23rd December 2005, 06:34 PM
No one has actually addressed why the Thornborough Henges [and more importantly the land close to the Henges] is of National importance?
English Heritage and others keep saying it is, but it needs explaining.
I think:
Because I should be writing my CV since I am currently resting, I will instead write about Thornborough Henges, whilst having yet another pagan midwinter drink. It should be noted that when I celebrate with pagan drinking; certain ?modern conventions?, such as concepts of ?fact? or ?fiction? tend to blur.
But some ?fact? first.
Well I think the area is important and worth study, especially when studied alongside other similar sites.
There are of course thousands of Nationally important sites of various periods, which should be preserved and or studied (in my ideal world). But I think the Thornborough area when studied alongside other prehistoric ?ritual landscapes? is indeed of National Importance.
It is important because it is one of number of prehistoric sites of similar age where comparative evidence can be gathered. This evidence gained by studying the similarities in routine and ritual preserved in the archaeological record.
Furthermore, I think the remaining archaeology could and should be targeted and fully excavated before it is destroyed by farming, Quarrying, or some other alteration of the land.
And more to the point it should be excavated, because preservation in situ will not preserve anything at Nosterfield.
To me so far it seems that that all the evidence I can glean about the area from various sources suggests to me that.
.. blurring starting... I'm drinking Theakston old peculier, its virtually brewed on the Henge.
It must be a sign. A sign that all that follows is probably true...
So it seems to me that a future PhD turned into a book about the area might look like this: -
Here is one I found on the Internet from the future. It?s a draft copy.
?The ritual landscape of Thornborough 2009, by J. D. Digger and her less gifted friend.
During the late Mesolithic the area was a wet area with lakes and bogs where people exploited the bird life and camped on small islands of dry land amongst the lakes.
It was also regarded as a spiritual place and people began to gather at full moons to watch its passage across the sky reflected in the lake [note choose here an ethnographic analogy from any historical period anywhere in the world regarding the moon and water, available from http://www.ethnagraphicanalogyforarchaeologist.com ].
Later the Henges were built to symbolise the moons reflection moving across the lakes and covered in white stones both to symbolise and reflect the moon.
It is also possible [note see http://www.alsopossble.com] that the ?elders? involved in building the Henges misinformed local people that it was meant to represent the sky gods Belt. This was done to protect the ?secret-sacred knowledge?. However, local people were unconvinced but eventually fell for the story that the Henges represented the Three Breasted Ice Queen of the North [note see http://www.Icoulddothatletmeontv.com ].
It was also covered in white stones because the makers had seen some famous southerly monuments and there was no way that they were going to be out done by those bloody southerners. Having three Henges was also something of an escalation too, in the hundred years struggle of frantic ?keep ahead of the Jones? orgy of conspicuous monument building following increased production and storage of food [note insert here from http://www.marxistinflitrationof.archaeo.../minds.com ].
And of course the people that came for rituals and to hunt and gather continued to camp in the same places their ancestors camped, the higher ground, the little islands out of the water. Here as well as feasting they deposited bones, flints and pieces of pot in small pits.
Because this higher ground survived as a hard, stony-clayey, still slightly higher area of ?natural? across the site it was targeted by remote sensing techniques producing in 2008 even more interesting ?ritual? pits than were found in 2005. Our thanks to the 2005 Thornborough debate on BAJR for first suggesting this strategy.
It is of course well know that the Pan European habitus [note remember to reference that French bloke fond of stating the bleeding obvious see http://www.bleedingobvious.com ]of the ?burnt offering? and placing various often broken things in the ground had various meanings and lack of meanings at various times across geography and time [see http://www.timetogetvague.com] but it
[Final lines of actual book] ?? it is now generally accepted that the practice of ritual deposits increased in frequency as farming spread across Europe. We postulate that this was due to a 'Neolithic mindset', which believed that as with seeds you bury things to make them grow or become reborn again." [see http://www.surelythiswillgetoneofusonthetimeteam.com ].
Well anyway I think it came off the Internet, or I might have dreamt it.
