Stonehenge age recalibrated: OUCH!

Rokcet Scientist · Post by **Rokcet Scientist** » Sun Sep 21, 2008 11:34 pm

Dig pinpoints Stonehenge origins
Archaeologists have pinpointed the construction of Stonehenge to 2300 BC - a key step to discovering how and why the mysterious temple was built.
The radiocarbon date is said to be the most accurate yet and means the ring's original bluestones were put up 300 years later than previously thought.
The dating is the major finding from an excavation inside the henge by Profs Tim Darvill and Geoff Wainwright.
The duo found evidence suggesting Stonehenge was a centre of healing.
Others have argued that the monument was a shrine to worship ancestors, or a calendar to mark the solstices. [...]

Watch the videoclip: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7625145.stm

Ishtar · Post by **Ishtar** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 12:09 am

Arguing about whether it was "a place of healing", a "place where the living met the dead", "a calendar" or "a place of burial" shows a colossal misunderstanding about how ancient man lived, and applies our own way of doing things today which is completely different. One of them even refers to Stonehenge as a sort of "A & E".

They could have been doing all of the above and more ... as healing, astronomy and ancestor worship were all part of the same thing, the honouring of their gods or spirits, and the dead were also buried within these ritual places.

It's only relatively recently that the organisation of time, healing and burial of the dead has been separated from the spiritual.

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Sam Salmon · Post by **Sam Salmon** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 8:24 am

Ishtar wrote:They could have been doing all of the above and more ... as healing, astronomy and ancestor worship were all part of the same thing....

It's true the BBC puts a certain spin on the story but deeper into the text there's a quote from one of the archaeos that acknowledges what you're saying-that it was almost certainly a many faceted locale.

Post by **Minimalist** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 8:59 am

For once I agree with Ish. "Compartmentalization" seems to be an a modern idea, best noted perhaps in the medical field where over-specialization runs rampant.

We don't breed "renaissance men" any more.

kbs2244 · Post by **kbs2244** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:16 am

It has gone all through our society.
Tax lawyers, divorce lawyers, real estate lawyers.
Women problems doctors, men problems doctors, children doctors, heart doctors.
Catholic priests, Militant Islamists, Ultra Orthodox Jews, Fundamentalist Christians and Mormons.
Archeologists, Anthropologists, Historians, Egyptologists.

I would guess it is the price we pay as we learn more and more.
As the knowledge base explodes it is impossible for one person to stay on top of everything.

Ishtar · Post by **Ishtar** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:18 am

Minimalist wrote: We don't breed "renaissance men" any more.

Except we have a good few on this board, yourself included ... oh, and 'renaissance women' too!

It's one of the things I love about this board ... that we can work across disciplines.

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Post by **Minimalist** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:28 am

As the knowledge base explodes it is impossible for one person to stay on top of everything.

Hmm.... yeah, that's the excuse, kb.

I wonder if it isn't something deeper though.

Digit · Post by **Digit** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 12:34 pm

And frankly the reasoning behind the A& E theory I personally found ridiculous!

Roy.