Professor Challenger and His Lost Neolithic World : : the Compelling Story of Alexander Thom and British Archaeoastronomy.

• Author: MacKie, Euan W.
• Place / Publishing House: Oxford : : Archaeopress,, 2021.; Ã2021.
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (158 pages)

This book combines the two great passions of the author's life: reconstructing the Neolithic mind and constructively challenging consensus in his professional domain. Semi-autobiographical, it charts his investigation of Alexander Thom's theories regarding the alignment of prehistoric monuments in the landscape across several key Neolithic sites.

Table of Contents

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Information -- Contents -- Chapter 1 -- The origins of the controversy -- 1.1 Thom's hypotheses -- 1.2 Methods of approach -- Possible tests for the Thom theories -- 1.3 Archaeological reaction to Thom's major publications in the 1960s and 1970s -- Chapter 2 -- Early hypothesis-testing in western Scotland -- 2.1 The Kintraw standing stone -- Introduction -- The Kintraw cairns -- The Kintraw hill platform -- The second boulder -- Petrofabric analysis -- The 'watch stone' -- Discussion -- Conclusions -- 2.2 The Cultoon stone circle on Islay -- Introduction -- A long alignment discovered -- Discussion -- 2.4 Brainport Bay, Argyll -- Midsummer sunrise -- Discussion -- The present state of Brainport Bay -- Chapter 3 -- Decisive tests in Orkney and Ireland -- 3.1. Introduction -- Acknowledgements -- 3.2. Decisive tests in Orkney -- Archaeological background -- Archaeoastronomy -- Orientations and alignments -- Solstitial sunrises and sunsets -- 3.3. Newgrange, Ireland -- 3.4. Maeshowe chambered cairn, Orkney -- Late survival of the solar calendar? -- Further conclusions -- A multiple calendar site? -- Discussion -- Modern reconstruction of the outer part of the passage -- Fresh work at Maeshowe -- The midwinter sunset at Maeshowe -- Architectural details -- 3.5. Ness of Brodgar (ceremonial centre) -- Structure 12 -- Structure 8 -- Structure 14 -- Structure 1 -- 3.6. A 'Beltane line'? -- 3.7. Julius Caesar's evidence -- 3.8. The Survey of the Ring of Brodgar (Figure 3.18) -- A second major solar alignment? -- Chapter 4 -- Research into Alexander Thom's fieldwork -- 4.1. Background and the work of Alexander Thom -- 4.2. Early reaction from British archaeology -- 4.3. Testing the Thom hypotheses -- 4.4. Reaction against Thom -- 4.5. Clive Ruggles test of the long alignment hypothesis.

4.6. Further points about orientations and alignments -- 4.7. Evidence for anti-Thom prejudice -- 4.8. What kind of astronomical alignments would Neolithic wise men invent? -- 4.9. Ruggles' and Barclay's criticism of the author's views -- The argument from analogy -- 4.10. Archaeological evidence for chiefdoms -- The scale of the building projects -- Inhabited ceremonial centres? -- Grooved Ware and regional Neolithic cultures -- Orkney Neolithic houses types -- 4.11. The skills of the priesthood -- Introduction -- Neolithic metrology -- Cup-and-ring rock carvings -- The large gold lozenge from Bush Barrow -- Ruggles' criticism of Thom -- Have long alignments been disproved by Ruggles' research? -- Maeshowe and Howe in Orkney -- Conclusions -- 4.12. Modern and ancient alignments and orientations -- Chapter 5 -- The probable astronomy and geometry of Stonehenge -- 5.1. The astronomy of Stonehenge: modern studies -- The Stonehenge sequence -- 5.2. A new look at the astronomy and geometry of Stonehenge -- Possible prehistoric astronomical alignments -- Precisely drawn circles -- Pythagorean triangles -- The geometry of the Aubrey holes -- The geometry of the Station Stone rectangle -- Stonehenge astronomy -- 5.3. Conclusions -- 5.4. Other modern opinions -- 5.5. Appendix -- Chapter 6 -- The Neolithic solar calendar, as seen on a kerb stone at Knowth, Ireland -- 6.1. Introduction. -- 6.2. Independent evidence discovered at Knowth chambered cairn in Ireland. -- Abstract -- Interpreting passage grave art -- Astronomical interpretations -- The use of analogy -- 6.3. Is the Knowth fan-shaped pattern a calendar? -- The prehistoric solar calendar hypothesis -- Criticisms of the solar calendar -- Doubts about the concept of the equinox in prehistory -- 6.4. The fan-shaped design at Knowth -- Thomas' interpretation -- 6.5. A fresh look at the Knowth 'fan'.

