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- Jul 31, 2001
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I find it difficult to believe that people came all the way from northern England and Scotland, how long would it have taken them? but I'll reserve judgement until I've seen the program.
I'd be more interested to know how they were all related.Ronson8 said:I find it difficult to believe that people came all the way from northern England and Scotland, how long would it have taken them? but I'll reserve judgement until I've seen the program.
gncxx said:And how did the Northerners find out about the construction? Never mind the complete lack of TV, radio or internet for communication over long distances, were they even speaking the same language?
Ancient pathway uncovered during works at Stonehenge
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-24077080
Stonehenge before and after the A344 is covered over
The A344 - which ran by the stones - is being restored to grass
An ancient ceremonial pathway linking Stonehenge and the nearby River Avon has been unearthed during work to close the road alongside the monument.
Two ditches buried beneath the A344 represent either side of the Avenue, a processional approach aligned with the sunrise of the summer solstice.
Its connection with Stonehenge had been severed when the A344 was built hundreds of years ago.
The find was made near the Heel Stone, about 24 metres from the monument.
English Heritage's Heather Sebire called it "the missing piece of the jigsaw", as the Avenue had been difficult to identify on the ground, but is clearly visible in aerial photographs.
She said: "The part of the Avenue that was cut through by the road has obviously been destroyed forever, but we were hopeful that archaeology below the road would survive.
'Restore dignity'
"It is very exciting to find a piece of physical evidence that officially makes the connection which we were hoping for."
National Trust archaeologist Dr Nick Snashall said it confirms "with total certainty" that Stonehenge and its Avenue were linked.
Work is currently being carried out to restore the A344 alongside the monument to grass and build a new visitor centre.
English Heritage said the work would "restore the dignity" of the stones' setting and "minimise the intrusion of the modern world".
Once the A344 has been restored to grass in summer 2014, markers will be put in place to demonstrate the solstice alignment.
English Heritage said it will enable visitors to "appreciate the position of the Avenue and its intimate connection with and significance to Stonehenge".
The glockenspiel player must have had very long arms.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...c-glockenspiel-researchers-claim-9168812.html
Stonehenge is like a sacred 'prehistoric glockenspiel', researchers claim
Metallic, gong-like noises made by the monument when struck may explain why the stones were chosen by its builders
INdependent. Kashmira gander. 04 March 2014
The pillars that form Stonehenge may have been chosen because they were like sacred “prehistoric glockenspiels”, according to researchers.
The sonorous quality of some of the bluestones used for the monument built between 3,000 BC and 1,600 BC may explain why they were transported 200 miles from Pembrokeshire, Wales, when there were plenty of local rocks to use nearby.
‘Archeo-acoustic’ expert Paul Devereux, the principal investigator on the Landscape and Perception Project, explained the choice to the BBC.
“There had to be something special about these rocks,” he said.
“Why else would they take them from here [Wales] all the way to Stonehenge?”
“It hasn't been considered until now that sound might have been a factor,” he said.
The study by researchers from Royal College of Art in London tried to record what “Stone Age eyes and ears” would have heard and seen in a prehistoric landscape.
To make the findings published in the ‘Journal of Time & Mind’, the team was given unprecedented access by English Heritage to the Carn Menyn ridge on Mynydd Preseli, south-west Wales, where many of Stonehenge's bluestones were quarried.
When the thousands of stones were struck with small hammerstones, researchers found that they gave off metallic sounds like bells, gongs or tin drums.
“There's lots of different tones, you could play a tune,” Mr Devereux said, adding: “In fact, we have had percussionists who have played proper percussion pieces off the rocks."
To prove their theory, when researchers tested all the bluestones at Stonehenge, several were found to make distinctive sounds, despite their acoustic potential being dampened by being set deep in the ground.
A number of bluestones at Stonehenge show evidence of having been struck, confirming why so many Neolithic monuments exist in the region, and provides strong evidence that the sounds made the landscape sacred to Stone Age people, the study concluded.
Professor Tim Darvill, an archaeology professor at Bournemouth University who has undertaken hundreds of excavations at Stonehenge, explained to the BBC that “pre-historic attitudes to stone” are likely to have been different to those of today.
“We don't know of course that they moved them because they rang but ringing rocks are a prominent part of many cultures,” he said.
“You can almost see them as a pre-historic glockenspiel, if you like, and you could knock them and hear these tunes.
"And soundscapes of pre-history are something we're really just beginning to explore," he said.
rynner2 said:Prog on BBC2 at 2000. 8)
Stonehenge tunnel plans considered by government again
Plans to build a tunnel underneath Stonehenge are again being considered by the government.
Similar proposals were dropped seven years ago on cost grounds.
The plans are being discussed by a working group that has been looking at ways to reduce congestion on the A303 since the spring.
English Heritage and the National Trust said they were working with the Department of Transport to identify a solution "including a tunnel option".
An announcement about upgrading the whole A303 is expected in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, in six weeks.
etc...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-29680294
Of course, if the work uncovers interesting new archaeolgy, the tunnel might have to be put on hold again! 8)
It would make a slightly imposing entrance to a new Tesco - if that's the idea.