← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · darkeddy
Thread ID: 4924 | Posts: 6 | Started: 2003-02-11
2003-02-11 04:42 | User Profile
Stonehenge "King" was from central Europe Mon Feb 10,10:53 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - The construction of one of the country's most famous ancient landmarks, the towering megaliths at Stonehenge, might have been supervised by the Swiss, or maybe even the Germans.
Archaeologists studying the remains of a wealthy archer found in a 4,000-year-old grave exhumed near Stonehenge last year said on Monday he was originally from the Alps region, probably modern-day Switzerland, Austria or Germany.
"He would have been a very important person in the Stonehenge area and it is fascinating to think that someone from abroad -- probably modern-day Switzerland -- could have played an important part in the construction of the site," said archaeologist Andrew Fitzpatrick in a statement.
The so-called "Amesbury Archer" was found in a grave about three miles (five km) from the landmark, buried with 100 items, including gold earrings, copper knives and pottery.
Researchers hailed the find -- dating from about 2,300 B.C. and the oldest known grave in Britain -- as one of the richest early Bronze Age sites in Europe.
He was dubbed "The King of Stonehenge" because of the lavish items found in his grave, including some of the earliest gold objects ever found in Britain.
It was tests on the enamel of his teeth that revealed he was born and grew up in the Alps region.
"Different ratios of oxygen isotopes form on teeth in different parts of the world and the ratio found on these teeth prove they were from somebody from the Alps region," said Tony Trueman from Wessex Archaeology.
"It is important proof that culture imported from the continent helped bring Britain out of the Stone Age," he told Reuters.
Stonehenge, built between 3,000 and 1,600 B.C, is a ring of 20-tonne stones on Salisbury Plain and attracts up to one million visitors annually.
Celebrations at the site during the summer solstice -- the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere -- attract thousands of revellers, including the Druids who believe Stonehenge was a sacred temple.
2003-02-11 08:27 | User Profile
In ancient times, hundreds of years before the dawn of history lived a strange race of people: the Druids. No one knows who they were, or what they were doing, but their legacy remains here into the living rock... of Stonehenge.
Stonehenge. Where the demons dwell, Where the banshees live, And they do live well
Stonehenge. Where a man is a man. And the children dance, To the pipes of pan.
Stonehenge. Tis a magic place, Where the moon doth rise, With a dragon's face.
Stonehenge. Where the virgins lie. And the prayer of devils, Fill the midnight sky.
And you my love, Won't you take my hand. We'll go back in time, To that mystic land.
Where the dew drops cry, And the cats meow. I will take you there, I will show you how.
And oh how they danced, the little children of Stonehenge, beneath the haunted moon for fear that daybreak might come too soon.
And where are they now? The little people of Stonehenge. And what would they say to us, if we were here...tonight."
2003-02-11 11:58 | User Profile
You're just chock-full of appropriate lyrics lately, aren't you Tex. :lol:
2003-02-11 19:52 | User Profile
I for one hold that the dance around the minature Stonehenge model is the funniest part of the movie -- except for 'This one goes to 11.'
2003-02-11 20:37 | User Profile
The odd thing is that Black Sabbath (the Ian Gillan incarnation) were touring with the stonehenge backdrop when 'Tap' came out... :lol:
2003-02-11 20:39 | User Profile
I hope it wasn't 12" x 18".