Dave1982
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An early annual calendar
Oct 29, 2014, 17:11
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~ 8000 BC, Pine Post Holes at Stonehenge.
The car park pine post holes are - to date - the first known structures at the Stonehenge site.
As the purpose of the Stones is to observe the sun rise at certain times of the year, it is possible that the pine post holes had the same function by acting as fixed observation points. Natural landmarks as fixed sunrise points to locate the sunrises at different parts of the year would suffice as an initial development to enable the British nomads to judge when it was time to carry out various functions such as visiting various gathering ground to obtain the ripe food and to prepare for winter.
I visited Stonehenge at dawn, midsummer, 2014, and personally observed from the pine post holes that the sun rose over the intersection of the horizons of two low hills. Magnetic compass readings {that may have a high error margin) indicated the spring and autumn sunrises were marked by the brow of a distant hill. The midwinter sunrise was on the horizon of a low hill with no obvious natural marker but at the site of Stonehenge itself - a coincidence, or was a fixed marker first erected here leading eventually to Stonehenge ?
Some 16th century North West American native Indians - a stone age culture as per the Neolithic cultures - had posts as ‘totem’ poles that served non-practical ceremonial functions. It may be that originally they had a practical ‘clock’ function too, that enabled a simple prediction of future seasons and weather - useful to a hunter gatherer nomadic culture that followed a regular route as well as vital to a settled farming culture.
For fuller details please see section 8 of sites.google.com/site/originsofstonehenge/
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tiompan
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Re: An early annual calendar
Oct 29, 2014, 22:16
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Might be of interest fwiw .
http://www.headheritage.co.uk/headtohead/tma/topic/67422/flat/
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Dave1982
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Re: An early annual calendar
Oct 30, 2014, 17:31
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Thanks for that - I plan to try for a sunrise photo from the pine post holes at midwinter to see if there is an alignment with the Stones. There is, according to my compass bearings, but there is quite an error margin in magnetic compass bearings.
If I can get a good pic I'll try to post it on here.
I hope for a sunny spell at Xmas ! :)
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tiompan
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Re: An early annual calendar
Oct 30, 2014, 17:56
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Yes ,magnetic north is a bit off from grid and true north but the monument provides a big target from any one of the car park post sites ( approx 7 degrees of the horizon ). So any loss of accuracy with the compass is surpassed by that problem .
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Dave1982
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Re: An early annual calendar
Oct 31, 2014, 17:31
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That is encouraging, as it means that it is possible the pine post holes could be used to locate midsummer, autumn, midwinter, and spring in the annual cycle of seasons. However I will try to obtain a precise position of the sunrise in late December – weather permitting, and take photos of the positions of the sunrise and the Stones.
Thanks for the info.
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tiompan
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Re: An early annual calendar
Oct 31, 2014, 18:25
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The calc shows that from all three post holes the sun would seen to rise over the monumnent with the westernmost post hole probably being the best bet for a view of the sunrise over the centre of the monument . That is taking the height of the stones into consideration ,we don't know what was there , if anything ,in the the period when the posts were erected .
Good luck with the pic(s) I look forward to it .
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tiompan
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Re: An early annual calendar
Oct 31, 2014, 19:29
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I should have mentioned that ,due to the monument occupying 7 degrees of the horizon it means that from the westernmost post hole the sun would be seen to rise above the northern part of the monument before and after the solstice i.e. approx 3rd December and 9 th January as well as the solstice itself when it is more central .
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Dave1982
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Re: An early annual calendar
Jan 23, 2015, 17:05
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Stone age - '10,000 BC' is a program by Channel 5 about 20 modern people taken to live in a remote area as hunter gathers with equipment typical of the era of 10,000 years ago.
It is interesting to think that this era was when the Stonehenge pine posts were erected, (8000 BC) and may give clues as to what the pine posts may have been used for.
It seems that they did not do too well, and found the life harsh, with lives short and brutish ! : ) It would have been more sensible to choose hardy outdoor workers - such as farmers and soldiers - who might have been more successful.
The first episode can be watched on the 2 Feb 15 at 10.00 pm on Channel 5, with a second episode on the 3 Feb 15, again at 10.00.
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