Re: Stone Not Circle | Forum — The Modern Antiquarian

The Nine Stones of Winterbourne Abbas 8

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Stone Not Circle

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nix Nov 13, 2013 09:37:03

Replying to tjj

Well it is nice to hear about Margaret
She always seemed the perfect combination of mathematician and mythologer.

But are the true circles really true? Don't if Avebury is one of these - but it seems very wobbly!

tiompan Nov 13, 2013 09:58:33

Replying to nix

nix wrote:

Well it is nice to hear about Margaret
She always seemed the perfect combination of mathematician and mythologer.

But are the true circles really true? Don't if Avebury is one of these - but it seems very wobbly!

Avebury is one of the most uncircular , it has long straight lines e.g. stones 9-24 is over 150 m ,50-58 nearly a 100m ,62-68 is 45m all straight sections

Sanctuary Nov 13, 2013 11:06:45

Replying to nix

nix wrote:

Well it is nice to hear about Margaret
She always seemed the perfect combination of mathematician and mythologer.

But are the true circles really true? Don't if Avebury is one of these - but it seems very wobbly!

A lot of the oldest circles (well those where I live anyway alongside Bodmin Moor), seemed to have been marked out like more of a demarcation exercise rather than a perfect circle. Liken it to kids marking out an area to play footy in. It's just an area that they 'did' something in rather than a precise space. I wonder if the later smaller circles which were on the whole perfectly circular were more in the way of being a representation of what they did in the 'old days' when an important function was once carried out in them but now used more in the way of celebrating a past belief. Just a thought.

tjj Nov 13, 2013 22:12:49

Replying to nix

nix wrote:

Well it is nice to hear about Margaret
She always seemed the perfect combination of mathematician and mythologer.

But are the true circles really true? Don't if Avebury is one of these - but it seems very wobbly!

So many 'circles' are an enigma - Castlerigg for example seems to include a small rectangular enclosure.
Regarding Margaret Curtis, I didn't see her as a mythologer although she did speak in depth about the Sleeping Beauty range of mountains in relation to Callanish. I bought the book 'Mother of the Isles' by Jill Smith while I was there which is the rich mythology of Lewis and the Western Isles - very well worth reading though obviously 'feminine' in theme.