Re: despite all the amputations | Forum

fitzcoraldo Mar 25, 2006 18:20:32

Replying to The Eternal

I like the idea of desecrating a site by placing a stone wall through it but then not having the bottle to completely destroy it for fear of what may happen. I reckon that good old christian superstition has probably saved many a site from total destruction.
I take your point about the siting of rock art too. It makes me wonder if those large carved boulders could have also been territorial markers. Which leads onto the question of prehistoric boundaries. If we suppose that monuments (and large, visible rocks with carvings upon them) were sited in the 'liminal zone' i.e. the edges of a territory, and just suppose that the monuments were places seen as neutral ground, then the prehistoric boundary could quite easily bisect the monument as it could be seen as belonging to the peoples of either boundary. Could the modern walls that have been erected upon these monuments then be seen as a sort of fossilisation of a prehistoric boundary? and therefore continuity of use?
or maybe I'm just a daft get with a little too much time on my hands?

tiompan Mar 25, 2006 18:50:32

Replying to fitzcoraldo

I reckon there are different categoriesof RA and the big boulder seen from a long way off and marked with simple cups is one of the categories .

The Eternal Mar 25, 2006 23:52:00

Replying to fitzcoraldo

Fitz,
>I like the idea of desecrating a site by placing a stone wall through it but then not having the bottle to completely destroy it for fear of what may happen. I reckon that good old christian superstition has probably saved many a site from total destruction.

You could be right there. The stone walls usually date back a century or two. They were a tad strange about their religious beliefs back then, so perhaps they were scared about desecrating a Pagan site, if only for fear of dark forces.
Also, maybe the ancient boundaries, marked by the circles, held for longer than we thought in these remote northern parts. Let's face it, generally the Cumbrian circles are far less visited (with the exception of Castlerigg) than their southern counterparts, and also perhaps less vandalised (in the broadest context).
Regards,
TE.