nigelswift wrote:
Hello
Gosh. An age (non-Stone) it’s been. All ways around, having come fifth after venturing forth. Long have I travelled, fuelled by knowledge and ignorance (in varying ratios).
Anyway, yes: it was I that drew (painted) the map, complete with its contrary contour colouration, for it to be inverted by (?)Steve(?) who went to Cyprus, I think. I’m grateful to Goffik for sending it to me in an email several years ago, and from which I was able to post it on my Facebook page last night. And thanks to Mike for flagging this thread up.
The “first route“ of Atkinson - from Avebury via the Devizes road and Bishops Cannings - always struck me as suspect. An unnecessary dogleg, and little worth. This was proved (to my satisfaction, anyway) by the combined efforts of green-teed lovelies and camp followers, for the Foamhenge prog back in 2005.
Atkinson’s route, and the more-or-less-straightline (echoing to the stunted squawks of attendant corvids) via Marden in the Vale Of Pewsey) both required a heave up Redhorn Hill (https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osmaps/51.302555431303546,-1.9180774097310689,12/pin) - which I believe is the same angle of slope that we rowed a concrete block up for the afore-mentioned Foamhenge programme). I did wonder if the sarsen in the river at Marden was a sign of failure on that route.
There has - to my knowledge - always been a potential for these stones not to have come from the Grey Wethers/Fyfield Down area, but rather to have come from the Lockeridge/West Wood ‘stash’. I’ve seen it mentioned in several articles over the timespan if my intrigue with prehistory. To have it confirmed is a good thing. I was always wondering why no one had done some kind of equivalent analysis of the sarsen to see where it came from.
You may see from my map that I postulate that “the third route“ (the easternmost of the three) goes quite quickly southward - coming over the hill and into the valley at Huish (or thereabouts), and following the course of the Avon southwards. I put the route thus, because I was trying to figure out a “least effort” scenario that maybe utilised the Avon as an aid (or at least the valley as a flatter track) and would lend some additional meaning - as a reception point and delivery route for these sarsens - to the role of the Avenue that ran between Stonehenge and the Avon’s West Bank.
Anyway, thanks again.
Love, Light, and Peace
Pilgrim
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