|
The
Specific Selection of Stone in Prehistory:
(Article: By A.
Whitaker. 2011)
�nearly all
stones in a circle are local and seldom came from more than a mile
or two away�(2)
The above quote
by Aubrey Burl leaves the reader with the impression that the
Neolithic builders constructed their circles and monuments in a
primitive fashion, simply using whatever was most easily at
hand. However, his proposition of the Neolithic mind couldn't be
further from the truth as the following examples demonstrate.
While it is apparent that
the megalithic builders showed a preference for certain stone types,
the reason for this has yet to be explained satisfactorily. The
extra distance and effort required to employ specific stones in
ancient structures offers us with a clue as to the possible
motivation of the builders.
At Vale de Rodruigo, in southern
Portugal, geological analysis were carried
out at the stones used in four megalithic graves. The results were
surprising as the stones had been brought to the site from different
locations of up to 10km distance. Geological research suggests that this
choice was probably predominantly motivated by functional and practical
reasons. As different rocks had different appearances and physical
characteristics it is suggested that they were chosen according to a
pre-conceived design. In addition, the locations of the sites of origin
of the different material represents main celestial directions from the
megaliths. This makes it likely that the monuments also represent
certain symbolic values associated with the landscape and certain
cosmologies. (10)
It is reasonable to assume that in
certain cases specific stones were selected for their 'Aesthetic' value,
such as colour, reflectivity or rarity. However, there are noticeably
few examples of European megaliths where granite can be seen to have
been used for its structural qualities.
In ancient Egypt, the pyramid and temple builders went
to great lengths to include granite in their sacred buildings,
transporting it hundreds of miles in preference to the more readily
available limestone. At Giza, we can see that granite was used for
the lower levels of exterior casing blocks on both Menkaure and
Khafre's pyramids, whilst in the Great pyramid of Khufu, it is found
only on internal features (plugs, girdle-stones, antechamber portal
stones, kings chamber). The selection of features for which granite
was chosen reveals something interesting: namely, that it was not
just used structurally. So, at the same time as recognising that
granite is a stronger stone, there are other reasons why
granite was selected for use in sacred structures. This supposition
is supported by evidence from other megalithic structures, for
example:
Stone Selection at the
Boyne Valley. At the
Boyne-Valley complex in
Ireland, the stone
material used in the major passage mounds of
Newgrange and
Knowth come from several sources, two of
which are approximately 40km south and 35km North east of the monuments
(Cooney. Antiquity. 2000: 135-8) in these cases, megaliths became "a
transported landscape in which structural elements were extracted,
carried and re-assembled to link together physically places that had
been distant" (Cooney. Antiquity. 2000: 136)
The pebbles used in the Newgrange cairn were
derived from a local source, the lower river terrace immediately
north of the Boyne, about 750m south of the cairn. Orthostats from
the passage, the chamber, the roof corbels and all the kerbstones
(except 4 of sandstone) are all greywacke stone derived from an area
3- 5 km north and east of Newgrange where the rock naturally
outcrops. Further
quantities are thought to have been collected from the coastal
cliffs at Clogher Head, 10 km north of the mouth of the river Boyne.
Gaps in the Newgrange passage roof were packed with burnt soil mixed
with sea sand brought from the mouth of the Boyne, 20 km downstream.
Five types of cobbles collected from non-local sources were used to
embellish the facades and entrance areas of both Newgrange and
Knowth, inclusive of rounded granodiorite cobbles from the Mourne
Mountains, 50 km to the north; banded siltsone cobbles and gabbro
cobbles originally from the Carlingford mountains which are thought
to have been collected from the shoreline of Dundalk Bay, a similar
distance from Newgrange. The mysterious granite basins found within
the chamber recesses are thought to have also come from the Mourne
Mountains
Although it is certain from old images of the site that the
reconstruction was 'fanciful', they were unarguably originally part
of the structure. The
same white quartz stones were found in front of both Knowth and
Dowth where they are being considered as having originally been a 'white
aprons' on the floors of the entrances to the mounds. The 'function' or reason for placing so many white-quartz rocks at
the front of Newgrange (regardless of their original position),
can only be speculated upon today. Reynolds
(13)
suggested the following:
'Archaeologists have only recently recognised
quartz as a significant part of prehistoric stone technologies in
Ireland and Britain. As a raw material, quartz is superabundant in
areas of Ireland and Britain and was utilised extensively in
prehistory. However, research biases have obscured a fuller
understanding of it'. (12)
In her paper, she considers the case of
quartz rocks as animistic agents. Quartz is frequently
associated with animists. For example, the Amazonian Tukano Indians
consider quartz to be "living" or a "live rock," with special or
healing properties. She drew upon recent discussions on the possible
roles of quartz at Newgrange Site 1, Ireland, within the Neolithic
around 3000 cal. B.C. Although Newgrange has traditionally been
depicted as a place for the dead, she considers whether Neolithic
people conceived of quartz as having a "life-force".
