The Great Stone Circles – How they Work Part 3b
Submitted by JACKME on Tuesday, 07 June 2005 Page Views: 7833
Neolithic and Bronze AgeCountry: England Type: Stone CircleInternal Links:
Other Calendar Systems.
The next type of calendar relies on the shadows cast by various pointer stones, which is particularly advantageous in that the sun has had time to rise above the morning murk. At the majority of these places the ground shadow reaches the base of a target stone at the critical time.At Lacra (SD151813 - Please note that this is on private land, and the area is used for suckler cows and calves, which should not be disturbed) after about 20 minutes the ground shadow reaches the bottom of the target stone 150m away, at the same time that the shadow from the pointer stone would have covered the target stone at the time of construction, but now misses it as shown in the photograph above. The same thing happens on the quarter days, but unfortunately the midwinter target stone has been moved by ridge and furrow ploughing in the past. This method offers a very simple annual calendar.
Another calendar can be found at Long Meg and her Daughters stone circle (NY571372) which utilises the slope of the site to provide very long sunset shadows right across the circle before the sun lowers itself into the evening low cloud. Long Meg Herself has been seen to cast the midwinter sunset shadow to Stone 1, as described by Stephen Hood and Douglas Wilson in a series of articles in the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Transactions in 2002, 2003 and again in 2004. Here they record the movement of the shadow throughout the winter months. I saw the shadow from Long Meg reaching right across the circle on the 9th January 1997, but had no idea of its significance at that time and in the excitement failed to get a photograph. On 5th February 2003 I met Stephen and Douglas whilst waiting for the sunset shadow from Long Meg to reach Stone 9.
At the Equinoxes the shadow from Stone 52 goes to Stone 1 at the same time as Long Meg’s shadow goes to Stone 19, as seen by me here and here on March 18th 2003.
The slope of this circle gives us no sunrise calendar, but Dr Stukeley wrote that there were smaller stones within the circle, so it is possible that these would have been the target stones for the sunrise. Sadly because of their removal no one will ever know.
At Arbor Low in the Peak District (SK160636) by standing on the Cove stones 20 minutes after first gleam on 5th January 2003 my shadow was cast to the bottom of the row of trees behind the farmhouse by the car park. After discussion with the owner I followed the wall up the hill in the probable arc that the shadow would have made throughout the year, had the Cove Stones still been standing, but was most disappointed to find no obvious marker stones in the vicinity.
Three days later, armed with that knowledge I witnessed a similar occurrence at Avebury in Wiltshire (SU102699) with the sunrise shadow from the Cove the 8th January 2003 reaching Stone 44 - that is the stone adjacent to the Swindon Stone, which is a vast standing diamond shape and should have received the First Gleam on the winter solstice at the time of construction. Due to various obstructions on the site, including a hedge, it was difficult to see the shadow reaching the target stone, some 20 minutes after first gleam.
In the next article I shall turn my attention to the rising sun at Stonehenge and its shadows, plus part of the sunset calendar at summer solstice.
This is the fourth of a series of previously unpublished articles by retired farmer, Jack Morris-Eyton. Following 12 years of research visiting many of the circles in Britain and Ireland, Jack claims to have unravelled what no one else has done before - why, where and how the great stone circles worked. Jack does not profess to have the answers to all of the stone circle mysteries, indeed he admits himself there is still much to learn, but through the following series of articles he hopes to provide some possible answers to many intriguing questions.
Note: This is the fourth of a series of previously unpublished articles by retired farmer, Jack Morris-Eyton.
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