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| Submitted by | AngieLake |
| Added | Apr 22 2008 |
| Hits | 2764 |
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Description
The faces of Stone 16 at the SW of the Sarsen circle. This quick sketch for another project might be useful to roughly highlight the features I've photographed and posted earlier on this website.
I'm sure this 'Goddess/fertility-feature' stone was a major ritual focal point while the circle was at the height of its importance.
I'm sure this 'Goddess/fertility-feature' stone was a major ritual focal point while the circle was at the height of its importance.
Posted Comments:
AngieLake (2008-04-22)
L to R: 1) & 2) Possible 'Vulva' mark; [1st two also show poss. lozenge design/criss-cross hatchings, plus shallow inverted triangle at top]; 3) 'Spine/Lozenge' effect; 4) 'Pregnant Belly'. [Lower SE/SW face resembles sweeping folds of long gown.]
Omitted here is the carefully-tooled NW side, which has often featured in books on Stonehenge because of its similarity to 'adzed' wood. Atkinson was one who noticed it, and also Mike Pitts. In Hengeworld he also describes the stone as 'a great chrysalis awaiting the midwinter sun.' Not a bad description!
Omitted here is the carefully-tooled NW side, which has often featured in books on Stonehenge because of its similarity to 'adzed' wood. Atkinson was one who noticed it, and also Mike Pitts. In Hengeworld he also describes the stone as 'a great chrysalis awaiting the midwinter sun.' Not a bad description!
AngieLake (2008-10-07)
Gold Lozenge at Stonehenge: October Bush Barrow exhibition in the news prompts this ressurrection of my earlier theory about Stone 16. Notice how lozenge-like the outer face of Stone 16 is (and see separate triple-shot pic of this face on site page, with comments).
AngieLake (2008-10-23)
Another thought about the 'spine' of the outer face, which is very straight-edged, and very upright: -
Was this meant to represent earlier tall posts (ie: once standing at NW, in what is now the visitors' car park), which may have been greatly revered by earlier settlers. Stone 16 [which may even have stood elsewhere originally] was carved with a 'post' that *permanently* faced Winter Solstice sunset, and its NW side was 'adzed' to connect it [and make an everlasting link] with the material of the once-revered, but temporary, timber posts whose position lay further in that direction. That would give a good reason for the apparent 'adzing' effect, esp as it is only on that side. All the other sides have their own fertility symbol features, as seen above (including the 'belly', viewed from SE, but looking to NW.)
There is an on-going discussion under 'An Embarrassment of Riches' thread on Eternal Idol which I'm now contributing to, as someone mentioned 'symbols' at Stonehenge. Another contributor [Alex] suggested the 'spine' may be 'ithyphallic'. That is possible too.
Was this meant to represent earlier tall posts (ie: once standing at NW, in what is now the visitors' car park), which may have been greatly revered by earlier settlers. Stone 16 [which may even have stood elsewhere originally] was carved with a 'post' that *permanently* faced Winter Solstice sunset, and its NW side was 'adzed' to connect it [and make an everlasting link] with the material of the once-revered, but temporary, timber posts whose position lay further in that direction. That would give a good reason for the apparent 'adzing' effect, esp as it is only on that side. All the other sides have their own fertility symbol features, as seen above (including the 'belly', viewed from SE, but looking to NW.)
There is an on-going discussion under 'An Embarrassment of Riches' thread on Eternal Idol which I'm now contributing to, as someone mentioned 'symbols' at Stonehenge. Another contributor [Alex] suggested the 'spine' may be 'ithyphallic'. That is possible too.
AngieLake (2008-11-08)
[Update of ideas!]: Could the 'spine' have represented a drawn bow? The stone is convex on this side facing SW, which is obvious when viewing its curved outline from SE and NW. Could the lozenge shape either side represent the string of the bow being drawn ready to shoot? Daggers and axes were portrayed in stones at Stonehenge, so why not bows also? After all, there are so many important links with archers involved with the henge. (The Amesbury Archer, and evidence of pigs being shot for sport [or even ritual maybe?] at Durrington Walls during the era of Stonehenge's final stage of building?) What possible significance could a bow facing Winter Solstice sunset have been to those ancient mindsets though?
tiredchris (2009-08-13)
The people who built Stonehenge. What "Gods" did they worship ?
AngieLake (2009-08-13)
Hi Chris. Interesting question and hard to give a definite answer, though I'd guess they favoured anything to do with nature, the sky and fertility, and the guardian spirits of their own ancestors. As I've written above, about Stone 16, I'm sure this stone was a fertlity symbol, maybe part of ceremonies at Winter Solstice sunset to ensure the 'return' of the sun to nourish the land, and the form of the feminine shapes in the stone to envoke this, as well as the re-generation of the tribe itself.
