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fitzcoraldo F
fitzcoraldo Dec 6, 2006 18:41:50
Replying to bawn79

bawn79 wrote:
fitzcoraldo wrote:
The idea of a monument surrounded by woodland with avenues cut through the trees would undoubtably increase the visual (and perhaps the accoustic) impact the monument could have on it's visitors and heighten the theatricallity of any rituals perfomed.
The selective removal of trees could be used to create avenues of approach and control access to a monument. The same method could also be used to emphasise or restrict certain viewpoints.
I think the avenue idea sounds brilllant it would be very impressive. However the logistics involved in doing this work for a smaller site probably wouldnt make sense.
Plus back in the Neolithic surely the country (Ireland or Britain) must have been swarming with forest.
It's just a thought, I've no proof to offer.
Deforestation was well under way in the Neolithic.
It could also be a possiblity that these sites started as forest clearings. We know that areas of forest that are cleared are good places to hunt game and also encourge the growth of useful trees such as hazel.
As for the logistics. If them fellas could create the stone monuments then I'm sure ring-barking a bunch of trees wouldn't present too much of a problem.
I guess the circles may be just the ruined remains of what could have been much greater monuments after all the most readily available material of the day was timber.

F FourWinds
FourWinds Dec 6, 2006 20:46:11
Replying to fitzcoraldo

I'm with you on this one fitz. I've long been considering the possibility of avenues cut through forests radiating from monuments.

It's easy to forget that in order to see a distant peak you don't have to cut an avenue right the way to its base. Depending on the height of the trees you would probably only have to go a couple of hundred yards at the most. If done in such a way it could make any peak appear to sit on top of the trees at the end of the avenue, thus bringing the peak nearer.

The rate at which communities such as those at the Ceide Fields must have used wood would easily take care of a few avenues of trees a couple of hundred yards long. IIt's also important to remember that not every monument was in use at the same time.

Perhaps the cursus-type monuments were constructed to mark where these tree-cut avenues once stood, but no longer existed after further deforestation.