Archaeologica.org

http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26 ... /art348594

A team led by Keeper of Geology Dr Richard Bevins has been using “standard petrographical techniques” and “laser ablation induction coupled mass spectrometry” on samples from Stonehenge and Pembrokeshire.

Their findings, which involve the application of zircon chemistry as a new tool for “provenancing rhyolitic lithics”, point to a source for the stones in an area north of the Mynydd Preseli range, in the vicinity of Pont Saeson.

Where is Point Saeson?

At the north end of Myndd Preseli 91 m OD about a mile NE of Bryberian .

George

Tiompan wrote:At the north end of Myndd Preseli 91 m OD about a mile NE of Bryberian .

George

You forgot to add to turn left at the leprechaun, then to answer the wise man's 3 questions, and then 200 paces along the brook...

In the 21st century those are useless 'directions', George.

FYI: they were replaced in the late 18th century with the latitude/longitude system, 15 years ago augmented with GPS for precision, and 5/10 years ago with Google Earth/Google Maps for display/presentation (http://www.google.com/earth/index.html).

Wanna try again?

then to answer the wise man's 3 questions,

What is your name?

What is your quest?

What is the capital of Assyria?

Yep, if you want to find Stonehenge's holy grail...

Or were they 5 questions...?

Rokcet Scientist wrote:

Tiompan wrote:At the north end of Myndd Preseli 91 m OD about a mile NE of Bryberian .

George

In the 21st century those are useless 'directions', George.

FYI: they were replaced in the late 18th century with the latitude/longitude system, 15 years ago augmented with GPS for precision, and 5/10 years ago with Google Earth/Google Maps for display/presentation (http://www.google.com/earth/index.html).

Wanna try again?

What was useless about them was the mispelling of Brynberian , a similar mistake with lat /long would have resulted in you happily going to the wrong spot and accepting it whereas the mention of the hill is an extra confirming factor .
What you fail to appreciate RS as that there is information in the " directions " , Myndd Preseli is the range of hills where the bluestones are said to have come from , Pont Saeson at 91 m is obviously not a hill but as pointed out in the same area .
Just copy and paste Brynberian into GE (not the new clunky 6 I hope ) and use the ruler and you'll find the spot .
15 years ago GPS accuracy ,unless it was a Trimble ,was hardly an augmentation of precision for Lat /Long , anymore than the average hand held is today .

George

Amazing how you manage to avoid any possible kind of precision in your 'directions'.

Sorry I'm late on this Min, it's as George says.
It's Pont Saeson BTW.
Pont, or Bont is Welsh for Bridge. Saeson is Welsh for Saxon and today for the English and is the root of Sassenach.
So the village name means Saxon Bridge.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source ... -w&cad=rja

Quite why they suggest that the last ice age moved the stones I know not, all the local evidence suggsts that the ice was moving west last time around.

Roy.

Rokcet Scientist wrote:Amazing how you manage to avoid any possible kind of precision in your 'directions'.

What possible precision can you have in relation to an event that occurred at least 13,00 years ago involving glacial action on rocks . Pont Saeson consists of a handful of houses spread over an area 0.5 Km x 0.5 Km . If you are really interested you will find with the directions but if you are really that incapable of doing that the grid ref for the point where it says Pont Saeson on the map is SN 11712 35911 .

George

Call in RS, I'll take you there.
I wish people would try some of these ideas George, I can't think of more unsuitable ground for dragging heavy loads over.

Roy.

Digit wrote:I wish people would try some of these ideas George, I can't think of more unsuitable ground for dragging heavy loads over.

Roy.

I'm agnostic , it is possibility ,but some of the glacial action supporters have an agenda that ignores the capabilities and need to move large stones long distances even within Britain in non glaciated areas e.g. Old keig and Jersey .They have no option but to accept it elsewhere where glaciation did not occur but seem to be a bit too dogmatic simply because most monuments were built with local materials .

George

But think on this George, the results so far indicate at least half a dozen different sources for the stones.
I was born in a town called Dunstable, in Bedfordshire, at the foot of the 'Downs.'
The Downs are chalk hills, they can be steep but are generally reasonably smooth, the Preselis are anything but.
Steep in places, rocky outcrops, deep water cut gulleys, bog and marsh land.
So OK, I agree with you that we shouldn't say that these people were less capable than ourselves, but if they had found a site with a workable route than common sense suggests that all the stones would have come from that same spot.
The fact that the stones have such varied sources implies erratics.

Roy.

Digit wrote:But think on this George, the results so far indicate at least half a dozen different sources for the stones.
I was born in a town called Dunstable, in Bedfordshire, at the foot of the 'Downs.'
The Downs are chalk hills, they can be steep but are generally reasonably smooth, the Preselis are anything but.
Steep in places, rocky outcrops, deep water cut gulleys, bog and marsh land.
So OK, I agree with you that we shouldn't say that these people were less capable than ourselves, but if they had found a site with a workable route than common sense suggests that all the stones would have come from that same spot.
The fact that the stones have such varied sources implies erratics.

Roy.

I don't have a problem with either scenario glacial action or human transport and no agenda either .The good news is that we are slowly getting closer to a possible explanation , merlin seems to have been dropped these days , maybe he was metaphorical ice ?.

George

Perhaps that engraving on the stones is Arthur's sword!

Roy.

Digit wrote:Call in RS, I'll take you there.
I wish people would try some of these ideas George, I can't think of more unsuitable ground for dragging heavy loads over.

Roy.

There you go bringing in facts again!