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Thursday 17 March 2011

Snowmen at Stonehenge



Now here's a funny thing.  I was talking to a friend the other day, and he said he had been talking to a female friend of his about certain Stonehenge matters.   She is one of those people who "knows things" that other people don't know.  The talk drifted to the moving and erection of the stones (particularly the sarsens) and she said she knew exactly how how the sarsens had been moved and put up, and how the lintels had been put in place.  She said it was all winter activity, when there were no crops to be cultivated and when there was plenty of labour about.  She said she could "see"all of this, while in a state of heightened consciousness.   The stones were simply slid along on the ice and frozen snow, and slid into previously prepared holes.  They didn't bother with timber, but when a lintel had to be lifted into place they simply built a snow ramp, slid the stone up it and put it in position.  Then next spring the snow ramp would simply melt away, leaving no trace of the engineering operation behind.

Well, that all sounds very jolly, until you actually start to think about the practicalities......

But it's a nice idea, which comes a bit closer to the glacial theory than some of the other ideas doing the rounds!

8 comments:

Constantinos Ragazas said...

Brian,

… looks like my 'smart ice theory' is gaining popularity, of sorts! Of course, my theory is able to answer all the facts on the ground, not just a couple!

Does this “female” also appear in your novels?

Kostas

BRIAN JOHN said...

No no -- my friend assures me that she's real.......

Anonymous said...

Clearly a case of female intuition - you know she's right!

Anonymous said...

Or was the female friend a friend of Neil Oliver, who also likes Stonehenge in the Snow? (as in his recent epic BBC Series) Walking in a Winter Wonderland. Let it snow, let it snow, let it.....

Anonymous said...

http://www.archive.org/stream/wiltshirearchaeo33arch#page/n19/mode/2up

page 8 mentions Judd claiming glacial drift.

PeteG

BRIAN JOHN said...

SHE knows she's right -- that is, as I have discovered over the years, a female prerogative. As for me, I prefer to keep my options open.....

Constantinos Ragazas said...

Brian,

It's inappropriate to be talking about “her” behind her back! Even if it should be anonymous, which is a problem as well!

Kostas

BRIAN JOHN said...

OK -- I hereby retire from this discussion. We are straying into dangerous political correctness territory!!