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Re: For Ceremonial purposes?

Aug 16, 2013, 08:20

jonmor wrote:

"Just a question to generate discussion. What makes a stone circle or circles ceremonial? Where is the proven evidence for this?"

There is no evidence. If a reasonable assumption is stated often enough, it becomes established as fact.

And there lies the problem, it becoming established as fact when in fact it could be way off the mark and gives Joe Public (who maybe has no particular interest in prehistory just visiting the site on a day out with the family) the wrong impression. He reads in a book or on the net also that the Hurlers are ceremonial circles (confirmed by EH) and passes that on to his kids who themselves pass it on.
LS mentioned feasting as part of a ceremonial event and I agree that is most likely, but again, could be open to question on occasion. An example:-
Genuine feasting takes place and the remaining bones/carcases tossed into a pit/ditch to be discovered 4,000 years later. It is always seen as feasting and in this case correct. But what of the family who eat meat every day and do the same thing by tossing the bones etc into a pit/ditch. After a year or two those bones add up until reaching feasting proportions but aren't. Now, unless dating has moved on so much that those individual meals can be shown to have been deposited over the course of a year or two instead of on one major occasion, it becomes ceremonial feasting which would be incorrect!
Just my thoughts which could be as far off the mark as some others because we simply don't know with certainty.
The bottom line is that the claim IMO should be changed to POSSIBLY for ceremonial purposes.

In reply to:
Re: For Ceremonial purposes? (jonmor)

Replies:
Re: For Ceremonial purposes? (nigelswift)
Re: For Ceremonial purposes? (Evergreen Dazed)

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