oldeuropeanculture
09-10-2014, 03:59 PM
Henges - Rondel enclosures
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is the remains of a ring of standing stones set within earthworks. Archaeologists believe it was built from about 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The original structure was a henge which is a circular bank and ditch enclosure, measuring about 110 metres (360 ft) in diameter, with a large entrance to the north east and a smaller one to the south. It has been dated to about 3100 BC.
What most people don't know is that almost 2000 years earlier, the same types of henges were built in central Europe where they are called rondel enclosures. Henges, rondel enclosures originate in the middle Danube area and Morava area. From there they have spread northward towards south Baltic finally reaching Saxony and Pomeranija. This means that the culture that built these megalithic structures came from Central Europe and reached the British Isles via south Baltic, and specifically Elbe region, Pomerania, Pomorje, the land of Fomori.
Rondel enclosure, henge structures are mostly interpreted as having served a cultic purpose. Most of them are aligned and seem to have served the function of a calendar, in the context of archaeoastronomy sometimes dubbed "observatory", with openings aligned with the points sunrise and/or sunset at the solstices. This is the case with the "gates" or openings of the roundels of Quenstedt, Goseck and Quedlinburg as well as in Stonehenge. The observational determination of the time of solstice would have served a practical (agricultural) purpose. It could have been used to maintain a lunisolar calendar. The accurate knowledge of the date of solstice allows an accurate handling of intercalary months and determining the the correct date for agricultural activities such as plowing, sawing and harvesting.
You can read more here:
http://oldeuropeanculture.blogspot.com/2014/03/henges-rondel-enclosures.html
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is the remains of a ring of standing stones set within earthworks. Archaeologists believe it was built from about 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The original structure was a henge which is a circular bank and ditch enclosure, measuring about 110 metres (360 ft) in diameter, with a large entrance to the north east and a smaller one to the south. It has been dated to about 3100 BC.
What most people don't know is that almost 2000 years earlier, the same types of henges were built in central Europe where they are called rondel enclosures. Henges, rondel enclosures originate in the middle Danube area and Morava area. From there they have spread northward towards south Baltic finally reaching Saxony and Pomeranija. This means that the culture that built these megalithic structures came from Central Europe and reached the British Isles via south Baltic, and specifically Elbe region, Pomerania, Pomorje, the land of Fomori.
Rondel enclosure, henge structures are mostly interpreted as having served a cultic purpose. Most of them are aligned and seem to have served the function of a calendar, in the context of archaeoastronomy sometimes dubbed "observatory", with openings aligned with the points sunrise and/or sunset at the solstices. This is the case with the "gates" or openings of the roundels of Quenstedt, Goseck and Quedlinburg as well as in Stonehenge. The observational determination of the time of solstice would have served a practical (agricultural) purpose. It could have been used to maintain a lunisolar calendar. The accurate knowledge of the date of solstice allows an accurate handling of intercalary months and determining the the correct date for agricultural activities such as plowing, sawing and harvesting.
You can read more here:
http://oldeuropeanculture.blogspot.com/2014/03/henges-rondel-enclosures.html