Archaeoastronomy at Stanton Drew

Submitted by Anonymous on Saturday, 08 May 2004 Page Views: 6268

by Larry Bull, from the University of West of England

This paper revisits the results of geophysical surveys at Stanton Drew before suggesting multiple lunar alignments within the much under-valued megalithic complex of Stanton Drew.

Read the paper on Larry's own site or click for more.

1. Introduction

Modern people have inhabited the Somerset region of southwest England since the Devensian. During this time and the succeeding Mesolithic they lived in places like the caves of the Mendip hills, at Gough's (New) Cave and Aveline's Hole for example. In the following Neolithic a shift was made to farming and permanent settlements emerged. It is known that to the south of the Mendips substantial activity occurred on the Somerset Levels, via the Sweet Track for example [Coles et al. 1973]. The Sweet Track was a timber walkway created circa 3800BC to enable people to cross the marshes of the Brue Valley near Glastonbury. Other examples of such structures have also been found further north (e.g. in Nailsea [Darvill 1985]). Shortly after this period chambered tombs for communal use appeared in the area, followed by henge monuments, culminating with the Wedding Stones at Stanton Drew.

2. Background

2.1 Chambered Tombs

The Somerset region is associated with one of the best-known forms of Neolithic chambered tomb - the Cotswold-Severn group. Two main sub-types exist: transepted gallery graves, containing a number of compartments/transepts opening on both sides from a central passage which may go halfway back into the barrow (e.g. West Kennet Longbarrow, Avebury); and another, in which the compartments are placed with entrances along the side, a symbolic dry-stone entrance placed in the centre (e.g. Belas Knap, Gloucestershire). Burl [1983] has noted how all Cotswold-Severn tombs have their central entrances aligned between northeast and southeast, signifying an interest in the movements of the sun and moon by the builders. Disarticulated human remains have been found in the compartments of many such tombs [e.g. Bullied 1941]. Nearly a dozen examples exist in the area around Stanton Drew, including those at Redhill, Butcombe and Dundry.

This distinct form of chambered tomb appears to have emanated from the beginnings of the Mendips up into Gloucesteshire and north Wales, as well as east to Wiltshire, suggesting an influential Somerset community. Numerous examples also exist to the west, in south Wales, near Cardiff (e.g. Tinkinswood) and in the Gower (Parc Le Breos), across the opening of the Bristol Channel from the Somerset Levels.

2.2 Henges

A particular form of henge also appears to emanate from Somerset which contains an outer ditch and inner bank, known as Type B [Burl 1991]. These can be found in the same areas as the Cotswold-Severn tombs, on the Mendips (Priddy) and in north Wales (Llandegai North), as well as further afield from the identified regions: north and west of Wales, on Anglesey (Castell Bryngwyn) and near Dublin (Longstone Rath) respectively; further into Wiltshire, at Stonehenge (modified along its outer edge); and significantly north of Gloucestershire, in Cumbria (Penrith). Burl [ibid.] suggests that henges were used both for ceremonial and trading purposes, often with regional types built in other areas specifically for the latter (in safety), which may explain the siting of such out-post henges. Pieces of crystallized iron pyrites from Wiltshire have been found within the Priddy henges. The multiple-type henge phenomenon occurs on the Mendips at Priddy where a north-northeast alignment of three Type B henges can be found, with a fourth partially constructed henge of the same type nearby, and two henges of a different type within a six-mile radius. The alignment of three Type B henges is actually slightly less than perfect implying incremental construction.

Burl [ibid.] has also suggested that the cardinal location of a henge entrance may be significant to the location of its users. The two northern most of the roughly aligned Type B henges at Priddy have their entrances to the north, whilst the third has its entrance to the south. Hence it can be speculated that the former were for the related communities in north Wales and Gloucestershire, whilst the latter was for the local community of Somerset and south Wales. That a fourth Type B henge was abandoned mid-way through construction indicates a change in the belief system, possibly coinciding with the influx of grooved-ware.

2.3 Standing Stones

Wimblestone is perhaps the most well-known standing stone in Somerset, situated just under a line of trees at the western end of a valley whose northern edge was the site of a Neolithic settlement [Clarke & Richards 1972]. The stone is around 2m tall and an equilateral triangle in shape, roughly 40cm in width, and at its base is an oval hole. This huge shark's tooth is aligned such that its thinnest aspect points east/west. To the west is a sharp rise onto the Mendips at Dolebury Warren, not far from Aveline's Hole. At the other end of the valley, in Banwell, is another megalith of the other type found in the region - a large, flat, rectangular stone. This megalith is about 2m high, 1.5m wide, and 40cm thick. Its top edge is rain-damaged and looks as if a corner is missing. The thinnest aspect points to Fry's Hill with its raised end, which leads up onto the Mendips near Cheddar Caves. Hence such stones can be seen as signposts to the henges at Priddy. It is also interesting to note that, standing at the Banwell stone's raised edge, facing south-southwest and hence perpendicular to it, the prominent Brent Knoll appears cradled between two closer hills. The huge, almost conical, Brent Knoll stands alone over a hundred metres proud of the western end of the Levels. It lies on an azimuth of 211 degrees from the Banwell megalith, such that the major setting of the midsummer moon is marked. The minor setting being seen directly to the right of its base, an azimuth of 231 degrees.