(More
about the Boyne Valley Complex)
The specific use of white quartz is
repeated at several other European megalithic sites such as:
The two immense white-quartz 15-ton
portal-stones at
Castelruddery (Above), also in
Ireland at which the prominent placement of such large, white stones
at the entrance of the Henge gives them the site the
appearance of a giant 'Celtic Torque'. Quartz portals were
also used at
Castlerigg W.
Boscawen-Un, in England is a
granite circle of 19 stones, and was suggested by W. Stuckley as
having been one of the first circles in UK. (The 19 stones being
suggestive of the 18.6yr lunar cycle). Although the whole circle
is composed of granite stones, there is a single white quartz stone
at the S/SW of side the circle (aligning the centre with the
May-day sunrise).
At
Balquhain stone circle (and
Bannau-Sir-Gaer), in Scotland the builders chose white granite
for the outlying stones.
At
Glenquickan, also in Scotland,
a white granite obelisk was placed in the centre of the circle. A
central quartz menhir was also used at Maulatanvally
At the
Hurlers triple circle, the centre
of the circle was coated with a bed of quartz crystals, while at the
three
Thornborough henges in
Yorkshire, the banks of the henges were coated in brilliant white
gypsum.
The perfectly flat 53-ton recumbent at
Old-Keig, Sotland, which was
quarried several miles from the site, and was positioned so that it
captured the moons major setting points on the horizon.
Studies of the composition of the chambered tombs
of the Cotswold-Severn group has found that they were constructed
from specifically selected materials.
(3)
The Qualities of Crystal.
All of the above
examples highlight the fact that granite (or perhaps crystal), was
considered to have special qualities other than just strength.
Records show numerous examples of crystals and quartz being placed
alongside funerary remains (a feature that can be traced back to
Palaeolithic times), a fact that raises the question of whether or
not the megalithic builders were were aware of the other physical
properties of crystal.
The Excavation of
the Aztec 'Templo Mayor' site in Mexico, produced a funerary
casket, from the inner-most layers of the pyramid, beneath a
Chac-mool statue, 'thought to represent the god Quetzalcoatl'.
Within the casket were found several crystal artefacts which
included; Several crystal cylinders, thought to represent the 'feathered
tail of Quetzalcoatl'. Crystal Lip-plugs, crystal ear-spools and
a row of thirteen crystal beads 'thought to have been part of a
necklace'.
(11).
It is a curious
fact that when a crystal is placed under pressure it produces
electricity. Experiments by Marcel Vogel, a research chemist for IBM
over 27 years, suggest that water can act as an electrolyte and pick
up charge from a crystal with which it comes into contact.
Measurements by spectrophotometer, an instrument for comparing light
radiation, show changes in the 'atomic footprint' of water before
and after exposure in this way. Paul Devereaux began the 'Dragon
project' in order to research this particular aspect of the
megaliths.
(More about
Crystals in
Prehistory)
Stone Selection at Stonehenge.
Stonehenge has at least four
different types of stone in the overall structure, each brought
from different locations: Over 80 5-10 ton 'Bluestones'' from Wales, the
huge 20-50 ton 'Sarsens' from 20km north near Avebury, the
mica-sandstone 'Slaughter stone' from Milford Haven, and the limestone
packing-stones from Chilmark..
