Stonehenge etc.

[Governor of Rowe Island]

I know there are few of us posting to this site who live in the vicinity of this venerable monument so I thought I'd post this link -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/archaeo...henge_01.shtml

Could he have been the King of Stonehenge?

[A_Non_Ymous]

Interesting. I think speculating on whether he was the "King of Stonehenge" is going a little too far without a lot of evidence beyond the tantalizingly suggestive. Still, it's an interesting idea.

I expect a bad novel will be written on the premise in a short time.

I obviously do not live near Salisbury Plain, but I've certainly been to Stonehenge a couple of times -- just not recently. (The last time was 1985.) An amazing place, really.

LSN

[xidrep]

My folks live in Keevil (home of the WWII bomber airfield) not far from Salisbury and the Henge. My Dad wanted to move to Wiltshire because he thinks he's a (reincarnated) Druid. He's got the beard, but Ma wouldn't let him bring all those branches and nature spirits into the house... :roll:

[Mikey_C]

I thought it was built as a backdrop for Hawkwind.

[Hawksun]

I think that "King" is at best a misnomer. To me, the word has connotations of state-level societies, like Rome, or medieval Europe. At the time Stonehenge was in use (and during the centuries up until the Roman occupation), social organizaiton was probably less formal, but almost as socially stratified. The word "chief" seems more appropriate in this context.
One thing I think this does show up is the misconception that prehistoric folk were happy, eco-friendly, farmers living in a "classless society" The metal jewellery and the use of weapons as a mark of high social standing shows that violonce, whethere in the form of hunting and warfare and differences in distribution of wealth and power have been around a lot longer than many people think.

[xidrep]

How true! The Kwakiutl Indians of Canada deliberately destroyed their wealth in overt demonstrative acts of 'social superiority' called 'Potlatches'. This even included beheading one's own slaves...the more expensive the items a chap destroyed, the more cudos he obtained. This was only a century or so ago. Barking. As with all contemporary flags of 'social status' (money, size of house, designer clothes, land, Porsche Cayenne..) this ludicrous display merely underlines the primitiveness of the human psyche, and the crudity of the 'messages' and organisations necessary to regulate the simian brutes. Oh, when will we stop being Australopithecines with BMW's? There's also the eternal truth that 'wealth' can never buy 'taste' :lol:

[A_Non_Ymous]

Australopithecines with BMW's? There's also the eternal truth that 'wealth' can never buy 'taste' :lol:

You may recall that these are basically the points that underlie "Per aspera ad astra."

LSN

[Marc]

Maggie Thatcher perhaps put it best: "The veneer of civilization is very thin..."

[A_Non_Ymous]

She is, herself, a self-referential proof of that statement.

LSN

[Marc]

Har Har! Very good, LSN :lol:

[Mikey_C]

The metal jewellery and the use of weapons as a mark of high social standing shows that violonce, whethere in the form of hunting and warfare and differences in distribution of wealth and power have been around a lot longer than many people think.

Wasn't the skeleton of a child, with its skull smashed in, found on site, if I recall correctly? Nice.

[Etive]

I visited Stonehenge just the once when my parents were living in Wiltshire pretty close to Amesbury.

I think English Heritage have tried to ruin the experience for everyone (as usual). There are fences everywhere and a dreaded gift shop with crappy fudge!

Though I did like the electronic guides! There were no English ones left so my group toured the site in French, German and Japanese.

Another thing to look out for is graffiti that says "Hawkwind".

I don't think the archer they found was a King, he was probably 'just' an honoured craftsman and warrior from abroad who brought new skills to the community. Why does someone have to be a King to be important in English history?

[xidrep]

'Cos we're a bunch of revolting arse-crawling lickspittles, that's why :lol:

[Mikey_C]

I don't think the archer they found was a King, he was probably 'just' an honoured craftsman and warrior from abroad who brought new skills to the community.

Wouldn't it be great if they could prove he was an asylum seeker? :lol:

[Pietro_Mercurios]

I don't think the archer they found was a King, he was probably 'just' an honoured craftsman and warrior from abroad who brought new skills to the community.

Wouldn't it be great if they could prove he was an asylum seeker? :lol:

A free booting, mercenary, with specialist knowledge of new armaments and technologies? A visiting dignitary, died of long lasting illness and buried with full honours, as befitted staus? A rich, travelling, cuckoo-henge salesman, who died, just before they converted Stonehenge?