Thanks to Neil Wiseman for this 2017 pic of him standing next to bluestone 33 (one of the spotted dolerite pillars) (I think we can call this one a pillar!) in the bluestone circle at Stonehenge. This is a rather interesting stone -- one of those claimed (somewhat foolishly) by Mike Parker Pearson as having come from his famous Carngoedog "quarry". It has a rather battered surface, and is one of around ten bluestones that have been shaped or tooled in some way.
The six or seven bluestone which have the most obvious traces of shaping are in the bluestone oval or horseshoe. The "worked" stones most often cited in the literature are lintels 36 and 150, stones 67 and 70 (uprights with tenons) and the tongue and groove "pair" (stones 66 and 68).
Autumnal Equinox 2017
ReplyDeleteGreat shot of a devilishly handsome, swiftly aging American. (64 tomorrow!)
Many thanks to Jon Morris for the capture, taken only minutes after encountering Stonehenge for the first time, notwithstanding writing about it for many years.
Joined by old friend Simon Banton, we three combed through various lesser known, more important nooks and crannies. An exciting and enlightening four hours.
__________________________
Brian, I count 17 inner and outer Bluestones that are shaped from an original pillar. Granted, though four of these are questionable as possibly natural, 8 or 10 is (in my opinion) a low estimate.
My candidates are: 33, 34, 36, 37, 39(?), 41(?), 61, 62, 63, 65(?), 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 150.
Neil
I think I might disagree with your estimate, Neil. Come along now -- some of those you have listed are boulders, and not pillars. Yes, many of the stones have traces of bashing and of course the amount of debitage is indicative of the amount of work that went on at Stonehenge by fellows wielding hammer stones. Some of them might support the quarrying hypothesis in that they are elongated pillars, but they still do not have the sharp edges that you would expect of quarried blocks taken from the living rock.
ReplyDeleteI think bluestone 33 rather suits you, Neil. A chip off the old block?
ReplyDelete