Fig. E8: Ring at Blackmarsh, Shropshire, England: as interpreted by Thom
(Click to enlarge & details)
Fig. E9: Ring at Stanton, Cornwall, England
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Fig. E10: Ring at Cambret Moor, Kirkcudbright, Scotland: interpreted by Thom
(Click to enlarge & details)
Fig. E11: Ring at Moel ty Ucha, Merioneth, Wales: interpreted by Thom
(Click to enlarge & details)
Fig. E12: Ring at Temple Wood, Argyll, Scotland: interpreted by Patrick
(Click to enlarge & details)
Fig. E13: Classification of ring shapes by Thom
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Fig. E14: Theoretical model for the generation of a shadow
(Click to enlarge & details)
Fig. E15: Earth’s axis of spin (EAS) in midwinter at its dwell, or pause
(Click to enlarge & details)
Movements of Earth's axis of spin
Mainly in the north of the British Isles, but with examples in Wales, Shropshire and Cornwall as well as elsewhere, there are numerous rings of relatively small stones. No two are exactly alike in plan although all the stones are small when compared with most upright megaliths, Figs E8-E12. The circumference of each would appear to be comprised of several joined geometric arcs, but numerous ingenious mathematical constructions have failed to achieve complete accuracy in reproductions. The best that can be done is classification of their shapes in broad terms, Fig E13. This section provides a hypothesised explanation of the rings while at the same time confirming the earlier research’s conclusions concerning the EAS.
All the illustrations of sites and their original captions are to be found in Megalithic Science by Douglas Heggie 1981 Thames and Hudson, London. This work is essential reading for those wishing to pursue the subject and this author is greatly indebted to Douglas Heggie and his publisher for the enormous amount of detail and thinking made available as a basis for this research.
While the populace of the times was motivated to create the stone rings, the nature of their shapes, and their infinite variety not withstanding their similarity, clearly were not the product of their minds but that of an outside agency. What could have been the nature of this? The close approximations of their joined arcs to mathematical curves point to the only available source: the contemporaneous astronomical movements. As today, such movements never cease and consequently any static geometric construct of them can only be approximate. But for the purpose of commencing an explanation, consider a theoretical model as Fig E14.
Here a vertical post is mounted on a turntable with a fixed light source above and outside the prospective circuit of the post. One revolution results in a path of shadow similar to those under discussion, but it is symmetrical; we need to identify an astronomical scenario which would more realistically reproduce the shapes recorded. However, before attempting this an essential preliminary is to pretend we cannot see the geometric construction lines imposed upon the rings by Thom and others; we are seeking to appreciate the details of the rings for the shapes they really are.
The astronomical scenario we are about to assume in the first instance, as a means of simplifying explanation, is that of an earlier conclusion in the research: the EAS slowly moved from the North Pole to the vicinity of St Petersburg and dwelled there for a while before returning. During this pause Scotland, Shropshire and Cornwall, the site locations of our figures, rotated about the contemporaneous ’pole’ at St Petersburg every 24 hours, on a shared arc of 1600km (1000m). An outcome of this was during winter the British Isles were in constant darkness because the EAS was acutely angled to the solar plane as well as pointing away from the sun, Fig E15.
During this time of year a vertical pole was erected at a prospective site on flat ground; its verticality was not critical, but its stability was. In 24 hours the light of the Moon could cast a shadow of the pole’s end upon the ground, its movement producing a shape similar to those recorded by many of the rings. One can now see why the shapes cannot be geometrically reproduced: during the 24 hour circuit the Moon would have moved approximately 1/27th of its rotation about Earth, not only causing asymmetry of the shadow’s path, but also ensuring the finish of the shadow’s circuit would not coincide with its start point.
This inevitable disjointedness is unmistakably reflected in the positioning of the stones at the locations notated A in figures E9 and E10; at these sites, the stones being generally better positioned with fewer missing, makes identification more certain. Inevitably the position of the post relative to the shape must always be outside and proximate to the centre of the ‘flattened’ curve. Assuming a post was not removed when redundant, this is where excavations aimed at finding a post-pipe, should be directed. It will be noticed that the orientation of a shape relative to today’s North varies from one site to another. This is because the apparent paths of the Moon differed from one site to another; it also depended upon the choice of ‘date’ on which to make the installation. The Moon’s paths vary today, of course, but the variations then could be far more dramatic (see section 21 and Figures 65, 66 and 68).
