fitzcoraldo wrote:
"By contrast the makers of the f.f.a.s. went out of their way to choose contrasting shapes"
"Usually only one has an obvious lined socket. "
Could this not be evidence of a time gap between the pairing of the stones - a more recent stone being paired-up with an existing, socketed stone?
Yes, it has struck me that maybe 'genuine' standing stones have been co-opted."Usually only one has an obvious lined socket. "
Could this not be evidence of a time gap between the pairing of the stones - a more recent stone being paired-up with an existing, socketed stone?
"And with all the cases I have seen they do appear to be in the right place for dividing up territory."
Could this not be a definition of most field boundaries both ancient and modern?
How much of an effect did the Acts of Enclosure have on the Orcadian landscape?
cheers
Fitz
Our equivalent of the Acts of Enclosure is the division of the Commonty, which didn't take off till the agricultural improvements of the 19thC - this was a landscape of dykes and run-rig until some time after planking started in the late 18thC and owner-occupancy basically started with the Crofters Acts ["The New History of Orkney" Thomson].