
Prehistoric Astronomy and Ritual
Aubrey Burl(Author)
Shire Publications (Publisher)
Published on 1. April 2005
Book
Paperback/Softback
72 pages
978-0-7478-0614-1 (ISBN)
Description
Stonehenge was not an observatory used by druidical astronomer-priests. It was, instead, a monument in which the moon and the sun and the dead were joined together. In this book the author explains how people in the British Isles, four thousand or more years ago, identified life and death with the cycle of midwinter and midsummer and with the risings and settings of the sun and moon. This is why so many megalithic monuments have astronomical sightlines built into them. This book describes how astronomical customs developed in the British Isles. Unlike other works about 'megalithic astronomy' technical explanations about azimuths and declinations are kept to their simplest. The emphasis here is upon people rather than pertrubations and eclipses.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
1 col
Dimensions
Height: 208 mm
Width: 148 mm
Thickness: 4 mm
Weight
2880 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7478-0614-1 (9780747806141)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Aubrey Burl
Prehistoric Astronomy and Ritual
Book
03/1983
Shire Publications
€26.18
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Aubrey Burl is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and an Honoary Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. His interest has always been in the early societies of prehistoric Britain, particularly in their ritual practices.
Content
Introduction; Discovery and proof of Prehistoric astronomy and ritual; Sun, moon and Prehistoric people; Problems and some answers: Callanish and Ballochroy; The Primitive phase: Burial Places, 4000-3000 BC; The developed phase: stone circles, 3000-2000 BC; The local phase: standing stones, 2000-1250 BC; Balquhain: 'The Stone that puts the starts to flight'; The future; Sites to visit; Further reading