"Secrets of Stonehenge" CH4 now

bogman

Potential to be brilliant, sorry for being late with this

slowburner

It's available on 4od here.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/secrets-of-the-stonehenge-skeletons/4od

Fascinating stuff but far too compressed and superficial. The Strontium analysis alone, would be worth a couple of programmes.
It was magnificent to see the map showing the origins of animals brought from all over Britain to the feasts at Stonehenge.
The thought of neolithic people from as far afield as the Orkneys making their way down to the feasts with animals in tow, is just outstanding. The implication is that this was a cohesive, island wide community until the arrival of the Beaker Folk. This brings up a multitude of other interesting questions about timing, travel, routes and communication.
See Feeding Stonehenge.
It would be great to see the distribution map (Dr. Janet Montgomery is the authority, I think) - were folks going over from Ireland?

Mike Parker Pearson is an admirable thinker and quite happy to entertain intuitive outside the box thinking, but I'd like to have seen more evidence that the blue stones were originally around the perimeter. He points to a displacement of stones in the pits thought to be post holes and asserts that this was proof that the blue stones once stood there. Surely the erection of posts would cause the same displacement? Furthermore, if the stones had been dug up and removed by later folk, surely this would have left evidence of much more disturbed horizons?

Neutronale

slowburner wrote: »

It's available on 4od here.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/secrets-of-the-stonehenge-skeletons/4od

Fascinating stuff but far too compressed and superficial. The Strontium analysis alone, would be worth a couple of programmes.
It was magnificent to see the map showing the origins of animals brought from all over Britain to the feasts at Stonehenge.
The thought of neolithic people from as far afield as the Orkneys making their way down to the feasts with animals in tow, is just outstanding. The implication is that this was a cohesive, island wide community until the arrival of the Beaker Folk. This brings up a multitude of other interesting questions about timing, travel, routes and communication.
See Feeding Stonehenge.
It would be great to see the distribution map (Dr. Janet Montgomery is the authority, I think) - were folks going over from Ireland?

Mike Parker Pearson is an admirable thinker and quite happy to entertain intuitive outside the box thinking, but I'd like to have seen more evidence that the blue stones were originally around the perimeter. He points to a displacement of stones in the pits thought to be post holes and asserts that this was proof that the blue stones once stood there. Surely the erection of posts would cause the same displacement? Furthermore, if the stones had been dug up and removed by later folk, surely this would have left evidence of much more disturbed horizons?

It was interesting that they used the term 'these islands' and yet there was no mention of Ireland. Pesumably there was no conection found with Ireland or it would have been included

Neutronale

slowburner wrote: »

It's available on 4od here.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/secrets-of-the-stonehenge-skeletons/4od

Fascinating stuff but far too compressed and superficial. The Strontium analysis alone, would be worth a couple of programmes.
It was magnificent to see the map showing the origins of animals brought from all over Britain to the feasts at Stonehenge.
The thought of neolithic people from as far afield as the Orkneys making their way down to the feasts with animals in tow, is just outstanding. The implication is that this was a cohesive, island wide community until the arrival of the Beaker Folk. This brings up a multitude of other interesting questions about timing, travel, routes and communication.
See Feeding Stonehenge.
It would be great to see the distribution map (Dr. Janet Montgomery is the authority, I think) - were folks going over from Ireland?

Mike Parker Pearson is an admirable thinker and quite happy to entertain intuitive outside the box thinking, but I'd like to have seen more evidence that the blue stones were originally around the perimeter. He points to a displacement of stones in the pits thought to be post holes and asserts that this was proof that the blue stones once stood there. Surely the erection of posts would cause the same displacement? Furthermore, if the stones had been dug up and removed by later folk, surely this would have left evidence of much more disturbed horizons?

Its certainly a nice story, I was amazed that he ws able to link up such distant events so neatly and using existing evidence like the
Amsbury Archer...as you say is there the evidence to justify such neat conclusions

LindowMan

It's over 700 miles from Orkney to Wiltshire. It's a long way to go today, never mind 3000 years ago when you had to sail and walk all the way there just to partake in a bit of feasting before a religious ceremony to bury your dead as the setting of the midwinter sun shines with precision through the centre of the great stone circle.

And Stonehenge is thought to be one of just many areas of ancient Britain where thousands of ancient Britons from far and wide, at a time when the population of Britain was just in the tens or hundreds of thousands, congregated to get to know one another and take part in feasting and drinking. Is was a way for the scattered communities in an empty land to meet and greet one another and to show that they are not alone.

There is a place in Wiltshire where the remains of large feasts, such as the bones of pigs and sheep, and even the pots and eating utensils, all of it mixed up in tons of animal dung, can still be seen to this day. It seems that people a few thousand years ago congregated there, brought their animals with them and cooked them on fires before eating them, and then all the bones and even the eating implements were just dumped in a big pile. And all this detritus just built up over the years into one massive rubbish tip.