The Infamous Rhosyfelin "Proto-Orthostat"

 

 

 The Infamous Rhosyfelin "Proto-orthostat"

White elephant, red herring and aberration

Why is it that the most famous slab of rock in the archaeological firmament at the moment is this big lump of foliated rhyolite from Rhosyfelin, not far from Brynberian in North Pembrokeshire? 

Well, part of the answer lies in the fact that the geologists have made a pretty accurate match between the foliated rhyolites in an outcropping crag at this site and some of the "rhyolitic debitage" at Stonehenge. Any sensible earth scientist would say "Fine.  Interesting research.  It's always satisfying when erratic material at one place can be matched with a provenance a long way off, no matter what the mode of transport might have been between source and resting place."  He or she would then ponder on transport mechanisms and assume that glacier ice was probably involved, since other evidence on the record suggests that the ice of the Irish Sea Glacier extended at one stage at least as far as central Somerset.........

The other part of the answer lies in the fact that certain archaeologists have "taken possession" of the Rhosyfelin site and have pontificated, in their infinite wisdom, that glacier ice cannot possibly have extended all the way from Pembrokeshire to Salisbury Plain and that there must, therefore, have been a "bluestone quarry" at Rhosyfelin.  They had decided this even before they started digging on the site in 2011 -- and when a large slabby rock was found among the rockfall debris near the degraded rock face they all shouted "Bingo!" and proceeded to tell the world that this was indeed a bluestone quarry and that the "proto-orthostat" would have been taken off to Stonehenge if cruel fate had not intervened.  And from that point on, an extremely elaborate story has been put together by Pof MPP and his colleagues....... and heavily promoted through popular articles, press releases and lectures.

All terribly exciting.  But hang on for a moment.  Let's look at this in the cold light of day.

Is there any evidence of Rhosyfelin foliated rhyolite being used as a standing stone at Stonehenge?  Er, no....... apart from some chips of rock found in the debitage during excavations. 

Is there any evidence of the Rhosyfelin rhyolite being "special" in some way,  or of it being used in megalithic contexts in Pembrokeshire?  Er, no...... 

Does the Rhosyfelin "proto-orthostat" look like any of the standing or recumbent bluestones at Stonehenge?  Er, no..... 

Is there any evidence of slabs of rock being levered off rock faces by Neolithic quarrymen anywhere else in Pembrokeshire?  Er, no..... 

Is there any indisputable evidence of quarrying activity at Rhosyfelin itself?  Er no...... but if you give us long enough we'll certainly find it......

Any archaeologist who knows southern Britain must admit, if he is honest, that the Rhosyfelin "proto-orthostat" is an aberration.  There is no other word for it.  It is nothing like the standing dolerite bluestones of the Stonehenge bluestone horseshoe, and it is nothing like the collection of smoothed and rounded stumps, slabs, blocks and boulders found in the Stonehenge bluestone circle.  The Rhosyfelin stone is sharp-edged and angular, with a remarkably fresh appearance -- as you would expect of a rock which has fallen from a nearby cliff or rock face.  The Stonehenge bluestones (or at least those that are undressed) are rounded or well-rounded and very irregular in shape -- they show signs of considerable abrasion during prolonged transport by ice.

The conclusion has to be that the Rhosyfelin "proto-orthostat" is simply a big stone in a random position, having fallen from the cliff face at some time during the Holocene.  It has no archaeological significance, either for Stonehenge or anywhere else -- unless some powerful evidence emerges to suggest otherwise.

"But wait," say the archaeologists. "We have the evidence!  Look at the way the big stone just lies there on its props and pillars, in glorious isolation, ready to be moved off down the valley."  To which I reply that when you do an excavation and strip away all the stones and soil that once surrounded the big stone, of course it sits there in isolation, resting on the stones that are beneath it.  You have created an artifice rather than revealed something significant.

"But there's more!" say the archaeologists. "We have yet more evidence, and this time it's indisputable!  Signs of Neolithic occupation and radiocarbon dates to show that this was an important Neolithic site and that quarrymen were at work here at just the right time to move stones off to Stonehenge."  That will all come rather soon in one or more papers from the digging team.  We shall see what the colour of the evidence is -- but my instinct (from what has thus far been revealed) is to respond that Rhosyfelin was a perfect site for a temporary Neolithic camp -- in the shelter of the rock, protected by trees and the steep valley sides from the wild winter winds of West Wales, and convenient for both hunting and fishing.  If there was a camp here, used over many millennia -- was it in any way unique?  How many similar camps were there in the deep valleys of Pembrokeshire, and how many might be revealed if the archaeologists were to check them out with the same level of financial investment and manpower commitment as we have seen at Rhosyfelin?  (There is always a danger (in geomorphology, geology and archaeology) of referring to a field discovery as unique or significant when it may be nothing of the sort -- it may be unique IN YOUR EXPERIENCE because you haven't yet discovered all the other sites where the same thing occurs.)

If there was a settlement site at Rhosyfelin, that's really interesting.  But I hope to goodness that the archaeologists do not use that discovery to push their ruling hypothesis that this was a QUARRYING SETTLEMENT and that those in residence during the Neolithic were intent on shipping off a rather large rhyolite stone to Stonehenge until orders came down from their site managers that work should stop, since their client had cancelled the order.