This impressive historical atlas of Pembrokeshire has just been published as the culmination of the 5-volume official county history. Edited by Prof DavidHowell, it contains 82 "topics" with maps and other illustrations on odd pages and explanatory texts on the facing (even) pages. It's a large format book (28 cms x 28 cms) and runs to 205 pp. References and notes are all gathered together at the end of the book. The cover price is £30, and it's available via the Pembrokeshire County History Trust.
I was asked to provide the maps and text for Part Two of the book, on the physical setting. More of that anon.
Topic 12, on Bronze Age Pembrokeshire (2500 - 800 BC) is by Tim Darvill. There is a brief mention of Stonehenge and the "quarries" of Carn Menyn, Carn Goedog and Rhosyfelin -- and it's interesting that he considers them to be Bronze Age features rather then Neolithic ones. Not at all sure how he squares that with the radiocarbon and other evidence from Stonehenge. He also drops into the mix the idea that eastern Preseli was a significant or special area across several millennia -- and shows a number of features on Map 12C purporting to be Bronze Age "ceremonial centres". Sadly, he does not tell us what a ceremonial centre is or was, and the precise locations are not named. Does a supposed Neolithic quarry count as a "ceremonial centre"? Special pleading and ruling hypotheses come to mind.........
Darvill speculates as to why "more than 80 blocks of stone were carried from Mynydd Preseli to Salisbury Plain". There is nothing new here -- and in the grand tradition of senior archaeologists thinking, talking and writing about bluestones, he fails to mention that there is a dispute going on, fails to cite inconvenient research findings, and fails to give any mention at all of the glacial transport hypothesis.
It's a pity that a splendid volume like this should be marred by slapdash academic writing on some of its pages.
Darvill, you say, speculates as to why "more than 80 blocks of stone were carried from Mynydd Preseli to Salisbury Plain".
ReplyDeleteHe needs to acknowledge that the stones could WELL have been carried by INANIMATE sources i.e. glaciation. This possibility needs to dawn on him!
"You know there's something that's goin' on around here,
that surely won't stand the light of day.
And it appears to be a long,appears to be a long
Time, such a long,long time before the dawn.
Speak out, you got to speak your mind"
.................................
"It's been a long time comin'
It's goin' to be a LONG TIME GONE."
DAVID CROSBY, MAY 1969 LONG TIME GONE
I suspect he's fully aware of how dodgy the quarrying and human transport scenarios actually are. He knows all about this blog and he knows all about the articles published on Researchgate. He's just stuck in s state of denial like MPP and his jolly gang.
ReplyDeleteMonsieur Darvill curates some kind of overall information site which lists all pieces of research that have been, or still are, relevant to matters Stonehenge (including the Bluestones issues). It is online.
ReplyDeleteIf he possesses any true integrity then he will now add recent pieces of research which are contra - indicative to the claims of certain archaeologists that there are significant prehistoric quarries in Preseli, i.e. Brian and his academic associates' peer - reviewed Papers which maintain that the so - called "quarries" may be explained as being formed by natural landform processes. I throw down that challenge to the Bournemouth Professor: break out of your MPP bubble!