In 'Rites of the Gods' by respected archaeologist Aubrey Burl, he writes about the 'rich' bronze and gold grave goods found with the tall man found in Bush Barrow near Stonehenge. Quote: "Such a burial is not uncommon and can be dated to the Early Bronze Age in Britain, around 2100BC, when Stonehenge was undergoing its most outstanding transformation." ..... "There is nothing among his possessions that says that this person had studied the movements of the sun or moon. There is no instrument designed for viewing the skies, nothing carved in the shape of sun, moon or star on the axe or daggers or goldwork. In the barrow there is no substance foreign to our world, no moon-rock or Martian dust or mineral from the stars." .... "There is nothing improbable about prehistoric man being interested in the glory of the sun and we shall see that some of his constructions of stones did have alignments built into them towards midsummer sunrise or moonset." .... [And to reinforce my thoughts about Stone 16, at SW of the Sarsen circle:] .... "Anyone who has seen the burning ball of the midwinter sun sinking between the pillars at Stonehenge, the grill of stones black against the sky, could not doubt that Bronze Age people quite deliberately planned the ring with this phenomenon in mind. Their religious practices were often closely associated with such astronomical events."
"From his beginnings Homo Sapiens has been concerned with death and with the world in which the living had to exist. For most of the time that man has been on earth his environment has been insecure and he has lacked the means to combat the dangers that surrounded him. It is something of a surprise to realize that for well over two-thirds of the time that men have been in Europe they had to hunt and seek food and shelter during an Ice Age, dependent on the annual migrations of the herds for their livelihood. The fears and strains of this precarious existence were lessened by rituals that were designed to ensure that there would be animals to stalk and water to drink. Fragments of these early rituals from the Old Stone Age have survived for us to interpret." There's much more to this book, but that will give you a glimpse into his ideas. (I'm sure that he also thought that the moon was important to Stonehenge people).
In 'Rites of the Gods' by respected archaeologist Aubrey Burl, he writes about the 'rich' bronze and gold grave goods found with the tall man found in Bush Barrow near Stonehenge. Quote: "Such a burial is not uncommon and can be dated to the Early Bronze Age in Britain, around 2100BC, when Stonehenge was undergoing its most outstanding transformation." ..... "There is nothing among his possessions that says that this person had studied the movements of the sun or moon. There is no instrument designed for viewing the skies, nothing carved in the shape of sun, moon or star on the axe or daggers or goldwork. In the barrow there is no substance foreign to our world, no moon-rock or Martian dust or mineral from the stars." .... "There is nothing improbable about prehistoric man being interested in the glory of the sun and we shall see that some of his constructions of stones did have alignments built into them towards midsummer sunrise or moonset." .... [And to reinforce my thoughts about Stone 16, at SW of the Sarsen circle:] .... "Anyone who has seen the burning ball of the midwinter sun sinking between the pillars at Stonehenge, the grill of stones black against the sky, could not doubt that Bronze Age people quite deliberately planned the ring with this phenomenon in mind. Their religious practices were often closely associated with such astronomical events."
"From his beginnings Homo Sapiens has been concerned with death and with the world in which the living had to exist. For most of the time that man has been on earth his environment has been insecure and he has lacked the means to combat the dangers that surrounded him. It is something of a surprise to realize that for well over two-thirds of the time that men have been in Europe they had to hunt and seek food and shelter during an Ice Age, dependent on the annual migrations of the herds for their livelihood. The fears and strains of this precarious existence were lessened by rituals that were designed to ensure that there would be animals to stalk and water to drink. Fragments of these early rituals from the Old Stone Age have survived for us to interpret." There's much more to this book, but that will give you a glimpse into his ideas. (I'm sure that he also thought that the moon was important to Stonehenge people).
tiredchris (2009-09-09)
Thankyou. I always imagine that Stonehenge man worshiped the Wind, rain, Sun and Moon, as well as Odin, Thor, etc ( and maybe the Heavens and Stars ).
Christianity, and One God, is a relatively modern thing, is'nt it ?
Christianity, and One God, is a relatively modern thing, is'nt it ?
AngieLake (2009-09-09)
I guess it is Chris. Have you checked out Stonehenge Druids website?
tiredchris (2009-09-15)
No. Every time I go on a Computer, I learn something I didnt know before. I didn't even know the Stonehenge Druids had a website. What are the details, do you know ?
Sometimes I look at an ancient site, say Stonehenge, with an Engineers/ Architechts eyes,( I used to be a miner, and I trained to be a Builder ), and sometimes, from a "Spiritual" point of view.
When I look at an Ancient Site, I can sometimes "feel" the eyes of the Ancient "spirits" looking down on the site.
I often wonder what the ancient spirits are thinking, and wondering if they're pleased or displeased ?
When the ancient spirits look down, do you think they are pleased or displeased with the site, and the modern world, today ?
In the words of The Desiderata do you think "The Universe is unfolding, as it should ?
Sometimes I look at an ancient site, say Stonehenge, with an Engineers/ Architechts eyes,( I used to be a miner, and I trained to be a Builder ), and sometimes, from a "Spiritual" point of view.
When I look at an Ancient Site, I can sometimes "feel" the eyes of the Ancient "spirits" looking down on the site.
I often wonder what the ancient spirits are thinking, and wondering if they're pleased or displeased ?
When the ancient spirits look down, do you think they are pleased or displeased with the site, and the modern world, today ?
In the words of The Desiderata do you think "The Universe is unfolding, as it should ?
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