Windmill Hill and its Curious Causewayed Enclosure

richard.webster · **Posted:** 10 Mar 2011 8:36 am

I've visited Avebury many times over the years, but until a few days ago, I'd never been up Windmill Hill, a neolithic site a mile or so to the north-west of the standing stones. Based on the field notes I've read, particularly on Julian Cope's superb website (see below), I'm not alone in having neglected this little hill, as it is very much over-shadowed by other more celebrated sites in the vicinity, including Avebury itself, Silbury Hill and West Kennett Long Barrow.

But I'm very pleased to have rectified this on my most recent visit, and am putting this up here in part to encourage others like me, who are fortunate enough to live within striking distance of this remarkable neolithic landscape, to make the trip up there themselves.

Windmill Hill is easy to miss. It has a spot height of only 196m, similar to Silbury Hill (187m), but unlike that very distinctive mound, it is ascended by the gentlest of inclines, so much so that one would barely know that one was walking up a hill, and scanning the landscape for it from the west side of Avebury village I wasn't even 100% sure that I had pinpointed it amidst the green sea of rolling downland. Fortunately it is well signposted, and a footpath leads there from the village.

Spot the difference. The gentle, barely perceptible incline of Windmill Hill.

And the much more prominent, pyramid-like Silbury Hill, which is nevertheless about the same height.

It's believed that the site was first occupied in c. 3,800 BC, some time before the construction of the stone alignments nearby, and around the same time as West Kennett Long Barrow, and it is partly the early date of human activity here that makes the site significant. But its real interest lies in the earthworks that date from c. 3,300 BC, in the form of segmented ditches and causeways. This is why the site is referred to as a causewayed enclosure, or causewayed camp, as it would have been called when it was excavated by Alexander Keiller in the 1920s.

To be honest, this isn't particularly easily discerned from the ground, but the aerial photograph on the English Heritage link below gives a good impression of the huge scale of the task undertaken by our ancestors. The outer ring encloses an area of 85,000 square metres.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/days ... mill-hill/

Below, today's inhabitants of Windmill Hill, at the top of one of the ditches.

To an untrained eye, such as mine, it's difficult to tell the difference between an enclosure such as this, and other neolithic earthworks, and indeed the attached Wiki article below makes the point that these constructions are not to be confused with ring ditches, which had a funerary purpose, or hill fortifications, which were defensive. One of the interesting points made in the quotation below is the idea that such sites were only occupied intermittently, rather than being permanently settled, and how they may represent a transitional period in the development of neolithic culture. But various possible uses for these enclosures have been put forward, as can be seen. Nobody knows for sure.

Quote:

Archaeological evidence implies that the enclosures were visited occasionally by Neolithic groups rather than being permanently occupied. It is possible that they represent a transitional period in the Neolithic before hunter-gatherer societies finally became fully settled. The presence of human remains in the banks and ditches of the enclosures has been seen as an attempt by the builders to connect their ancestors with the land and thus begin to anchor themselves to specific areas. Longitudinal sections excavated along the ditches by archaeologists suggest that the builders repeatedly redug the ditches and each time deliberately deposited pottery and human and animal bones, apparently as a regular ritual. Environmental archaeology suggests that the European landscape was in general heavily forested when the enclosures were built and that they were rare clearings in the woodland that were used for various social and economic activities.

In the 1970s the archaeologist Peter Drewett suggested seven possible functions for the sites:

Settlement
Defence
Cattle compounds or kraals
Trade centres
Communal meeting places for feasting and other social activities
Cult/ritual centres
Burial sites

Other interpretations have seen the causeways as symbolic of multi-directional access to the site by scattered communities, the enclosures as funerary centres for excarnation or the construction of the site being a communal act of creation by a fragmented society. Some enclosures are better situated for one activity than another and it is unlikely that they served any one purpose.

Here's the link to the whole article. It includes a list of other such sites, mainly in England, but with a few in France and Ireland. Incidentally, the black and white photograph at the top of the page has been incorrectly labelled - this is not Windmill Hill at Avebury, but another site of the same name in Derbyshire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causewayed_enclosure

There are a number of barrows on the hill, including a much later Bronze Age Bell Barrow.

The western slopes of the hill are wooded, which makes a pleasant change from the very open and exposed landscape which is a feature of this part of the west country.

I walked on a mile or so to the west (away from Avebury) and this is a view looking back at the western slopes of Windmill Hill. You can just make out the dimple-like shapes of two barrows on the right of the picture. Unfortunately last Thursday was a very gloomy day here, which doesn't do the site justice at all, but I nevertheless wanted a record of everything of relevance.

