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Littlestone L
Littlestone Jan 3, 2007 22:44:55
Replying to Pete G

the Atkinson quote comes from an interview with american journalist Alexander Kendricks who asked Atkinson
"Who built Stonehenge professor?"
Atkinson replied
"You have to remember these people are what I would call howling barbarians, they were practically savages."
That being the case the remark shows Atkinson to be unprofessional, biased and bigoted - that's bad, but the real issue is why he should have felt that way and what affect those facets of his personality had on his study of Stonehenge and Avebury?

P Pete G
Pete G Jan 3, 2007 23:44:08
Replying to Littlestone

why don't you ask Dennis over on the eternalidol blog?
I know he doesn't post here.

N nigelswift
nigelswift Jan 4, 2007 11:17:21
Replying to Littlestone

He certainly seems to have had "issues". See this, from 1955 -
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,865219-1,00.html

"Perhaps, speculates Atkinson, some Minoan came in person. To the barbarians of Salisbury Plain he must have seemed like a derm-god, full of wisdom and technical skill. If this traveler from civilization was the actual architect of Stone henge III, Atkinson thinks that his glorious name may have come down through history as the magician Merlin of King Arthurs court, to whom ancient British legend ascribes the building of Stonehenge."

Peculiar. Was he an ultra-snob, believing Mediterranean Classical Civilisation as taught in public schools and Oxbridge was all that counted for anything?

Did he suppress evidence of merit in British Prehistory in case the Oiks got above themselves?!!!