moss
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Re: Henge corrals?
Dec 20, 2005, 10:48
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Well if (a very big if) you take one of the Priddy circles/henges that have been partially excavated, the third circle reveals, and the bank by the way is within the ditch; the ditch is u shaped, originally 3-4 ft deep and now probably 12 ft wide. The material from the bank was piled between two rings of stout posts and then roughly faced with locally collected dry-stone walling. I think the posts were estimated at 10 ft high... now on a 50- 50 basis was it a stockade or ritual enclosure?
And before Littlestone goes on more wild speculations.... Gorsey bigbury entrance is 13 ft wide, if it was stone gateposts we get back to the problem of hinges to hang the gates........... ;)
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PeterH
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Re: Henge corrals?
Dec 20, 2005, 10:59
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Normans brought the bunnies.
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wideford
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Re: Henge corrals?
Dec 20, 2005, 11:02
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Normans re-introduced wabbits, as did R*mans before them.
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PeterH
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Re: Henge corrals?
Dec 20, 2005, 11:05
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"The idea that nitrates in the soil might indicate that some structures were used as corrals is an interesting one; the only problem there is that such structures may have been used as corrals at any time during the last x thousand years; Avebury is a classical example of that where sheep have been grazing within the circle for as long as I can remember"
That is a very good point and invalidates my point about high nitrate levels being indicative of henge corrals.
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PeterH
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Re: Henge corrals?
Dec 20, 2005, 11:08
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I didn't know that. When I was a Viking re-enactor we were expressly forbidden to mention, eat or wear anything wemotely wabbit.
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PeterH
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Re: Henge corrals?
Dec 20, 2005, 11:13
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"And before Littlestone goes on more wild speculations.... Gorsey bigbury entrance is 13 ft wide, if it was stone gateposts we get back to the problem of hinges to hang the gates........... ;)"
We keep coming back to the stones and the Wessex henges. I started this thread by looking at the stoneless henges of Essex. If there were any gate posts there, they wood have hung on wooden posts. Gaps can be closed by other means than gates
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Pilgrim
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Re: Henge corrals?
Dec 20, 2005, 11:25
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Hi, Rhiannon,
>I'm trying to find out about the persistence of nitrates in the soil. But not getting very far yet. They'd be easy enough to test for but unless you've got an unusual soil they'd surely all be leached out by now? But do I have a vague memory of them discussing this on the Durrington Walls tt programme?<
When I did my MSc in Marine Science, we did a whole bit about run-off, and I think that Nitrogen deposition would only be a factor in the top 15 - 25 cms of soil, and I presume back then much would be taken up by plants - especially as there were no tractors chugging around flinging it across massive fields! I'm not sure how much animal waste was around then, nor how far one would have to drill into the soil to find the historical layer you were after. I know Mike Parker-Pearson mentioned something about the Avon Valley being swept clean of archaeology by flood waters between now and then - which would obviously have an effect on the inorganic element of the soils - but I've read so much and watched a great deal, and I cannae remember the context - it might be in Britain BC by Francis Pryor......
Peace
Pilgrim
X
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baza
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Re: Henge corrals?
Dec 20, 2005, 11:27
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The Roman rabbits weren't hardy enough for our weather. Although there is a little evidence of rabbits being eaten here in Roman times, if they were 'introduced' then they didn't last long.
Normans introduced the type of rabbit we see today.
Baz
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PeterH
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Evidence and interpretation
Dec 20, 2005, 11:32
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Indulge me for a moment and forget about Avebury, Stonehenge and anything else with stones. I don't see stone circles as corrals as I said a long time ago. Consider instead, a small circular bank with one or more entrances and an internal ditch. What could that be?
Here is the evidence: A circular space surrounded by a shallow ditch and a high bank. There are three entrances, two of which are opposite one another. The area is clean with very few finds (Ishmael's point), there are no gates and no sign of continuous habitation. The entrances may or may not align with sun or moon sets and rises or with other built or landscape features. There are similar enclosures elsewhere and some are much larger.
Here is the interpretation: It is a ritual enclosure.
Here is the reality: http://www.megalithic.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=a312&file=index&do=showpic&pid=17419&orderby=dateD
If there were no written records of the Roman world, archaelogists might well have interpreted the excavated evidence as a ritual enclosure rather than as a place of public entertainment. I grant that there is an element of ritual in theatre or arena, but that is not their prime function. Challenge the established "ritual" view that betray lazy thinking. If we don't know what it is - call it "ritual" and forget it! Get the ritualists to offer evidence for ritual use.
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Moth
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Re: Henge corrals?
Dec 20, 2005, 11:56
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Aye - I nearly posted summat like that yesterday. They're the points that have always seemed crucial to me & have come up before when the possibility of henges being used as animal enclosures has been touched on.
To not need a fence as well (which does seem to make the earthwork pointless) surely the ditch would have had to have been pretty damn steep & depending on what animals were being held, pretty deep.
love
Moth
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