Thursday, October 2, 2014

Ancient Wisdom

We are as intrigued as anyone else about how some ancient stone monuments (e.g. megaliths) were built. Some of the technology, such as the fitting of the stones at Cuzco, is truly amazing. Some sixty years ago Gavin spent time on Salisbury Plain at Her Majesty's weapons-testing ranges, where experts were testing infra-red weaponry such as the Sidewinder. Most of the testing was done at night. This gave the scientists time to explore the landscape, and to bat theories back and forth on how and when and why Stonehenge was built. Gavin offered the theory that the quarrying and transporting and building of the stones, and putting the lintels on the tops of the megaliths to form trilithons, was no problem--if you simply thought winter. Why bother with rollers and ropes and all that, when a couple of buckets of water thrown on the ground would freeze and you could slide the blocks across the frozen surface? We had fun. We demonstrated to our own satisfaction that a single lightweight man could move a one-ton stone with ease, provided that it had even one flat side. To get the stones upright, build a ramp of ice and snow. To put the capstone on, another similar ramp would be needed ... and would be built just as easily and serve as well. Then in spring it would return itself to the earth. So the construction resolved itself into a simple application of manpower--people who were doing little else in the middle of winter. Next we looked at the thermocline: that is, the temperatures thought to have been prevalent at the time when Stonehenge was constructed. Lo and behold: It was a cold period. That still didn't solve the problem of how they aligned the stones nor how, for instance, they figured out where to put the Aubrey holes and why there should be 56 of them to predict lunar eclipses. Recall that they ultimately had to calculate astronomical patterns happening over approximately 200 years. So we solved half the problem, at least to our own satisfaction; and we will leave the rest to you. Think about it. Was life expectancy so brief? Or did people live to greater ages than we've always assumed? Were the knotted-string methodologies (quipu) known, or did those people have writing and calculation methods that we wot not of? We've puzzled over our uncertainty for years. Every time we see a piece on Stonehenge, it reinvigorates our thoughts. Will you share your thoughts? Give us feedback. Blessed be those who question easy assumptions. GY

4 comments:

Bob said...

Good thoughts Gavin. I have long been astounded by how wise our ancestors were. They may not have had diesel engines and hydraulic cranes, but they had minds and hearts. As for why 56 post holes around the circle, it may just be that they wanted a row of posts so some engineer paced off 2 (or whatever) paces and dug the next one, repeat. Everything isn't done for some great cosmic mystery.

thirdeyespinning said...

Im baaaaaaccckkkk. Very intelligent post Gavin I am contemplating this. Blessed Be.

thirdeyespinning said...

True story. James Earl Jones did not speak till he was 5 years old and now ironically he has the most famous voice in the world that of Darth Vader. He also was Thulsa Doom in Conan The Barbarian. A line from the movie he said to Arnold Schwarzenegger was "Contemplate This On The Tree Of Woe" Directors notes for "The Early Years" the first woman presidents college experience. Her name will be Anastasia Aurora Borealis Frost and the budget for this movie will be 200 Million Dollars and a island will be purchased for the movie and the sign at the port will say WELCOME TO THE ISLAND OF THE CHURCH AND SCHOOL OF WICCA

thirdeyespinning said...

Perhaps Lars Swanson and I will play this song on the set of "The Early Years" A movie dedicated to The Frosts

Wanted Dead Or Alive

It’s all the same, only the names will change
Everyday it seems we’re wasting away
Another place where the faces are so cold
I’d drive all night just to get back home
I’m a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride
I’m wanted dead or alive
Wanted dead or alive
Sometimes I sleep, sometimes it’s not for days
And the people I meet always go their separate ways
Sometimes you tell the day
By the bottle that you drink
And times when you’re alone all you do is think
I’m a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride
I’m wanted dead or alive
Wanted dead or alive
I walk these streets, a loaded six string on my back
I play for keeps, ‘cause I might not make it back
I been everywhere, and I’m standing tall
I’ve seen a million faces an I’ve rocked them all
I’m a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride
I’m wanted dead or alive
I’m a cowboy, I got the night on my side
I’m wanted dead or alive
And I ride, dead or alive
I still drive, dead or alive
Dead or alive

Anyone or anything has a problem with The Frosts I give you a war you will not believe.