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GLADMAN

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Re: For Ceremonial purposes?

Aug 19, 2013, 22:30

My favoured theory of the origination of 'stone circles' is that put forward by George Meaden some years back. Although to be fair I've never heard of it since, or seen the book again.

Basically the guy hypothesised that the first rings were timber demarcations of the perimeters of crop 'circles' caused by natural spiral vortexes, the farmers presumably attempting to capture the 'magic imprint' of visiting invisible earth spirits within their fields. I've seen these vortexes in action myself, sending chaff spiralling into the air, although sadly never actually flattening crop. I understand oval / egg-shaped rings formed by such vortexes are relatively common, the result of the centre of gravity shifting slightly before dissipation.... the erection of wooden 'markers' around the circumference, later replaced with stone, provides a much more plausible explanation - for me - for the existance of many non circular rings than Thom's trigonometry theory. After all a perfect circle is easy to achieve, just a stake and a rope, but an oval or egg a lot harder... unless Nature had already provided the outline to trace.

Obviously not suggesting all, or even the majority of circles were the result of vortexes; but once such enclosures became associated with the spiritual word people might have seen fit to erect their own to maybe attract spirits to their land or symbolise somewhere 'sacred', somewhere outside the realm of every day existance. Perhaps.

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For Ceremonial purposes? (Sanctuary)

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Re: For Ceremonial purposes? (tiompan)

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