Although the area
just north of
Stonehenge is littered with
perfectly suitable sarsen stones, the builders chose to use over 80
Bluestones instead, requiring them to transport them over 200
miles from the Presily mountains in Wales. It is perhaps relevant
then that a piece of bluestone was found in almost every one of the
59 Y and Z holes. (8)
The reverence for Blue-stones was noted by
Mackenzie, who said of it:
'The colours of stones were supposed to
reveal the characters of the spirits that inhabited them. In
Egypt, for instance, the blue turquoise was connected with the
mother-goddess Hathor, who was, among other things, a deity of
the sky and therefore the controller of the waters above the
firmament as well as the Nille. She was the mother of sun and
moon. She was appealed to for water by the
agriculturalists and for favourable winds by the seafarers. The
symbol used on such occasions was a blue stone. It was a "luck
stone" that exercised an influence on the elements controlled y
the goddess. In the Hebrides a blue stone used to be reverenced
by the descendants of ancient sea-rovers. Martin in his Western
Isles tells of such a stone, said always to be wet, which was
preserved in a chapel dedicated to St. Columba on the Island of Fladda. "It is an extraordinary custom," he has written, "when
any of the fishermen are detained in the isle by contrary winds,
to wash the blue-stone with water all round, expecting thereby
to procure a favourable wind, which, the credulous tenant living
in the isle says, never fails, especially if a stranger wash the
stone."
(1)
(Gors
Fawr, the location of the Sarsens at Presily, Wales)
I t
seems that the specific selection of stones at Stonehenge extended to the
slaughter stone which is unique at the site, being made of a
sandstone laden with Mica which
came from the Cosheston Beds, composed of Devonian sandstone, near
Milford haven on the coast of Wales, some 30 miles to the southwest
of the Presily quarries. While it is reasonably clear that the stone
which once stood at the centre of the site was chosen for its unique
properties, the exact relevance can only be guessed at.
Kalb suggests that 'Stones transported over long distances to
build megaliths were pieces of places'.
(10)
'There were also a small number
of limestone blocks and slabs used in the construction of Stonehenge
brought to the site for the specific purpose of packing material to
support the much larger sarsen uprights. The limestone quarries have
been identified as Chilmark, 12 miles west, and 3 miles southeast at
Hurdcot'. (19)
Significantly then, at Stonehenge
we find the inner horseshoe comprised of the finely worked
spotted-dolerites from the main ridge of Carn Meini in the Preseli
Hills, with the outer bluestone circle comprising of unworked
rhyolites, tuffs and unspotted dolerites from the outlying
landscapes north and south of the main ridge. The Preseli Hills
purposefully created in microcosm in the Stonehenge landscape.
(4)
Excavations
by the Stonehenge 'Riverside project' in 2005 uncovered a 'cremation mound'
which was found to contain the partially burnt remains of two people, one of
whose vertebrae survived the fire, along with an assortment of artifacts,
amongst which were: "Stone knives and arrowheads, a piece of limestone
carved into the shape of a megalith, two pottery bowls, and a rare
rock crystal were also unearthed near the burial site."
The rock
crystal is described as having come to Britain from as far away as the Alps.
(More about
Stonehenge)
Scotland's Recumbent Stone Circles:
The high concentration of R.S.C's in
Aberdeenshire show several examples of specific stone-selection. The
largest recorded recumbent stone at
Old Keig
(53 tons), is composed of a granite which has been identified as
having its source around 10km distant, and considerably downhill
from final resting place. Summers
(14), says of it:
'Colour may also have played a
part in the design of these monuments. This is exemplified in, and
best appreciated at the showcase recumbent stone circle at East
Auquorthies, Near Inverurie. The circle is comprised of pink
porphyry and red jasper stones, with flankers of grey granite
abutting a red granite recumbent slab'.
In addition, we are informed that the
'Aikey Brae' RSC has a recumbent stone and flankers made of 'Whinstone',
which must have been transported from '...some distance away...',
While the remaining stones are made of local granite.
(15)
(Recumbent
Stone Circles)
(Prehistoric
Construction Techniques)
(Sacred
Spaces)
(Extreme
Masonry)
Article: Pieces
of Landscapes. By Dr. J. Lewis. (Quick-link)
|