Here are a couple more links to the site. From the Avebury website .....

http://www.avebury-web.co.uk/windmill_hill.html

..... and most rewardingly, from Julian Cope's Modern Antiquarian website. The Field Notes on this page are well worth reading, particularly if one were thinking of going there, with good descriptions of how to walk there from Avebury village, and of the general ambience of the place.

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/sit ... _hill.html

Although one of Avebury's "lesser" attractions, I would very much recommend visiting Windmill Hill should one have the opportunity. It's a beautiful spot, with a particularly good view of Silbury Hill in the near distance, and it's also a very peaceful and tranquil place. It would be a good place for a picnic. I didn't see another human soul the whole time I was up there, and I understand from what I've read that this is quite a common experience. People just don't seem to go up there very much. It was just me and lots of sheep, who seemed a little curious about the lone figure among them, sheltering from the Arctic-like winds in the lee of a round barrow, hurriedly eating a sandwich. I look forward to going back on a warmer day, and sitting there for a long time, contemplating the landscape once inhabited by our ancient ancestors.

Caelum · **Posted:** 10 Mar 2011 8:53 pm

richard.webster wrote:

I've visited Avebury many times over the years, but until a few days ago, I'd never been up Windmill Hill, a neolithic site a mile or so to the north-west of the standing stones. Based on the field notes I've read, particularly on Julian Cope's superb website (see below), I'm not alone in having neglected this little hill, as it is very much over-shadowed by other more celebrated sites in the vicinity, including Avebury itself, Silbury Hill and West Kennett Long Barrow.

But I'm very pleased to have rectified this on my most recent visit, and am putting this up here in part to encourage others like me, who are fortunate enough to live within striking distance of this remarkable neolithic landscape, to make the trip up there themselves.

Windmill Hill is easy to miss. It has a spot height of only 196m, similar to Silbury Hill (187m), but unlike that very distinctive mound, it is ascended by the gentlest of inclines, so much so that one would barely know that one was walking up a hill, and scanning the landscape for it from the west side of Avebury village I wasn't even 100% sure that I had pinpointed it amidst the green sea of rolling downland. Fortunately it is well signposted, and a footpath leads there from the village.

Spot the difference. The gentle, barely perceptible incline of Windmill Hill.

And the much more prominent, pyramid-like Silbury Hill, which is nevertheless about the same height.

It's believed that the site was first occupied in c. 3,800 BC, some time before the construction of the stone alignments nearby, and around the same time as West Kennett Long Barrow, and it is partly the early date of human activity here that makes the site significant. But its real interest lies in the earthworks that date from c. 3,300 BC, in the form of segmented ditches and causeways. This is why the site is referred to as a causewayed enclosure, or causewayed camp, as it would have been called when it was excavated by Alexander Keiller in the 1920s.

To be honest, this isn't particularly easily discerned from the ground, but the aerial photograph on the English Heritage link below gives a good impression of the huge scale of the task undertaken by our ancestors. The outer ring encloses an area of 85,000 square metres.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/days ... mill-hill/

Below, today's inhabitants of Windmill Hill, at the top of one of the ditches.

To an untrained eye, such as mine, it's difficult to tell the difference between an enclosure such as this, and other neolithic earthworks, and indeed the attached Wiki article below makes the point that these constructions are not to be confused with ring ditches, which had a funerary purpose, or hill fortifications, which were defensive. One of the interesting points made in the quotation below is the idea that such sites were only occupied intermittently, rather than being permanently settled, and how they may represent a transitional period in the development of neolithic culture. But various possible uses for these enclosures have been put forward, as can be seen. Nobody knows for sure.

Quote:

Archaeological evidence implies that the enclosures were visited occasionally by Neolithic groups rather than being permanently occupied. It is possible that they represent a transitional period in the Neolithic before hunter-gatherer societies finally became fully settled. The presence of human remains in the banks and ditches of the enclosures has been seen as an attempt by the builders to connect their ancestors with the land and thus begin to anchor themselves to specific areas. Longitudinal sections excavated along the ditches by archaeologists suggest that the builders repeatedly redug the ditches and each time deliberately deposited pottery and human and animal bones, apparently as a regular ritual. Environmental archaeology suggests that the European landscape was in general heavily forested when the enclosures were built and that they were rare clearings in the woodland that were used for various social and economic activities.

