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History's Hinge - 'Ain Jalut

[Solomon]

Boathouse used as a store by the mail boat's crew.

Foula

"It is similar in construction to others of the late Neolithic or early Bronze age. The actual date of the construction has yet to be established, though one shard of pottery has been found buried under 60cm of peat on the floor of the enclosure. That should help to provide evidence of a date when the site was in use."

Will it? One chard and that 60 cm under peat.

Foula has many stone enclosures along its craggy coastline.

Foula - The Edge of the World:
Boat Noosts
These are hollows dug out in the shape a Shetland fourern (four oared boat) to shelter the boats from strong winds.  The boats were also tied down fore and aft to large boulders.


Ham Ayre (beach). Three fourerns being pulled from their noosts with two others still in their noosts. Boathouse in the upper right.


Two noosts at Da Riggs more than half eroded away by the sea.


Boat noost at da Riggs

Personally, if I was studying archaeology there and found any stone enclosure along the coast, my first thought would not be "a stone circle, a henge!" - instead, it would be "another boat noost" and I would stick with that until certain otherwise, and the odd shard would not dissuade me. No matter my hopes, I would not start boasting about a Bronze Age stone circle.

Solomon

[Bart]

You bring up some excellent points Solomon, it would have been nice if they had provided some graphics on support of their contentions.

Bart

[Solomon]

Thanks, Bart. Vince and I were discussing our Chilton Farm site a few minutes ago, and the shard we found dated to the Bronze Age, and we agreed that it is not possioble to get a reliable date for a site from such a scrap of evidence.

I don't know what small animals burrow in farmland where you are, nor in the Shetlands, but around here, in England, rabbits, hares, badgers and foxes are responsible, amongst others. Even the meanest island that has been visited by sailors in days of yore will likely have rats, and they burrow, too.

Broken pottery and burrowing animals = buried shards. That's blindlingly obvious. It is why Vince is being so careful to not prejudge the evidence for us. What an archaeologist wants, along with more data, is context.

Further, in the piece I posted earlier, we have this on the Bronze Age in Foula:

These funerary monuments, in most cases, are placed in lofty locations overlooking areas of settlement. The tendency for such structures to dominate the skyline is a common theme in other areas (see, for example, Frazer 1984) and on Foula the importance of location is also exemplified by the visibility between monuments. The cairns on the Sneug, and at South Ness, Crougar, Harrier and Soberlie crest are all connected by their mutual inter-visibility, serving to draw attention to not only themselves, but to each-other.

High up, on the skyline, to be very noticeable. I am a firm believer in learning to read the landscape for any period one studies. Once one has learned the knack, it is quite possible by field walking to get a good idea of what of any period went where.

Solomon

[Bart]

Has anyone looked at Stonehenge via Google Earth recently? I see at least 3 circular anomalies to the southwest, and 1 directly east, in the immediate vicinity, and was wondering if they had ever been identified or studied.

Bart

[Solomon]

Bart: it would be helpful if you would attach an image of this. I would be pleased to approach English Heritage on your behalf with new data.


The recorded archaeology of the World Heritage Site. Recorded archaeology is shown in purple with the WHS boundary in red. Major archaeological sites are annotated. Digital data supplied by the English Heritage Centre for Archaeology. Recorded archaeology based upon Wiltshire County Council Library and Museum Service Sites and Monuments Record.

Aerial Archaeology Celebrated at Stonehenge

Aerial views of Stonehenge taken 100 years ago are among dozens of historic and modern aerial photos and illustrations that are on display at Stonehenge from 1st to 7th August. Weather permitting, visitors to Stonehenge on 5th and 6th August may have a chance to ride on a tethered balloon and take their own aerial pictures of the famous monument.



These two events have been organised to commemorate the first aerial photographs of Stonehenge, which were taken in 1906 by Lieutenant Philip Henry Sharpe of the Royal Engineers� Balloon Section. Based at the time at Aldershot, the Royal Engineers� balloonists were the forerunners of the Royal Flying Corps and, ultimately, the RAF. It is not entirely clear why Sharpe took those pictures of Stonehenge, but they are the earliest known aerial photographs of the stones, and indeed of any British archaeological site.

Solomon