Here is a link to the website of the Antiquarian Society. Anyone interested in the wisdom and knowledge of our ancient ancestors should take a look at this site and consider joining the group. Below is a summary of the history and purpose of the society taken from the website.
“We believe that ancient sites offer a wealth of prehistoric wisdom and science, and as such are of great importance to all of us in the world today, and future generations.
We cannot afford to lose our great, or even lesser known, ancient wonders, and they must be protected at all costs.
The Antiquarian Society was founded by Stuart Mason when he found two maps, both manufactured by the same company, but printed 20 years apart.
As well as the obvious cartographical changes (new roads, estates etc.) one would expect, Stuart also noticed on these maps, bands of public Sussex green belt down land that had remained undeveloped.
However, on the earlier map the sites of tumuli (ancient burial mounds) appeared, whereas on the present day map these sites had been omitted.
With no obvious reason for this anomaly, the obvious questions arose: how many more sites of antiquity were simply disappearing from the records? And how could these sites survive if knowledge of their very existence was slowly disappearing?
Stuart set out to investigate the existence of the tumuli noted on the older map and found that some of the sites were actually still where the map said they were, but that some had unfortunately been obliterated by the farmers plough.
And so The Antiquarian Society was born with a purpose and determination to rediscover and chart these sites, and to watch and document the practices of farmers and developers, ultimately obliging them to think twice before they plough through 4000 year old burial mounds while they think no-one is looking.
These ancient sites are our inheritance, and it is up to us to ensure that we can pass them on to our children, that we may share them and experience with friends and family.
The Antiquarian Society are asking you to join us in the countryside, finding, documenting and protecting what is left.”
The revised and expanded 2nd edition of acclaimed book is now available.
Ireland is home to some of the world’s oldest astronomically-aligned structures, giant stone monuments erected over 5,000 years ago. Despite their apparent simplicity, these megalithic edifices were crafted by a scientifically knowledgeable community of farmers who endeavoured to enshrine their beliefs in a stellar afterlife within the very fabric of their cleverly-designed stone temples.
In this updated and revised edition of their best-selling book, Anthony Murphy and Richard Moore present evidence suggesting the builders of monuments such as Newgrange and its Boyne Valley counterparts were adept astronomers, cunning engineers and capable surveyors. Their huge monuments are memorials in stone and earth, commemorating their creators’ perceived unity with the cosmos and enshrining a belief system which resulted from a crossover between science and spirituality.
As investigation of this awe-inspiring civilisation of people continues on many levels, evidence is emerging that significant archaeological sites dating from deep in prehistory are linked – not just through mythology, archaeology and cosmology – but through an arrangement of complex, and in some cases astonishing, alignments. Some of these alignments of ancient sites stretch from one side of Ireland to another.
While the accounts of the lives of some prominent Irish saints appear to be steeped in folklore and mystery, it seems from new interpretations of the literature that the cosmic world view which existed in Neolithic Ireland experienced a continuity right into the Early Christian period.
Join us on this fascinating exploration of stones, stars and stories. Island of the Setting Sun was launched in December 2006 and was sold out 13 months later in January 2008. The second edition is revised and expanded, with new images and more fascinating insights into ancient Ireland. It will be officially launched in Dublin Castle on Thursday, September 25th. We’d love to see you there.
See more about Island of the Setting Sun on this page | See photos from the launch night here
Critical acclaim for Island of the Setting Sun
“A fascinating insight into Ireland’s ancient burial sites” – Irish Independent
“A monument” – Drogheda Independent
“The sheer amount of information contained within the book is mind-boggling. It is well thought out and structured . . . The more you read the evidence the more convinced you become.” – Astronomy & Space
“The authors . . . reach interesting and challenging conclusions about the significance of ancient astronomical knowledge. The book is jammed with colour illustrations, maps and photographs. A thoroughly interesting read!” – Archaeology Ireland
“An essential book that demonstrates just how much the beliefs and practices of our ancestors were influenced by the movement of the stars. . . . A must have tome for all those passionate about what remains of our fast disappearing ritual monuments of the prehistoric age.” – Andrew Collins, author of The Cygnus Mystery
“A recent, beautifully written and illustrated publication, Island of the Setting Sun offers a thought-provoking merger of the studies of archaeology, astronomy and folklore, to explain Newgrange’s significance.” Geraldine and Matthew Stout, authors of Newgrange
“Work to strengthen the foundations of the sea wall near the famous Neolithic village of Skara Brae in Orkney is about to begin.
Waves have affected a section of concrete on which the protective walling was built, which could lead to more damage.
Historic Scotland has started a project which will involve digging down to insert new reinforcements.
It is described as important and highly-skilled work.
Stephen Watt, Historic Scotland district architect, said: “The area affected is a bit beyond Skara Brae itself, but it is important because it stops the sea outflanking us.
“These are interim measures which help protect an enormously important part of Scotland’s heritage.
“We are currently working with a number of other groups and organisations to put together a strategy to protect the entire bay from the effects of natural erosion.”
The settlement was inhabited 5,000 years ago.”
A collection of rare Bronze Age axe heads discovered in Cornwall has gone on display in Truro after a campaign to keep the relics in the county.
The 3,000-year-old artifacts were found in perfect condition, buried in a clay pot at Mylor near Falmouth during a search using metal detectors.
The collection would have gone to the British Museum but the Royal Cornwall Museum raised about £10,000 to keep it.
The find is believed to be the biggest of its type in Cornwall.
Conservator Laura Ratcliffe said: “All finds like this would normally go to the British Museum, but they were so special we wanted to keep them for Cornwall.
“To get such a large collection in one place is pretty unusual.
