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Megalithomania Conference 17th - 18th May 2008, Glastonbury"All this excitement about a collection of battered old rocks and mounds of earth must be puzzling to those who have yet had no direct experience of Megalithomania" John Michell , Megalithomania! 1982 Stone circles, dolmens, burial chambers and unusually designed megalithic sites are not limited to the landscape of Britain. A sophisticated understanding of megalithic construction techniques were in use across the whole planet in Neolithic and Bronze Age times. Local sites near Glastonbury are the starting point for this year's Megalithomania conference, but distinguished researchers and authors from all over the world will be discussing their cutting-edge research into ancient civilisations and megalithic sites. From the jungles of Peru, to the temples of the South Pacific and from the mountains of New Zealand to the stones of Brittany, Megalithomania has gone global! Glastonbury's MEGALITHOMANIA Conference is now in it's third year and is taking place in the Assembly Rooms in Glastonbury on 17th & 18th May 2008. On the Friday (16th) before the event, local sites Stanton Drew and Stoney Littleton will be visited on a guided tour with local author Gordon Strong and archaeo-botanist Gordon Hillman, co-star of the Ray Mears Wild Food TV show on BBC2. On the following Monday, a private tour to Stonehenge will be led by David Furlong and John Michell (tbc). The keynote speaker for the event is David Hatcher Childress, well known for his groundbreaking research into ancient civilisations. He will be discussing his travels in South America and the Pacific. Geomancer Hamish Miller will be presenting his research on The Stone People of New Zealand and Nicholas Mann & Philippa Glasson will be presenting their breakthroughs on the astro-archaeological alignments of Avalon and how the ancients understood precession of the equinoxes. Other speakers include Tom Graves, who will be re-launching his classic work Needles of Stone, David Furlong will be walking in the footsteps of the 'dod-man' and examine how the megalith builders surveyed, measured and studied the landscape. Special guests from Holland and America, Reinoud Du Jonge & Jay Wakefield have followed clues of a Neolithic maritime civilisation who left maps encoded within rock-art around the world. Author of Europe's Lost Civilisation Peter Marshall, who travelled over 4,000 miles of Europe's megalithic coastlines, will be pinpointing his favourite stories from his epic journey. See the website and posters for the full line-up. There will be a Megalithic art gallery during the event curated by Antiquarian artist Kate Masters, including original paintings, photography and 3D pieces. There will be an exclusive preview of the new Standing with Stones film with producer Michael Bott; plus there will be several book launches and signings from some of the authors speaking at the event. MEGALITHOMANIA is organised by Hugh Newman, Gareth Mills and John Martineau, who in late 2005 realised that the megaliths were not really being looked at by conferences in Britain. With a passion for visiting ancient sites and reading many books on the subject, the three of them dedicated themselves to organising the ultimate conference on megaliths. Leaving no stone unturned, Megalithomania was created to shine a new light on the megalithic sciences and maintain a multidisciplinary forum to help unlock these mysteries. On the Sunday evening at the conference, a speakers forum will be joined by the earth mysteries pioneer and inspiration for the conferences name, John Michell, who published his classic Megalithomania Book in 1982. The status quo does not immediately support new or radical theories, but a conference like this allows all angles of research to be explored. For example, in the early part of the last century, archaeoastronomy was fumbling to find its feet, but now it is now established that our ancestors were keen astronomers. Earth energy, once thought of as part of the dowsers' overactive imagination, has recently been scientifically verified, documented and used by big business to improve seed production and fertility of crops. The study of sound at sacred sites, archaeoacoustics, is also becoming accepted in some pockets of academia with repeatable scientific study. Although the old stones can seem like a stuffy and boring subject, the mysteries of our ancient relatives still retain their mystique. As we have seen, modern technology is verifying 'radical' theories and helping unlock some of the secrets of the megaliths. There is a new breed of Megalithomaniac, who don't just want to measure, dig and record what they find. The subtleties of musical harmony, earth energies and altered states of consciousness are now being examined with an open mind, yet from a scientific perspective. We should not hark back to the ancient way of life and pretend it was a 'golden age', but reopen the book of the past with reverence, respect and the knowledge that the builders of the megaliths were not savages, but possessed the same level of intelligence and compassion as we do today. The conference takes place at the Assembly Rooms in Glastonbury on 17th & 18th May 2008. Field trips to Stanton Drew, Stoney Littleton, Stonehenge and Avebury will take place on the Friday and Monday. Tickets are £68 for the first 50 sold, then £80. Field trips are not included in the price. Call 01458 831800 for tickets or visit http://www.megalithomania.co.uk http://www.myspace.com/megalithomania |
Posted by Megalithomania10th April 2008ce |
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