How much do we know about Stonehenge? Less than we think. And what has Stonehenge got to do with the Ice Age? More than we might think. This blog is mostly devoted to the problems of where the Stonehenge bluestones came from, and how they got from their source areas to the monument. Now and then I will muse on related Stonehenge topics which have an Ice Age dimension...
NEXT YEAR do a lecture on myths and science at the annual Megalithomania Conference, Glastonbury. This May scientist Terence Meaden is doing a very interesting talk based on his book about the Greek explorer Pytheas.
Thanks for that, Tony. I remember Terence Meaden now. He is the guy who proposed the idea of a phallic shadow cast from Stonehenge's Heel Stone. My concern is that too many people these days flaunt their qualifications and call themselves scientists to impose their personal hypotheses upon us.
As regards Stonehenge, Terence is now saying that Stone 67 (now lying partly buried in the ground) was deliberately shaped to resemble a penis. At its far end is its bulbous tip (its probable glans). According to him, below its bulbous end, the shaft of the phallus appears to have been deliberately ' slimmed down to make it less bulbous than the glans. The stone to the right is the fallen lintel from the Great Trilithon. [on this Blog we have during 2025 discussed the Altar Stone and Great Trilithon a good deal].
Tom, I remember Terence long before he became well known in relation to prehistoric archaeology. When the phenomenon of corn circles, particularly in Wiltshire, started to be reported in the early 1980s, he proposed as a physicist and meteorologist that they were created naturally when certain meteorological conditions occurred in the lower atmosphere (he has worked on tornado research).
Brian, now shared your Newport Talk on Facebook to the sites of Mike Pitts, Francis Pryor and well known Stonehenge environmental archaeologist Dr Mike Allen so they may each arrive by parachute or coracle just in time, hope they all give generously to your chosen charity, The Would - Be Indiana Jones Trust.
Terence Meaden's archaeological research has been influenced by that of Lithuanian archaeologist Marija Gimbutas involving Goddess worshipping Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of 'Old Europe'.
Well, I am prepared to consider it all when I have time to properly do so. I have no objection to thinking about anthropological points of view, having studied anthropology (briefly it's true) at university whilst geography was my main Honours subject.Lithuania has produced benefits in other ways too, as Brian and his wife know I believe?
Just spotted this in the Trowbridge Wiltshire Library: William Potter " Unexplained Mysteries of the Ancient World", 2025. On Stonehenge it at least says "One theory has it that the Altar Stone and the Bluestones began their journeys towards Stonehenge far earlier, carried along by glaciers some 400,000 years ago"
The self - professed fan of Indiana Jones, Professor Parker Pearson, needs to watch " Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" Prophetic for your antics on Preseli??
The lecture hasn't been yet -- it's this evening. One never knows who is in the audience -- normally I find that there are a few spies who report back to HQ............. Sometimes they ask interesting questions.
NEXT YEAR do a lecture on myths and science at the annual Megalithomania Conference, Glastonbury. This May scientist Terence Meaden is doing a very interesting talk based on his book about the Greek explorer Pytheas.
ReplyDeleteSince when did Terence Meaden become a scientist, Tony?
ReplyDeleteTerence was when younger an eminent physicist and meteorologist. Look online, Tom.
ReplyDeleteIt so happens Terence ( who lives in nearby Bradford-on-Avon) is 90 today.
DeleteThanks for that, Tony. I remember Terence Meaden now. He is the guy who proposed the idea of a phallic shadow cast from Stonehenge's Heel Stone. My concern is that too many people these days flaunt their qualifications and call themselves scientists to impose their personal hypotheses upon us.
ReplyDeleteAs regards Stonehenge, Terence is now saying that Stone 67 (now lying partly buried in the ground) was deliberately shaped to resemble a penis. At its far end is its bulbous tip (its probable glans). According to him, below its bulbous end, the shaft of the phallus appears to have been deliberately ' slimmed down to make it less bulbous than the glans. The stone to the right is the fallen lintel from the Great Trilithon. [on this Blog we have during 2025 discussed the Altar Stone and Great Trilithon a good deal].
DeleteTom, haven't you, too, flaunted your qualifications e.g, when selling your book in the Avebury car park?
DeleteTom, I remember Terence long before he became well known in relation to prehistoric archaeology. When the phenomenon of corn circles, particularly in Wiltshire, started to be reported in the early 1980s, he proposed as a physicist and meteorologist that they were created naturally when certain meteorological conditions occurred in the lower atmosphere (he has worked on tornado research).
ReplyDeletea.k.a. CROP CIRCLES
DeleteBrian, now shared your Newport Talk on Facebook to the sites of Mike Pitts, Francis Pryor and well known Stonehenge environmental archaeologist Dr Mike Allen so they may each arrive by parachute or coracle just in time, hope they all give generously to your chosen charity, The Would - Be Indiana Jones Trust.
ReplyDeleteTerence Meaden's archaeological research has been influenced by that of Lithuanian archaeologist Marija Gimbutas involving Goddess worshipping Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of 'Old Europe'.
ReplyDeleteTony. Sorry, but I don't believe a word of it.
ReplyDeleteWell, I am prepared to consider it all when I have time to properly do so. I have no objection to thinking about anthropological points of view, having studied anthropology (briefly it's true) at university whilst geography was my main Honours subject.Lithuania has produced benefits in other ways too, as Brian and his wife know I believe?
DeleteCorrection: Brian's link is I think with Latvia, not with Lithuania.
ReplyDeleteNo -- it was Lithuania. My wife has a nice new right knee installed in Kaunas.
ReplyDeleteJust spotted this in the Trowbridge Wiltshire Library: William Potter " Unexplained Mysteries of the Ancient World", 2025. On Stonehenge it at least says "One theory has it that the Altar Stone and the Bluestones began their journeys towards Stonehenge far earlier, carried along by glaciers some 400,000 years ago"
ReplyDeleteThe self - professed fan of Indiana Jones, Professor Parker Pearson, needs to watch " Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" Prophetic for your antics on Preseli??
ReplyDeleteTrust the Talk went well and MPP sat quietly, subdued and disguised.
ReplyDeleteThe lecture hasn't been yet -- it's this evening. One never knows who is in the audience -- normally I find that there are a few spies who report back to HQ............. Sometimes they ask interesting questions.
ReplyDelete