In the 1970s the archaeologist Peter Drewett suggested seven possible functions for the sites:

Settlement
Defence
Cattle compounds or kraals
Trade centres
Communal meeting places for feasting and other social activities
Cult/ritual centres
Burial sites

Other interpretations have seen the causeways as symbolic of multi-directional access to the site by scattered communities, the enclosures as funerary centres for excarnation or the construction of the site being a communal act of creation by a fragmented society. Some enclosures are better situated for one activity than another and it is unlikely that they served any one purpose.

Here's the link to the whole article. It includes a list of other such sites, mainly in England, but with a few in France and Ireland. Incidentally, the black and white photograph at the top of the page has been incorrectly labelled - this is not Windmill Hill at Avebury, but another site of the same name in Derbyshire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causewayed_enclosure

There are a number of barrows on the hill, including a much later Bronze Age Bell Barrow.

The western slopes of the hill are wooded, which makes a pleasant change from the very open and exposed landscape which is a feature of this part of the west country.

I walked on a mile or so to the west (away from Avebury) and this is a view looking back at the western slopes of Windmill Hill. You can just make out the dimple-like shapes of two barrows on the right of the picture. Unfortunately last Thursday was a very gloomy day here, which doesn't do the site justice at all, but I nevertheless wanted a record of everything of relevance.

Here are a couple more links to the site. From the Avebury website .....

http://www.avebury-web.co.uk/windmill_hill.html

..... and most rewardingly, from Julian Cope's Modern Antiquarian website. The Field Notes on this page are well worth reading, particularly if one were thinking of going there, with good descriptions of how to walk there from Avebury village, and of the general ambience of the place.

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/sit ... _hill.html

Although one of Avebury's "lesser" attractions, I would very much recommend visiting Windmill Hill should one have the opportunity. It's a beautiful spot, with a particularly good view of Silbury Hill in the near distance, and it's also a very peaceful and tranquil place. It would be a good place for a picnic. I didn't see another human soul the whole time I was up there, and I understand from what I've read that this is quite a common experience. People just don't seem to go up there very much. It was just me and lots of sheep, who seemed a little curious about the lone figure among them, sheltering from the Arctic-like winds in the lee of a round barrow, hurriedly eating a sandwich. I look forward to going back on a warmer day, and sitting there for a long time, contemplating the landscape once inhabited by our ancient ancestors.

Thanks for sharing this Richard, very interesting stuff! I googled Windmill Hill to see what images were out there and all I got was a series of very nice cereological specimens, so it's a popular location in some "circles."

richard.webster · **Posted:** 10 Mar 2011 11:07 pm

Caelum wrote:

Thanks for sharing this Richard, very interesting stuff! I googled Windmill Hill to see what images were out there and all I got was a series of very nice cereological specimens, so it's a popular location in some "circles."

Yes, it seems to be, doesn't it.

That area's very much in "crop circle corridor", so to speak. There's a big tract of downland and arable land between Marlborough and Devizies that seems to get a disproportionate number of instances of this. Because of ample opportunity, I guess; big canvas, sparsely populated, etc. And it's got Avebury, Silbury Hill, barrows of every variety, sacred hills, giants graves, all sorts. I'm very lucky to have it all an hour up the road.

As a brief aside to the above, I've no idea what this is. :?:

It was hanging from a tree in the little copse on the side of the hill. You do sometimes see pagan offerings or suchlike hung in trees and hedgerows around Avebury, but I've not seen something like this before, but it's not a subject I know much about. The picture's a bit blurry because it was windy, and I didn't want to touch it, just in case it was bad luck or something. :lol:

That little black sack looked like it had something heavy in it, like a stone.

It looks more practical than symbolic or decorative.

I even wondered if it was some obscure agricultural utensil that someone had found on the ground, and helpfully hung on a branch for the owner to retrieve, like people do with dropped dog leads, spectacles, etc. But I'd guess it's some kind of "offering". Maybe someone will know what it is.

rain · **Posted:** 11 Mar 2011 12:02 am

richard.webster wrote:

Caelum wrote:

Thanks for sharing this Richard, very interesting stuff! I googled Windmill Hill to see what images were out there and all I got was a series of very nice cereological specimens, so it's a popular location in some "circles."

Yes, it seems to be, doesn't it.

