OA makes no mention of Fred Hoyle's 'three hours with a calculator' to check Hawkins figures (and being generally unimpressed). Also nothing about the Thoms (Alexander and Archie) who surveyed many other stone circles, or perhaps a passing reference to John North's chunky book on Stonehenge itself. Latterly Euan MacKie was working out how exactly you could test an hypothesis about ancient observers marking a celestial alignment of some type anywhere in the latitudes of Britain. A multi-route rabbit hole if you are in need of diversion.
IIRC (read the book ages ago when much younger) , the theory was that by using the 56 Aubrey holes to count, say, by moving a pole from one hole to another once a year, an eclipse could be predicted to occur every 18th or 19th year.
I always wondered why this was never simulated, and I guess the answer is that it would not work.
At this rate, I would find it startling if ancient stonework didn't have something to do with the sun, moon, and stars. Everywhere you look some ancient society was predicting these things by tracking them.
What's interesting is that it may have had multiple changing purposes during construction.
It took 1500 years to be established in its current form. It's pretty likely (to me at least) that the purpose of the year 1 work was different from year 1500.
It honored the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. And it demonstrated French industrial prowess, iron craftsmanship advanced engineering capabilities..
I realize that was tongue in cheek, but what I found more interesting is that is was only to stand for 20 years and was initially set to be demolished in 1909. So your question is even more amusing as the thing was only supposed to be temporary.
The cathedral movement started in 1006 with a quiet goal to redirect resources away from the crusades. It was also from a sort of cultural vacuum after the world didn't end at the turn of the millennium.
It wasn't "for the view," it was, in no particular order, and non-exhaustively:
* To provide work
* To serve as a reminder of the power and authority of the church
* To glorify God
* To make sure all the other nearby kingdoms were aware of how much cooler you are than them
Cite required. Work in a pre-industrial agrarian society is ever-present, unless there's a drought. (Although in that case the coffin builders may need extra hands.)
sarcasm (noun) - the use of words that mean the opposite of what one intends to say especially in order to insult, to show irritation, or to be funny : a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on ironic and usually bitter and caustic language often directed against an individual or idea.
OA makes no mention of Fred Hoyle's 'three hours with a calculator' to check Hawkins figures (and being generally unimpressed). Also nothing about the Thoms (Alexander and Archie) who surveyed many other stone circles, or perhaps a passing reference to John North's chunky book on Stonehenge itself. Latterly Euan MacKie was working out how exactly you could test an hypothesis about ancient observers marking a celestial alignment of some type anywhere in the latitudes of Britain. A multi-route rabbit hole if you are in need of diversion.
IIRC (read the book ages ago when much younger) , the theory was that by using the 56 Aubrey holes to count, say, by moving a pole from one hole to another once a year, an eclipse could be predicted to occur every 18th or 19th year. I always wondered why this was never simulated, and I guess the answer is that it would not work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey_holes#Archaeoastronomy_...
Of course the the theory is wrong:
> new investigations since the 1960s have discredited Hawkins' ideas.
It's clearly either a giant granite birthday cake... or a prison far too easy to escape.
I suppose at some point it could have had a wooden structure around it to make it harder to escape
You'd best behave or you'll be sitting in Stonehenge!
At this rate, I would find it startling if ancient stonework didn't have something to do with the sun, moon, and stars. Everywhere you look some ancient society was predicting these things by tracking them.
I don’t think the italics help at all.
Would be pretty stupid to spend all this energy erecting stones just for the view of it.
Like, it obviously had SOME purpose.
What's interesting is that it may have had multiple changing purposes during construction.
It took 1500 years to be established in its current form. It's pretty likely (to me at least) that the purpose of the year 1 work was different from year 1500.
Yeah, why did they go through all that effort to build the Eiffel tower?
It honored the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. And it demonstrated French industrial prowess, iron craftsmanship advanced engineering capabilities..
I wonder if Stonehenge was only for demonstrating some tribe's engineering capabilities too
Furthermore: The Eiffel Tower was planned to be temporary, it only still stands because it was used as a radio tower.
I realize that was tongue in cheek, but what I found more interesting is that is was only to stand for 20 years and was initially set to be demolished in 1909. So your question is even more amusing as the thing was only supposed to be temporary.
Selfie geolocation
Sounds like the question Ylvis posed [1], years ago. :-)
[1] https://youtu.be/mbyzgeee2mg
Or someone told them that folks in Egypt made a huge building out of stones. They started and gave up after a while. As good a story as any?
It was probably a tribe that later emigrated to Australia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_things_(Australia)
My favorite theory is that nomadic civilizations during that period were known to congregate together temporarily throughout the year.
Stonehenge was one of the places they would do this.
Makes sense to make the meeting spot nice.
> Would be pretty stupid to spend all this energy erecting stones just for the view of it
I think the same way looking at medieval cathedrals or Roman and Greek era theatres, collesiums, and agoras...
At least the Ottomans used the Parthenon as an arms depot, giving those stones some meaning.
(This is sarcasm)
The cathedral movement started in 1006 with a quiet goal to redirect resources away from the crusades. It was also from a sort of cultural vacuum after the world didn't end at the turn of the millennium.
1006 is 90 years before the First Crusade...
It wasn't "for the view," it was, in no particular order, and non-exhaustively:
* To provide work * To serve as a reminder of the power and authority of the church * To glorify God * To make sure all the other nearby kingdoms were aware of how much cooler you are than them
> * To provide work
Cite required. Work in a pre-industrial agrarian society is ever-present, unless there's a drought. (Although in that case the coffin builders may need extra hands.)
sarcasm (noun) - the use of words that mean the opposite of what one intends to say especially in order to insult, to show irritation, or to be funny : a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on ironic and usually bitter and caustic language often directed against an individual or idea.
No one knows who they were, or what they were doing
When my son and I drive to London, we pass Stonehenge and always play that song. We repeat that line many, many times.
I think there is a world market for about five Stonehenges.
it was actually a doorbell
The original ring?
Alexanderthal
“The BBC, without evidence, claims that Stonehenge may have been a prehistoric computer”
The BBC does not actually claim that.
laughs in Egyptian