Happy Midwinter Pagan Drinking Binge.
Arthus
English Heritage and others keep saying it is, but it needs explaining.
I think:
Because I should be writing my CV since I am currently resting, I will instead write about Thornborough Henges, whilst having yet another pagan midwinter drink. It should be noted that when I celebrate with pagan drinking; certain ?modern conventions?, such as concepts of ?fact? or ?fiction? tend to blur.
But some ?fact? first.
Well I think the area is important and worth study, especially when studied alongside other similar sites.
There are of course thousands of Nationally important sites of various periods, which should be preserved and or studied (in my ideal world). But I think the Thornborough area when studied alongside other prehistoric ?ritual landscapes? is indeed of National Importance.
It is important because it is one of number of prehistoric sites of similar age where comparative evidence can be gathered. This evidence gained by studying the similarities in routine and ritual preserved in the archaeological record.
Furthermore, I think the remaining archaeology could and should be targeted and fully excavated before it is destroyed by farming, Quarrying, or some other alteration of the land.
And more to the point it should be excavated, because preservation in situ will not preserve anything at Nosterfield.
To me so far it seems that that all the evidence I can glean about the area from various sources suggests to me that.
.. blurring starting... I'm drinking Theakston old peculier, its virtually brewed on the Henge.
It must be a sign. A sign that all that follows is probably true...
So it seems to me that a future PhD turned into a book about the area might look like this: -
Here is one I found on the Internet from the future. It?s a draft copy.
?The ritual landscape of Thornborough 2009, by J. D. Digger and her less gifted friend.
During the late Mesolithic the area was a wet area with lakes and bogs where people exploited the bird life and camped on small islands of dry land amongst the lakes.
It was also regarded as a spiritual place and people began to gather at full moons to watch its passage across the sky reflected in the lake [note choose here an ethnographic analogy from any historical period anywhere in the world regarding the moon and water, available from http://www.ethnagraphicanalogyforarchaeologist.com ].
Later the Henges were built to symbolise the moons reflection moving across the lakes and covered in white stones both to symbolise and reflect the moon.
It is also possible [note see http://www.alsopossble.com] that the ?elders? involved in building the Henges misinformed local people that it was meant to represent the sky gods Belt. This was done to protect the ?secret-sacred knowledge?. However, local people were unconvinced but eventually fell for the story that the Henges represented the Three Breasted Ice Queen of the North [note see http://www.Icoulddothatletmeontv.com ].
It was also covered in white stones because the makers had seen some famous southerly monuments and there was no way that they were going to be out done by those bloody southerners. Having three Henges was also something of an escalation too, in the hundred years struggle of frantic ?keep ahead of the Jones? orgy of conspicuous monument building following increased production and storage of food [note insert here from http://www.marxistinflitrationof.archaeo.../minds.com ].
And of course the people that came for rituals and to hunt and gather continued to camp in the same places their ancestors camped, the higher ground, the little islands out of the water. Here as well as feasting they deposited bones, flints and pieces of pot in small pits.
Because this higher ground survived as a hard, stony-clayey, still slightly higher area of ?natural? across the site it was targeted by remote sensing techniques producing in 2008 even more interesting ?ritual? pits than were found in 2005. Our thanks to the 2005 Thornborough debate on BAJR for first suggesting this strategy.
It is of course well know that the Pan European habitus [note remember to reference that French bloke fond of stating the bleeding obvious see http://www.bleedingobvious.com ]of the ?burnt offering? and placing various often broken things in the ground had various meanings and lack of meanings at various times across geography and time [see http://www.timetogetvague.com] but it
[Final lines of actual book] ?? it is now generally accepted that the practice of ritual deposits increased in frequency as farming spread across Europe. We postulate that this was due to a 'Neolithic mindset', which believed that as with seeds you bury things to make them grow or become reborn again." [see http://www.surelythiswillgetoneofusonthetimeteam.com ].
Well anyway I think it came off the Internet, or I might have dreamt it.
Happy Midwinter Pagan Drinking Binge.
Arthus