Julian Cope presents Head Heritage | The Modern Antiquarian Forum

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Edited Nov 17, 2010, 11:56

Re: Ley Lines

Nov 17, 2010, 11:55

Recently bought The Old Straight Track on eBay myself and found it a tough but rewarding read. Whether or not you believe in the whole Ley Line thing, it's a fascinating theory very well argued. Nothing New Age or mystical in Watkins' vision: he simply sought to explain how early humans made sense of a landscape still comparatively barren after the Ice Age. And while I was sceptical about his repeated assertion that in Ancient Times a favoured route would be up a steep hill rather than around it, I couldn't help but be impressed when he investigated a suspected Ley and found further unmapped monuments upon it and traces of an old path below the soil. And the way he explains the gradual disappearance of the old tracks was superbly explained: the marker stones becoming places where tradesmen would hang out waiting for travellers to come by, eventually becoming the focal points of market places, around which villages and towns would be built (he gives examples of several market places where the marker stones are still present). As the towns became established it made more sense to create new roads linking them, making the old straight tracks obsolete. This also answers the question as to why the Romans didn't build their roads on the original trackways. Very intriguing, although I still feel it's a visionary theory rather than proven fact. I'd be interested in reading a book regarding the magnetic qualities of Ley Lines, as obviously this approach must clash somewhat with Watkins' explanation. Any suggestions, anyone?

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