Old Ordnance Survey maps from the 1880's show the position of a stone called the Hundred Stone at Chapel Allerton, in the Somerset Levels. To the north-northeast lies Fry's Hill and the start of the Mendips. It too had a clear view of Brent Knoll, its base appearing larger than at other angles. Hence this stone was probably a flat rectangle aligned north-northeast/south-southwest. In the 1770's William Stukeley reported a stone of the same shape near Chew Magna, in the Chew Valley a mile west of Stanton Drew [from Burl 1999]. This early survey may explain the suggestions of a stone circle there, west of the fork in the River Chew from Chew Lake [e.g. Darvill 1985]. The Mendips are to the south-southwest, suggesting the stone was aligned north-northeast/south-southwest. The nearby Round Hill appearing almost conical with a view perpendicular to this orientation.

Many more stones of these two types, now lost, must surely have existed in Somerset, encircling the Mendips to direct the prehistoric traveller. Their shape reminiscent of the proposed male/female stones of the Kennet Avenue at Avebury.

2.4 South Wales

It was noted above that the Somerset community spread into Wales, building their distinct chambered tombs. The closest example is just outside Portskewett, on a small knoll above the banks of the Severn, between the two bridges which cross from England into Wales. Since the sea levels were lower for much of the Neolithic and both bridges are built on prominent rockbed, it seems likely that the area was also a prehistoric cross-point. The Portskewett longbarrow has clear views of the estuary, with the top of the Mendips just visible to the south. Its stones full of pink quartz pebbles. Standing stone signposts can also be found in the vicinity.

Three miles southeast of Portskewett, near St Brides and Magor, is a triangular and pointed stone slightly larger in stature than Wimblestone. Just a few metres from the M4 link to the second Severn crossing, this monolith is aligned roughly east-northeast/west-southwest, suggesting a nearby crossing of the Bristol Channel/Severn. Another stone of this type can be found further north in the beginnings of the Usk Valley (Llangybi), where a large monolith stands in the middle of a field, aligned southeast/northwest. Here the southeast direction indicates the nearest crossing to the cultural/religious centre of Somerset for the north Walean traveller. An enormous rectangular stone, almost 3m tall, can be found aligned east-northeast to the Magor stone fifteen miles away to the south near Castleton. The view west-southwest, i.e. perpendicular and from its raised end, is of a distant Brent Knoll cradled between two hills.

Again, many more such stones must surely have existed nearby to direct the prehistoric traveller from Wales to the Mendip region showing, as do the longbarrows, an intimate relationship between the inhabitants of the two regions.

In Stukeley's time, back in Somerset, a rectangular outlier at Stanton Drew, known as Hautville's Quoit, still stood. Today it can be found lying, much diminished, behind a roadside hedge.

3. Stanton Drew

The megaliths at Stanton Drew are arranged in three circles, two of which have short avenues, with a nearby Cove and an outlier. Local folklore tells of a wedding party lured by the Devil into celebrating on the Sabbath and being petrified for such activity. The main circle is over 110m in diameter, making it smaller only than the outer circle at Avebury 25 miles east, and originally consisted of approximately thirty 2.5-3m long stones. A short avenue extends from its east-northeast towards the banks of the nearby River Chew. At the entrance to this avenue extends another into a circle of around 30m in diameter to the northeast of the main circle. This circle consists of eight slightly larger stones than those of the main circle. To the south-southwest on a small knoll above these two circles lies the third circle, roughly 44m in diameter, consisting of twelve slightly shorter stones. A Cove of three large stones is south-west of the main circle, with the backstone fallen, and the outlier 512m to the north-northeast of the main circle, previously over 3m long. All measurements are taken from [Burl 1999].

An alignment stretches from the Cove, through the centre of the main circle, to the centre of the northeast circle, at around 52 degrees from north and points to sunrise roughly two weeks before the midsummer solstice [Burl 1987], which will be returned to here. A second alignment exists from the centre of the northeast circle to that of the south-southwest circle, with azimuth of 211 degrees and declination -31 degrees, it marks the major southern setting of the midsummer moon [Thom 1967]. A final alignment exists from the centre of the south-southwest circle, through the main circle, to Hautville's Quoit, which appears to point to the barrow-shaped Settle Hill.

Burl [1976] suggests the Quoit and Cove came first, followed by the main stone circle, then the south-southwest circle, then the northeast circle, and finally the avenues to the banks of the river were added. Note the latter possibly signifying the importance of water in the religion. The points made above would appear to support an early Quoit, i.e. it was probably originally positioned to indicate the shortest route to the t of the rise upon which the south-southwest circle sits, roughly aligned to the major midsummer rising. From Brean Down's western end, looking to the right of Brent Knoll gives a similar angle from north. Note how consideration of the natural landscape may explain why the Cove is positioned so far from the main circle. The Levels were populated for a considerable time and, whilst these facts may be nothing more than coincidental, it is not unrealistic to suggest early inhabitants would have noticed the moon's movements over their surroundings, which became part of their belief system. Similarly, the users of the Priddy henges may have noticed the moon's midwinter settings across the nearby Blackdown Hill, particularly from the southern-most ring.

The full version of this paper (submitted to Archaeoastronomy June 2001) also considers Stanton Drew's relationship to other Neolithic monuments.
A still fuller version (rejected outright by Antiquity and others last year) extends the landscape aspect,
linking it to a female-based religion, and suggests a motivation for the construction of Silbury Hill - a summary can be found from here. Please contact ish Heritage.
[email protected]">me if you are interested, or wait until a proper archaeologist publishes my ideas :-)

Note: Sadly, Larry has had difficulty getting his paper published in the serious archaeology press, (a classic problem in archaeoastronomy) so we're happy to help.

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