Trees and open space in the neolithic landscape : the need for sightlines

Oliver Rackham ( Woodlands; Collins, 2006) is interesting and persuasive on neolithic woodland. He sees any concept as 'wildwood' as belonging to the mesolithic and open to interpretation.  Anything post-mesolithic in the British isles would not be classifable as wildwood.

In the neolithic 'pollen diagrams show a great expansion of non-tree pollens' - coppice and open spaces make room for more pollen bearing species.

'The 'obvious explanation' of the elm decline in the early neolithic period is Dutch Elm disease.

'Monuments such as henges and long barrows involved precise alignments and called for a distant unobstructed horizon.Wide areas of what was later to be chalk downland and heath were already open country.

An open landscape on Down Farm - looking across the cursus towards the place of the midwinter sunset

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cursus

I drove across Cranborne Chase and back yesterday on a frosty misty day. The  December yew trees are dense  black and the old mans' beard fluffy and white.

It's definitely the sunset behind the cursus, I saw it smearing the sky with an apricot and yellow splodge. The firs of Down Farm were standing in misty shrouds.

Interestingly, the ritual landscape looked more powerful and obvious heading west (home) in the evening than it did entering it from the west in the morning. - a vast spread of undulating countryside, falling away towards the winter evening. Sightlines all mapped out, crescent moon, venus, jupiter.

Only 17 days to the darkest night.

midwinter sunset

I think the cursus was aligned on the midwinter sunset.It seems even more powerful to think of them all standing there in a stinking blizzard staring down into the longest night and willing that sun to come back. Brrrrrrr!

Thought of the Day

We need to really think about how we can make sense of the link between ancient and modern technologies.

And journeys too. 

I remember seeing my first ever satellite, out on a winter night walk with my Dad. We used to go out every night and walk in the dark lanes, stargazing - learning the names of stars and constellations. The first satellite was pretty exciting, a smart new thing nipping between the hoary ancient stars. 

In 3300 BC a journey would be led by star nav rather than sat nav! Or a combination of sun and topography - time and place . 

The cursus on Down Farm demarks the point of midwinter sunrise

Sightline

Star line

Sunrise

Season

Midheaven

Moonrise

Occultation

Movement of planets

Look up!

collective

Hello!

yes we should invite Russ - can I do this?

I think , later, we may invite more people to join this collective, and then they can post stuff here.

Ideally, one day, everyone who attends our hilltop extravaganzas can join too!

For now, here's this :

a clandestine landscape? well - it's been a long time since the end of her last journey.....