That area's very much in "crop circle corridor", so to speak. There's a big tract of downland and arable land between Marlborough and Devizies that seems to get a disproportionate number of instances of this. Because of ample opportunity, I guess; big canvas, sparsely populated, etc. And it's got Avebury, Silbury Hill, barrows of every variety, sacred hills, giants graves, all sorts. I'm very lucky to have it all an hour up the road.

As a brief aside to the above, I've no idea what this is. :?:

It was hanging from a tree in the little copse on the side of the hill. You do sometimes see pagan offerings or suchlike hung in trees and hedgerows around Avebury, but I've not seen something like this before, but it's not a subject I know much about. The picture's a bit blurry because it was windy, and I didn't want to touch it, just in case it was bad luck or something. :lol:

That little black sack looked like it had something heavy in it, like a stone.

It looks more practical than symbolic or decorative.

I even wondered if it was some obscure agricultural utensil that someone had found on the ground, and helpfully hung on a branch for the owner to retrieve, like people do with dropped dog leads, spectacles, etc. But I'd guess it's some kind of "offering". Maybe someone will know what it is.

It's probably a weather station - when it's raining - it's wet, when it moves - it's windy, when it's dry - it's sunshiny. :lol:

in other words I have no idea and I'm glad you didn't touch it (touch wood)

lovuian · **Posted:** 11 Mar 2011 5:22 am

love the pictures Richard beautiful :mrgreen:

Abingdon people gave us the White horse

very magical see any Sarsen stones?

richard.webster · **Posted:** 11 Mar 2011 8:36 am

lovuian wrote:

very magical see any Sarsen stones?

None at all, lovuian, as it happens, at least not anywhere in the vicinity of Windmill Hill, which made it an unusual trip to Avebury in that sense, because we tend to associate it in our minds with standing stones. But part of the interest of Windmill Hill is that early human activity there pre-dates the construction of the stone alignments, and reminds us to consider the natural landscape as well as the built environment.

But I obviously couldn't do an Avebury trip and not go and see the stones, so I walked around the henge on the way back. Some sarsen stones for you. :wink:

Caelum · **Posted:** 11 Mar 2011 8:56 pm

richard.webster wrote:

Caelum wrote:

Thanks for sharing this Richard, very interesting stuff! I googled Windmill Hill to see what images were out there and all I got was a series of very nice cereological specimens, so it's a popular location in some "circles."

Yes, it seems to be, doesn't it.

That area's very much in "crop circle corridor", so to speak. There's a big tract of downland and arable land between Marlborough and Devizies that seems to get a disproportionate number of instances of this. Because of ample opportunity, I guess; big canvas, sparsely populated, etc. And it's got Avebury, Silbury Hill, barrows of every variety, sacred hills, giants graves, all sorts. I'm very lucky to have it all an hour up the road.

As a brief aside to the above, I've no idea what this is. :?:

It was hanging from a tree in the little copse on the side of the hill. You do sometimes see pagan offerings or suchlike hung in trees and hedgerows around Avebury, but I've not seen something like this before, but it's not a subject I know much about. The picture's a bit blurry because it was windy, and I didn't want to touch it, just in case it was bad luck or something. :lol:

That little black sack looked like it had something heavy in it, like a stone.

It looks more practical than symbolic or decorative.

I even wondered if it was some obscure agricultural utensil that someone had found on the ground, and helpfully hung on a branch for the owner to retrieve, like people do with dropped dog leads, spectacles, etc. But I'd guess it's some kind of "offering". Maybe someone will know what it is.

Hmmmm....The only thing that comes to mind is some kind of drum, or gong mallet...

lovuian · **Posted:** 11 Mar 2011 10:21 pm

Oh Richard Thank you Thank you those are awesome!!!

Aren't they amazing looking
I LOVE that picture ... did they have that algae on them?

the Lichens and moss are usually only seen on coastlines but for some reason they thrive on the Sarsen stones
the algae has chlorophyll and are able to make sugar from the sun's energy (photosynthesis) Its a species seen all over the world the tundra to tropical rainforests

so yes they look like stones and not alive ...there is life that is attracted to them

your mound reminds me of the Cahokia Mounds Indians we have here
they had a wood henge too

I have seen their pottery and it has celtic similiarities

richard.webster · **Posted:** 12 Mar 2011 9:37 am

Caelum wrote:

richard.webster wrote:

Caelum wrote:

Thanks for sharing this Richard, very interesting stuff! I googled Windmill Hill to see what images were out there and all I got was a series of very nice cereological specimens, so it's a popular location in some "circles."

Yes, it seems to be, doesn't it.