“It’s the biggest hoard to come out of Cornwall by a long shot.”
The axe heads, all found in pristine condition, are thought to have been buried on purpose thousands of years ago.
Ms Ratcliffe said: “It could have been for security purposes or ritual, we just don’t know.”
Anyone interested in the history of Silbury Hill and what has been going on more recently should have a look at the NEWSLETTER OF THE ENGLISH HERITAGE RESEARCH GROUP.
Christopher Scull, research director says:
“In Issue 10 of Research News we concentrate on the multidisciplinary project carried out at Silbury Hill in order to save the largest prehistoric monument in Europe from collapse.
Silbury Hill has been dug into from the 18th century, if not before. In 1776 a shaft was sunk from the top of the hill by Colonel Drax, and in 1849 Dean Merewether excavated a lateral tunnel to the centre of the mound. The Merewether tunnel was re-excavated by Professor Richard Atkinson in 1968 for the famous BBC2 archaeological television programme Chronicle.
In late May 2000 a hole appeared in the top of the hill as the 18th-century shaft, which had been capped but not backfilled, opened up. A further collapse in December showed that there were other voids in the hill. Seismic survey and remote photography confirmed the problem and it was decided that the best course was to re-enter the hill, clear the tunnels and voids, and backfill them fully in order to stabilise the monument. Integral to this was a full programme of archaeological investigation and recording which would be the last time that archaeologists would gain access to the interior of Silbury Hill.
The archaeological programme inside Silbury Hill took a full year and deployed novel uses of photogrammetry and geophysical techniques as well as conventional methods of recording and sampling. The archaeological work was undertaken in tandem with the clearing and stabilisation of the tunnels and neither objective could have been achieved without seamless working between archaeologists and engineers. Working conditions inside the hill were challenging, but the new archaeological information gained is transforming our understanding of the monument and its contexts.
It now appears that Silbury Hill was not raised in three clear phases, as had been thought. Instead, the evidence suggests a much more complex sequence of development. In its earlier phases the monument may have been important as an enclosure, and it seems that the mound itself was raised incrementally, being altered and added to over time with several episodes of remodelling apparent. New radiocarbon dating places the earliest phases of the mound around 2,400 BC, and the environmental data recovered promise important insights into the history of environment and landscape. Geophysical survey has revealed an extensive Roman settlement around the monument, and the original summit appears to have been reduced and flattened in the early Middle Ages to take a building or palisade.”
“The Monkswood hoard was found in the St Catherine’s valley near Bath during the construction of a reservoir in the 1930s. It contains 38 pieces of Bronze age metalwork. This talk by Stephen Clews, Manager of the Roman Baths & Pump Room, looks at the objects in the hoard from the perspective of what they can tell us about people and society in the area around Bath nearly 3,000 years ago.”
Stephen Clews, of the Roman Baths and Pump Room, said: “Two of the hoards have been found very recently whilst one was found in the 20th Century.
“They range in date from the late Bronze Age to the medieval period and each of these talks, arranged by Bath and North East Somerset Council, has a very different story to tell, reflecting changing times and circumstances over more than 2,500 years.”
The Roman hoard discovered near Thornbury included 11,460 small coins from the Constantine period, known as nummi.
The Monkswood hoard contains 38 pieces of bronze age metalwork and was discovered during the construction of a reservoir.
The Guildhall, Bath
Tuesday 17 February 2009, 1.10- 1.45pm
Refreshments on sale from 12.45pm
Admission free
“You rememebr that lttle cist we saw in the middle of the row at Merrivale ? Well, thius is a perfect Bronze Age example. It’;s abot 4,000 years old and basically, it’s a stone box, and it would have held the remains of an individual or even a family, sometimes – with a coverstone – and then the whole thing would have been covered with as mound of earth, called a cairn”.
“If I was to visit all the sites there are, you’d probably still be watching this film in a year’s time. This end of the country is probably the richest in its wealth of prehistoric sites. Within just a few minutes of where I am now, besides any number of standing stones and cairns, there’s the Merry Maidens stone circle, Tregeseal stone circle, the Nine Maidens stone circle, there’s Boskawen-Un stone circle, there’s Pendeen Vau fogou, Carn Euny fogou, Chun Quoit, Lanyon Quoit – there’s loads of ‘em!
We’ll get glimpses of as many as we can – but as well as some of the better known sites, we’re going to travel to places that you may have never ha the opportunity to visit and quite a few you never knew existed.”
“The passing centuries have left many ancient sites with a mysterious anonymity. We respect them, but we don’t understand them and their social importance ha long since disappeared. We protect them and ignore them – in equal measure.
Knowlton Henge is a perfect example. This Bronze Age site is part of an enormous settlement that sprawls across the surrounding countryside. It’s hard to see a lot of it now, but this raised mound originally rose an astonishing seventeen feet out of the ditch around it.
The careful placing of this Norman church would have been a very powerful way of putting an end to any earlier non Christian goings-on. Now, its crumbling ruin sits like a weary trespasser on unguarded land”.
“Stone rows are a bit of a mystery and Dartmoor has the greatest concentration anywhere. There are over sixty of them dotted across the moor – and of such variety that they must have had many different functions.
I’m at Merrivale, right in the middle of Dartmoor and this site has a bit of everything: there are settlements all around – there’s hut circles over there – there’s a big stone circle with a huge standing stone over there – there’s cairns dotted all around – and these stone rows – right in the middle of it all.
And you want to see what’s in the middle of this row.
It’s only small, but this little funereal box, called a cist, does imply that this is the centre of a processionary pathway – so what do we have here?
A temple in the middle of a huge community?
