Oxford University landscape archaeologist Anthony Johnson: Stonehenge more geometry than astronomy
- From: Jack Linthicum <jacklinthicum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 03:04:03 -0700 (PDT)
The most complex geometrical achievement at Stonehenge is an 87-metre
diameter circle of chalk-cut pits which mark the points of a 56-sided
polygon, created immediately within themonument's perimeter earthwork.
Mr Johnson used computer analysis and experimental archaeology to
demonstrate that this outer polygon was laid out using square and
circle geometry. He believes the surveyors started by using a rope to
create a circle, then laid out the four corners of a square on its
circumference, before laying out a second similar square, thus
creating an inner octagon. The points of the octagon were then
utilised as anchors for a surveyor's rope which was used to "draw"
arcs which intersected the circumference so as to progressively create
the sides of a vast polygon.
A leading British prehistorian, Sir Barry Cunliffe, from Oxford
University, believes that Anthony Johnson's research is "a major step
forward in solving the puzzle of Stonehenge".
Stonehenge builders had geometry skills to rival Pythagoras
By David Keys, Archaeology Correspondent
Monday, 26 May 2008
Stone Age Britons had a sophisticated knowledge of geometry to rival
Pythagoras – 2,000 years before the Greek "father of numbers" was
born, according to a new study of Stonehenge.
Five years of detailed research, carried out by the Oxford University
landscape archaeologist Anthony Johnson, claims that Stonehenge was
designed and built using advanced geometry.
The discovery has immense implications for understanding the monument
– and the people who built it. It also suggests it is more rooted in
the study of geometry than early astronomy – as is often speculated.
Mr Johnson believes the geometrical knowledge eventually used to plan,
pre-fabricate and erect Stonehenge was learnt empirically hundreds of
years earlier through the construction of much simpler monuments.
He also argues that this knowledge was regarded as a form of arcane
wisdom or magic that conferred a privileged status on the elite who
possessed it, as it also featured on gold artefacts found in
prehistoric graves.
The most complex geometrical achievement at Stonehenge is an 87-metre
diameter circle of chalk-cut pits which mark the points of a 56-sided
polygon, created immediately within themonument's perimeter earthwork.
Mr Johnson used computer analysis and experimental archaeology to
demonstrate that this outer polygon was laid out using square and
circle geometry. He believes the surveyors started by using a rope to
create a circle, then laid out the four corners of a square on its
circumference, before laying out a second similar square, thus
creating an inner octagon. The points of the octagon were then
utilised as anchors for a surveyor's rope which was used to "draw"
arcs which intersected the circumference so as to progressively create
the sides of a vast polygon.
Indeed, his work has demonstrated that a 56-sided polygon is the most
complex that can easily be created purely through square and circle
geometry using a single piece of rope.
It is likely that this basic limitation determined the number of sides
of Stonehenge's outer polygon – and may also have led to the 56-sided
polygon concept becoming important within wider European religious
belief. Ancient Greek classical mythology associated just such a 56-
sided polygon with Zeus's great rival for divine supremacy, the
weather god Typhon.
Johnson's research, published as a book this week, shows that
Stonehenge derived its design from geometrical knowledge and features
no less than six concentric polygons – a 56-sided outer one built
around 2950BC; a regular octagon built around 2500BC) inside that; two
concentric (though partly inaccurate) 30-sided polygons built around
1650BC, which were based on a series of hexagons; a 30-sided inner
polygon (the sarsen stone ring which was built around 2500BC) also
based on hexagonal geometry; and two probable 40-sided concentric
polygons (probable former blue stone positions built around 2600BC)
that were later modified to 30-sided ones. They also created the
famous central stone "horseshoe" utilising the survey markers used to
create the thirty-sided sarsen polygon.
The experimental archaeology demonstrates that most of the monument
was pre-planned and that the great stones were pre-fabricated off-site
and then installed by surveyor-engineers.
"For years people have speculated that Stonehenge was built as a
complex astronomical observatory. My research suggests that, apart
from mid-summer and mid-winter solar alignments, this was not the
case," said Mr Johnson. "It strongly suggests that it was the
knowledge of geometry and symmetry which was an important component of
the Neolithic belief system."
"It shows the builders of Stonehenge had a sophisticated yet
empirically derived knowledge of Pythagorean geometry 2000 years
before Pythagoras," he said.
A leading British prehistorian, Sir Barry Cunliffe, from Oxford
University, believes that Anthony Johnson's research is "a major step
forward in solving the puzzle of Stonehenge".
.
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