as opposed to now.
if enough people believe something then anything is possible- communism, panama canal, cathederal, Avebury, St pancras station etc. ethedra could have played a role in focussing the physical might of a group, oxen and ice could have helped as well. But thats another tangent, i was just interested to see what Julian Cope was going to write about ethedra and see if it bore any relation to my idea