is considered. To the northeast is Brean Down, clearly displaying a recumbent figure, with Steep and Flat Holm as 'her' satellites. Across from this first Goddess's feet, is Bleadon Hill, a second, larger, but less marked possible figure lying with her feet to those of Brean Down's. Lying almost head-to-head with Bleadon Hill is the third and largest figure formed by Crook Peak (head and perfect nose), Wavering Down (chest), and the Mendip Hills (body) which appears to fill the rest of the distant horizon going all the way back around to the sea near Bridgwater. Thus the three ages are seen. Glastonbury Tor is away to the east, protected in the curve of the Mendip Goddess, itself a well-known and much revered conical hill. The Black mountains of south Wales are seen to the west, the edge of Exmoor to the far south.

Crook Peak is also prominent when viewed from the Cotswold-Severn tomb at Redhill over the Wrington Vale. Here Crook Peak forms the (nippled) chest of a recumbent female whose head is formed by Wavering Down and body/legs by Bleadon Hill. Moreover Banwell Hill can be seen as an arm and Benthills Wood a hand.

That the possible natural lunar alignments were influential in the design of Stanton Drew mentioned above can be seen to be supported when the Mother Earth landscape religion is considered. As noted in Section 4, the northeast ring is constructed of the largest, darkest stones over which the midwinter risings are seen. Hence this is the "crone" circle, a megalithic representation of the Crook Peak et al. hills. The enormous main circle contains the second largest stones, perhaps representing the "mother" age. Whether the Cove represents the "virgin", after Brean Down, implying its chambered tomb inspirations were seen as places of rebirth, or whether the south-southwest circle assumed this role over that of one akin to Brent Knoll is unclear. This is of course highly speculative but currently under investigation by the author.”

http://www.cems.uwe.ac.uk/~lbull/stanton.html

I can’t help thinking that’s all a speculation too far, but when does “too far” start?
A simple question really! (Not!) I thought maybe, since you’d seen zillions of sites, you might have a feel for the answer.
In reply to:
The Paps of Anu (FourWinds)		 Replies:
Or do they? (Moth)
Gook with extra Gobbledy! (FourWinds)
Re: They disappear when you lie down :( (morfe)
Re: They disappear when you lie down :( (broen)
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