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Rock Art and Astronomical Events

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tiompan T
tiompan Sep 11, 2007 20:42:36
Replying to Paulus

Paulus wrote:
tiompan wrote:
[quote="Paulus"][quote="CianMcLiam"]One thing about about the existence of an alignment from any monument or RA site to a major astro event , is that the debate is not about whether a particular event took place with the monument on the alignment , this can be demonstrated empirically and the figures are either right or wrong , but whether there was intention on behalf of the engraver /builder to mark the event .
You can't disagree there! On the whole though, such alignments don't seem intentional. We could go along with the thoughts of Alfred Watkins, Alexander Thom, or some of the modern archaeomancers who think deliberate CnR alignments were intended, but I think they're being more hopeful for a generalised explanation with an easier ideological option, than having to relate to the obvious animistic worldview underscoring the psychologies (and thence, reasons) of those who carved these stones: a subject matter, or rather 'avenue of enquiry', which doesn't seem to be in vogue to many on TMA. (but saying that, I aint been reading much of what's gone on here for a while, so things mighta changed...)
Animism doesn't preclude marking astro events , it might be part of the belief system . I don't think that most open air RA has any archaeoastro connection but if they are there it should be recorded and considered . There are a few monuments that are accepted as having intentional astro alignments and they often have RA in or on them .

P Paulus
Paulus Sep 11, 2007 21:09:28
Replying to tiompan

tiompan wrote:
Animism doesn't preclude marking astro events , it might be part of the belief system .
Yep.

tiompan wrote:
I don't think that most open air RA has any archaeoastro connection but if they are there it should be recorded and considered . There are a few monuments that are accepted as having intentional astro alignments and they often have RA in or on them .
Very true - though there are still some folk who'd even argue the astronomy ingredients! I tend to find that it's those who don't gerrout too much. Would you agree though: caution is probably the best ingredient in this arena. Of the hundreds of CRs in Yorkshire for example, less than a handful throw out any obvious astro-ingredients. And I'd even take that figure into the notion of the designs being star-maps (though would love to be proved wrong!).