Stonehenge forum 180 room
Image by Chance
Stonehenge

Stonehenge is second hand

close
more_vert
tjj T
tjj Dec 9, 2015 10:00:57
Replying to nigelswift

This has been a very interesting discussion which I've dipped in and out to read. I always hesitate to comment on discussions about Stonehenge because new theories come along on what seems like an annual basis. What is completely acceptable about this one is that the bluestone quarries have been identified.

I found this quote from the Mike Pitts link (thanks Moss) quite exciting ...
"The special formation of the rock, which forms natural pillars at these outcrops, allowed the prehistoric quarry-workers to detach each megalith (standing stone) with a minimum of effort. “They only had to insert wooden wedges into the cracks between the pillars and then let the Welsh rain do the rest by swelling the wood to ease each pillar off the rock face” said Dr Josh Pollard (University of Southampton). “The quarry-workers then lowered the thin pillars onto platforms of earth and stone, a sort of ‘loading bay’ from where the huge stones could be dragged away along trackways leading out of each quarry.”

So the mystery, if there is one, is where were the bluestones for up to 500 years. I don't suppose we will ever know whether their journey towards south Wiltshire was a long and arduous one with breaks between generations of people. Perhaps there was a slave culture which was interrupted through conflict - its hard to believe there was ever a time when there actually peace among humankind.
I doubt whether it can ever be proved the stones once stood as a separate Welsh monument first but that doesn't make it impossible .... and the idea does conjure up an impressive image.

T tiompan
tiompan Dec 9, 2015 10:27:32
Replying to tjj

From that article in answer to the question “Have archaeologists found Stonehenge quarries? “ he answers “they certainly thinks so “
Not a resounding yes from a source we might expect to be supportive of the team

The archaeos seem little better than the glacial proponents when it comes to hubris and narrative creation , although they do have much more going for them and ultimately are more likely to be seen to be correct or at least the glacial proponents will have never provide the evidence to support their moribund theory whilst the petrographers will slowly make the human transport one more likely to all but the most obsessive .

There are a quite a few problems though June .
One is the 500 years , where does that fit in ?
There are various dates from the site from Mesolithic to 780 AD (no doubt beyond too but they are not relevant ) and none can provide dates from the removal of the rocks , if they were indeed removed . There is no certain date for their arrival or erection at Stonehenge either , so the 500 years is completely manufactured to fit in with one particular narrative .