Neo Disc

Introduction to Stonehenge

How interpretations of the ritual nature of Stonehenge have changed over time

Interpretations of the ritual nature of Stonehenge have changed greatly over time. Lets explore some of these interpretations from the Roman period to the modern day and divide our study into what we could term the Folklore interpretations and the Archaeological interpretations although as we shall see in some cases the two overlap. Within this two way division we can also discuss briefly the interpretations of Stonehenge as an astronomical observatory and a sacred site – again both can reflect aspects of the site’s ritual nature – although its worth remembering that the very earliest part of Stonehenge did not have any solar alignment.

Folklore

There are many references to Stonehenge in folklore. In the 12th century Geoffrey of Monmouth included a story in his Historica Regum Britanniae that associated the monument’s building with Merlin. A version of this story made it into Wace’s Norman French ‘Roman de Brut’ and Layamon’s Middle English ‘Brut’. Geoffrey relates that Stonehenge was originally built in Ireland by giants and Merlin transported it to its current location. This was said to be the burial place of Ambrosius Aurelianus and Uther Pendragon and finally Constantine III.

According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, the rocks of Stonehenge were healing rocks, called the Giant’s dance, which giants brought from Africa to Ireland for their healing properties. Aurelius Ambrosias (5th century), wishing to erect a memorial to the 3,000 nobles, who had died in battle with the Saxons and were buried at Salisbury, chose Stonehenge (at Merlin’s advice) to be their monument. Other folklore accounts also include references to the Heel Stone, Friar’s Heel or Sun Stone. When one stands within Stonehenge, facing north-east through the entrance towards the heel stone, one sees the sun rise above the stone at summer solstice. A seventeenth century folk tale relates the origin of the Friar’s Heel reference. The Devil bought the stones from a woman in Ireland and brought them to Salisbury plain. The Devil then cried out, “No-one will ever find out how these stones came here!” A friar replied, “That’s what you think!,” whereupon the Devil threw one of the stones at him and struck him on the heel. The stone stuck in the ground and is still there. A more simple explanation for the name might be that the stone heels, or leans. Folklore continues into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Stonehenge has been revived as a place of religious significance by adherents of Neopagan and New Age beliefs, particularly the Neo Druids.

Ronald Hutton remarked that “it was a great, and potentially uncomfortable, irony that modern Druids had arrived at Stonehenge just as archaeologists were evicting the ancient Druids from it.” The first such Neo-druidic group to make use of the megalithic monument was the Ancient Order of Druids who performed a mass initiation ceremony there in August 1905, in which they admitted 259 new members into their organization. Between 1972 and 1984 Stonehenge was the site of the free festival. In fact we can say that this Druidical interest really goes back to the work of William Stukely who can also be classified as one of the first people to attempt an antiquarian explanation for Stonehenge but more on Stukeley in our next section. So we can see that folkloric interpretations of the site changed over time from the Arthurian legends to the modern times.

Archeological research and interpretation of the ritual nature of Stonehenge

Throughout recorded history Stonehenge and its surrounding monuments have attracted attention from antiqarians and archaeologists. Henry of Huntingdon a 12th century cleric wrote ‘ No one can conceive how such great stones have been so raised aloft, or why they were built there’ John Aubery was one of the first to examine the site with a scientific eye in 1666, and recorded in his plan of the monument the pits that now bear his name. William Stukeley continued Aubrey’s work in the early 18th century, but took an interest in the surrounding monuments as well, identifying (somewhat incorrectly) the Cursus and the Avenue. He also began the excavation of many of the barrows in the area, and it was his interpretation of the landscape that associated it with the Druids. Stukeley was so fascinated with Druids that he originally named Disc Barrows as Druids’ Barrows. Here we see the interface of archeology and folklore in fact in the interpretation of the ritual nature of Stonehenge.

The fact is we still have no complete interpretation of the ritual nature of Stonehenge. Brian Fagan in his book ‘From Black Land to Fifth Sun’ states ‘ What was Stonehenge? What prevailed on Stone Age and Bronze Age farmers…to construct such an imposing set of stone circles ? Was Stonehenge the centre of some long forgotten religious cult or was it an observatory…’ Fagan then goes on to consider the work of Lockyer, Hawkins, and Thom who all attempted to show the detailed astronomical function of the site without success in Fagan’s opinion. However, as far back as Stukeley the simple solar alignment was in evidence and Fagan feels that Stonehenge may reflect a distinctive idea of time as circular. If it is not a sophisticated astronomical observatory I think there can be less doubt that it is a sacred site. Its positioning in a ritual landscape seems clear but I don’t think we can go as far as Fagan thinks in claiming ” I believe that the stone circles were also a powerful political statement, a symbol of traditional religious beliefs at a time of ongoing political and social change.” I just do not think we have the wider contextual evidence for this.

Perhaps we are on firmer ground when we consider the sacred nature of the site from its wider geographical context. William Cunningtom was the next to tackle the area in the early 19th century. He excavated some 24 barrows before digging in and around the stones and discovered charred wood, animal bones, pottery and urns. He also identified the hole in which the Slaughter Stone once stood. At the same time Richard Colt Hoare began his activities, excavating some 379 barrows on Salisbury Plain before working with Cunnington and William Coxe on some 200 in the area around the Stones. Fagan states ‘ The settings of some important burial mound groups close to Stonehenge leave no doubt as to the importance of their owners… Many barrows must have had a wealth of association for those who used and maintained Stonehenge’

Conclusion

Perhaps it is simplest if we list the changing interpretations of the ritual nature Stonehenge Folkloric interpretations vary from Arthurian legends, to battles with the Devil in the vicinity of Stonehenge. Stukeley and others saw it as an ancient Druidical sacred site Hawkins, Thom and Lockyer saw Stonehenge as an astronomical observatory. Many archeologists see it as a sacred site associated with burials – evidence from Durrington Walls discovery seems to support this as do earlier discoveries of cremated human remains in post holes at Stonehenge itself. New theories including evidence from the Amesbury and the Boscombe Bowmen suggests Stonehenge may have been a healing site. Fagan and others see it as part of a larger sacred landscape.

The work of Julian Richards and also The Durrington Walls evidence seems to back this up quiet strongly. There is also some connection with the concept of time because of the basic solar alignment but I agree with Fagan that this may be more symbolic than detailed. Recent suggestions also include the suggestion that Stonehenge may have been a concert setting both ancient and modern because of its acoustic properties. ! However, what I find particularly interesting is the 2008 work of Darvill in dating the bluestone pillars and the discovery of organic material from 7000 BC which adds support for the site being used at least 4000 years before Stonehenge was even started – although we do not seem to have evidence of ritual on the site from that far back it reminds us all that the interpretations of the ritual nature of Stonehenge still continue to evolve.

Dr Simon Harding

www.chronosconsulting.com

www.biblon.com

About the Author

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