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The Defense of Stonehenge
Picture today’s marauding hordes as a home invasion. You are helpless.
Not really! We have locks on our doors, neighbors looking out for suspicious
activity, weapons for protection and a cell phone to call the police.
Society provides safety and independence. However, for much of history
the peaceful have been victims of the aggressive. The formation of society in
general was for individual protection. Forming a tribe, in which one could seek
help, share labor and provide for the common defense, was necessary for survival.
It mystifies me when reading archeological accounts how often even the most
insignificant item becomes shrouded in religious significance. Granted religion,
even today, is a powerful force for organizing society. Religion is the basis of our
laws and rules governing behavior. Yet how does one get from the rules made by
man based often on fear and superstition to the higher level of spirituality? In a
vacuum of information too often we are led to the spectacular explanation rather
than the more practical. The myth of a better past time – one of infinite
knowledge – confounds the obvious suffering and fear of the ages.
Visiting Stonehenge and Avebury one immediately notices the number of people
searching for spiritual signs - in particular those dousing for energy lines and force
fields. If any of these “spiritual” people took a moment to look around they would
be struck with another very significant aspect of both Stonehenge and Avebury –
the position of the structures in relationship to the surrounding lands.
While I have read nothing in the literature, looking at the site for Avebury one
thing stands clear – its defensible position. Stonehenge has a similar defensible
position. Both structures stand on high ground over looking a large agricultural plain.
Avebury even has a lookout post within signaling distance. New smaller stone
circles found recently at Stonehenge also form a pattern of look outposts.
Thinking of the weapons available to man around 2500-2000 BC Avebury and
Stonehenge provide a clear military advantage to any tribe controlling the site.
The bow and arrows, spears and stone axes have been the tools and weapons of
man for as long as the history of society. The Khan in China and the British
defended and defeated early enemies with their long bows. The Khan’s success
against the better armed, organized and trained Chin was a result of his men being
able to accurately deliver a barrage of arrows while riding full speed.
The spacing between the stones at Stonehenge and Avebury (about one meter)
give clear access to shoot while the stones provide protection from any weapon
known at the time. A fort built in a circle is defensible from all sides. Large stones
sunk deep in the earth provide an indestructible structure in a time before the
catapult. Three meter spacing is large enough for a large group to exit and enter
at speed, but narrow enough to be defensible from both sides as the enemy attempts
a charge. The widths of the stones at over three meters are wide and tall enough
to completely protect two people. Horses, known to warfare at the time, could
easily be tripped and dispatched when charging the spaces between the stones.
There are other factors supporting a conclusion that Stonehenge and Avebury
were defensive structures. Another primary weapon of ancient man was fire.
Many wooden forts and homes have succumbed to an aggressor’s fire. A stone
fort takes away one of an enemy’s primary weapons. Stonehenge has an internal
semi circle of stones a few meters above the outer circle. These stones appear to
have been added at a later date than the original circle, but the height suggests a
higher vantage point – one above all other points from which a battle could be
coordinated and directed.
In examining the human remains at Stonehenge there are a large number of bones
with trauma damage buried at the site. Societies through all recorded history have
afforded the war dead special burial privileges. Such special treatment of honor
encourages the young to sacrifice for the good of society. One minor point, the
stones are decorated with drawings of weapons of the day.
Extending ones imagination a little, the cap stones when accompanied with an
internal platform would allow both a second tier of shooters as well as circular
protection for delivering reinforcements in a safe fashion. Similar defenses are
seen in the castles of Europe .
Occam's Razor and pure common sense dictate a simpler explanation than has
been advanced in the new age literature. Yet in all I have read on Stonehenge
no where have I seen mentioned the advantages of owning such a defensive
structure in early times of marauding hordes. Early agricultural times depended on
accuracy in predicting seasons for planting and having defensible structures or
locations. It does not take a psychic to see the advantage of protecting your crops
and stores of grain. Then again stone circles could be the gateway to all evil
descending on the earth.
E. V. Baranov - CEO
The Kondratyev Theory Letter ( The Letter )"
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