The recorded shapes created by the post and the Moon were not limited to ’flattened circles’. Approximate ellipses, ovals and egg-shapes, to name a few, were also created (to be found in Douglas Heggie’s book) and this is what one would expect during the EAS movements between the North Pole and St Petersburg. As we have seen, the outward journey was punctuated by ‘jerks’, the return was smooth, and consequently when these are put together with the relative movements of Earth and the Moon, an infinite number of potential shapes is possible. Their scope would have been bounded by the limits of winter darkness. The rate of travel of the EAS was extremely slow, as was the speed of rotation of the Moon’s orbit plane, consequently these would have had no perceptible influence on these movements. Also there would have been no awareness of them in a person’s lifetime.
Pegs or small stones may have been used to record the path of the shadow during a circuit, while intended marker stones were put close by, these being placed accurately in position on a subsequent circuit. Speed was of the essence and no doubt as many people as possible volunteered their efforts. Stones could have been previously gathered up into heaps and deposited nearby in readiness. Making stone rings would have been an activity conducted in darkness or moonlight at best, and all in all it is small wonder the curves of their positioning are often irregular.
Why were the rings created? Their number and geographical spread suggest local utility and a widespread compulsion. The answer would seem to lie in the nature of the entire shadow. As it left the ring in successive 24 hour periods it would have become increasingly indeterminate ultimately to become indistinguishable, whilst when approaching the ring this trend would be reversed. This suggests the recorded ring was the sharpest one of all and reoccurred once every lunar month ie approximately every 27 twenty four hour periods. Demonstrably this precluded any utility for observing any unusual movements of the Moon. But it provided a sense of structure and reassurance for people during the continuous absence of sunlight for about one third of each year. Disappointing though this conclusion may be for some, it must not detract from the more crucial one of this explanation of a ring’s construction being totally consistent with the EAS hypothesis.
The ring at Temple Wood, Argyll, Fig E12 may hold a useful clue as to when the period of the rings occurred within the overall movements of the EAS. In contrast to ‘flattened circles’, here the Moon must have been almost overhead at the time of the ring’s construction because the difference in ‘radii’ between the flattened and circular sides is relatively small. But of particular significance is one of its stones bearing a carving of a spiral. This prompts the notion of it being erected around the time of the construction of the passageway at Newgrange c3210BC, where stones were similarly carved before their utilisation. That is to say when the Moon’s orbit plane intersected the EAS. If Temple Wood is an early example then perhaps numerous rings were created during the latter phase of the outward EAS travel.
A clear implication is of all the monuments in the British Isles in these times being constructed and operated in continuous darkness punctuated by moonlight, for about a third of the year, a factor not appreciated during the earlier research. This adds a new dimension to contemplating installations as widely different as Straight Ways, Avebury, Silbury Hill and the Early and Stone henges of Stonehenge. These tentative conclusions and those for North Mains, are consistent with those of the earlier research and add to the volume and variety of adduced evidence, an important characteristic of it all being a high level of coherence. Nevertheless it remains important to discover whether these conclusions are compatible with what is known of contemporaneous civilisations in the Middle East. A sound base is provided for further, more detailed research by others, the most critical element of which would be computer modelling of the astronomical aspects, a complex task; it would require a multi-disciplinary group.
List of Figures
Instantaneous deluges- Fig E1 Features at the confluence of the River Earn and Machaney Water
- Fig E2 Asserted aim design of the flood refuge
- Fig E3 Directions of currents in relation to the flood refuge
- Fig E4 Sections of the flood refuge: first and second floods
- Fig E5 Sections of the flood refuge: third flood
- Fig E6 Section of the flood refuge: final form
- Fig E7 Schematic section through the confluence and the refuge
Movement of the EAS
- Fig E8 Ring at Blackmarsh, Shropshire, England: as interpreted by Thom
- Fig E9 Ring at Stanton, Cornwall, England
- Fig E10 Ring at Cambret Moor, Kirkcudbright, Scotland: interpreted by Thom
- Fig E11 Ring at Moel ty Ucha, Merioneth, Wales: interpreted by Thom
- Fig E12 Ring at Temple Wood, Argyll, Scotland: interpreted by Patrick
- Fig E13 Classification of ring shapes by Thom
- Fig E14 Theoretical model for the generation of a shadow
- Fig E15 Earth’s axis of spin (EAS) in midwinter at its dwell, or pause