Details of the carving (Figures 6.1 and 6.2) -- The prehistoric equinox and its implications -- A symbol for the prehistoric calendar? -- 6.6. Conclusions concerning K15 -- Notes -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 7 -- Current aspects of the research situation -- 7.1. A PhD thesis in 2016 -- 7.2. 'Inside the Neolithic mind: consciousness, Cosmos and the Realm of the Gods' (Lewis-Williams and Pearce - 2005) -- 7.3. 'The Materiality of the Sky (2014)'. Proceedings of the 22nd annual SEAC conference in Malta in 2014. Edited by Fabio Silva, Kim Malville, Tore Lomsdalen and Frank Ventura -- 7.4. Archaeoastronomy: the Journal of the Center for Archaeoastronomy -- 7.5. Astronomy before the telescope: edited by Christopher Walker (1996) -- 7.6. The author's academic training -- 7.7. Conclusion -- Appendix -- Is there plausible evidence that the Ness of Brodgar priesthood had any esoteric knowledge? -- A. Introduction -- B. Methodology -- C. Five standing stone sites that already look promising from visual inspection, plus one which turned out to be a dud -- The Bernie Stone (or 'Barnhouse 2') (HY/ 30787 12713) -- D. Orientations of Buildings -- Barnhouse village. (HY/307127) Figure A.21 top and battom -- The largest building (photographs above). -- The smallest house at Barnhouse -- Bibliography -- Figure 2.1. Alexander Thom's map of the Kintraw site. -- Figure 2.2. Photogrammetric contour plan of the Kintraw site showing the field with the cairns and the standing stone ('menhir'), the stream gorge and the platform with boulders discovered beyond on the hillside. The small standing stone slightly above th -- Figure 2.3. Photograph from the hill platform at Kintraw, with the cairns, the standing stone and the two distant horizons all showing. Above it: drawing of the same view.

Figure 2.4. Plan and sections of the trenches cut on the boulder platform at Kintraw. The top section (ab) runs uphill, the lower one (cd) runs along the platform. -- Figure 2.5. An early stage in the excavations of the high pebble platform held in place by two large boulders on the steep slope beyond the stream north of the field with the Kintraw standing stone and cairns. The photograph and drawing of the distant sol -- Figure 2.6. Another boulder lying on the edge of the terrace on the steep slope beyond the stream, a few yards right of the notch (as seen from the standing stone). It was excavated to see if the rubble platform extended that far but it did not. -- Figure 2.7. The small standing stone a few yards above the observation platform. Douglas Scott said that this had accidentally crashed down the slope. It may have done that but then the Neolithic priests and wise men must have put it upright. -- Figure 2.8. Analysis by Bibby of the orientation of fragments of stone in different layers. Nos. b and c are for the raised observation platform at Kintraw, d is of a definitely artificial stone floor at Sheep Hill hillfort and e and f are of layers natur -- Figure 2.9a. This photograph was taken in 2017 and shows how difficult it is now to see the hill observation platform from the field of the standing stone because of the vast increase in trees and bushes on the steep slope beyond the stream. Attempts have -- Figure 2.9b. Plan of Cultoon stone circle before excavation started. The three upright stones (I, IV and VIII are marked in black, what appeared at first to be fallen stones are marked with parallel line shading and those found under the turf are marked w -- Figure 2.10. Elliptical plan of Cultoon after the stone sockets were discovered.

Figure 2.11. Dimensions of the planned circle at Cultoon, using the few standing stones and the many empty stone sockets. -- Figure 2.12. Top: drawing of the south-western horizon in Ireland indicated by the long axis of the Cultoon ellipse. Bottom: layers in the stone circle showing how a peat layer, formed about 1000 BC, sealed in the abandoned circle. -- Figure 2.13. (a) Scale sketch of Leacach at Tigh Cloiche -- the site is at 260 ft above sea level, on a ridge running down towards the south-west. (b) The Moon rising over Wiay island in the furthest south positionas seen from the site (c) the midsummer Su -- Figure 2.14. Photograph of the south-west view from the Sornach Coir Finn stone circle -- the distant foresight peaks on the island of Skye and just visible to the left of the massive local peak. -- Figure 2.15. A measured drawing of the same view in Figure 2.14 with the estimated sunrise on the distant peak on Skye. -- Figure 2.16. Plan of the main alignment at Brainport Bay (taken from MacKie, Gladwin and Roy 1985, fig. 3). -- Figure. 2.17. Midsummer sunrise in 1977, seen from the double observation boulder. It shows that the original one of about 1800 BC would have risen slightly to the left (Figure 2.19 below) so that it would have allowed the exact date of midsummer to be di -- Figure 2.18. These two photographs were taken in April 2017 and show how untidy the site has become. The first one is taken from between the observation boulders and shows how the alignment to the distant horizon of the sunrise is almost obliterated. The -- Figure 2.19. Diagram showing the horizon, and relevant sunrises, indicated by the natural rock outcrops of the long alignment.

Figure 2.20. The stone disc discovered at Brainport Bay by Col. Gladwin. It cannot be a rotary quern as it lacks a central perforation and also lacks the slightly concave cross section which is essential for these prehistoric querns. The alternative expla.