That area's very much in "crop circle corridor", so to speak. There's a big tract of downland and arable land between Marlborough and Devizies that seems to get a disproportionate number of instances of this. Because of ample opportunity, I guess; big canvas, sparsely populated, etc. And it's got Avebury, Silbury Hill, barrows of every variety, sacred hills, giants graves, all sorts. I'm very lucky to have it all an hour up the road.

As a brief aside to the above, I've no idea what this is. :?:

It was hanging from a tree in the little copse on the side of the hill. You do sometimes see pagan offerings or suchlike hung in trees and hedgerows around Avebury, but I've not seen something like this before, but it's not a subject I know much about. The picture's a bit blurry because it was windy, and I didn't want to touch it, just in case it was bad luck or something. :lol:

That little black sack looked like it had something heavy in it, like a stone.

It looks more practical than symbolic or decorative.

I even wondered if it was some obscure agricultural utensil that someone had found on the ground, and helpfully hung on a branch for the owner to retrieve, like people do with dropped dog leads, spectacles, etc. But I'd guess it's some kind of "offering". Maybe someone will know what it is.

Hmmmm....The only thing that comes to mind is some kind of drum, or gong mallet...

Good call! The wrist strap would be ideal for "twirling". Maybe they have bacchanals up there.

This is more typical of the sort of thing one sometimes sees around there. This is from last year, at the foot of the West Kennett Long Barrow escarpment.

paddy · **Joined:** 01 Sep 2010 7:28 pm **Posts:** 165

richard.webster · **Posted:** 12 Mar 2011 9:52 am

lovuian wrote:

Oh Richard Thank you Thank you those are awesome!!!

Aren't they amazing looking
I LOVE that picture ... did they have that algae on them?

the Lichens and moss are usually only seen on coastlines but for some reason they thrive on the Sarsen stones
the algae has chlorophyll and are able to make sugar from the sun's energy (photosynthesis) Its a species seen all over the world the tundra to tropical rainforests

I'm glad you liked the picture.

The stone in the foreground is a bit face-like, I think.

Good point about the lichen. The sarsen fields above Avebury are classified as areas of special scientific interest because of this, I think, because of quite a rare type of lichen that grows on them.

These are the sarsen fields where the Avebury stones come from, just a couple of miles or so from the henge, up on the Ridgeway (the oldest road in the UK - a trackway first formed about five thousand years ago!)

richard.webster · **Posted:** 12 Mar 2011 9:56 am

paddy wrote:

lovuian wrote:

Have you noticed the tiny human-like figure standing on top of the lintel on the far left of the picture?

Paddy

I have now. :shock:

Weird ........

richard.webster · **Posted:** 12 Mar 2011 10:07 am

lovuian wrote:

your mound reminds me of the Cahokia Mounds Indians we have here
they had a wood henge too

I have seen their pottery and it has celtic similiarities

Fascinating place. I'd love to go there one day.

This is an article on Cahokia from the January 2011 edition of National Geographic, called "America's Forgotten City", that I meant to put up here back then.

Text by Glen Hodges:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/ ... odges-text

Photo gallery by Don Burmeister and Ira Block:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/ ... hotography

Sheila · **Posted:** 12 Mar 2011 10:51 am

Great thread Richard.

Quote:

Have you noticed the tiny human-like figure standing on top of the lintel on the far left of the picture?

Paddy, get some glasses....it's a jackdaw..or a crow.

paddy · **Joined:** 01 Sep 2010 7:28 pm **Posts:** 165

Great thread, Richard. Apologies for inadvertently disrupting it.

Paddy

richard.webster · **Posted:** 12 Mar 2011 6:50 pm

paddy wrote:

Great thread, Richard. Apologies for inadvertently disrupting it.

Paddy

No worries, I thought it looked like a little faerie or similar as well, but Sheila is absolutely right. It's a bird, with its back to the camera ( :roll:

).

lovuian · **Posted:** 12 Mar 2011 8:24 pm

But Paddy you bring up a great point

Birds love the stones ....I have kinda done my own test
I built a wee little arch with some gray rocks I have and lo and behold two morning doves love sitting on top of them

there must be something magnetic or vibrational for them to love it so

that is just a small sized one I can't imagine a large Sarsen stone ...the vibrations coming from it must be amazing
Paddy your Celtic heritage is showing :wink:

(looking for the wee people) the Sarsen stones like Richard's picture look like statues worn by time
did you notice Richard (thanks by the way for that AWESOME article) buried under neath those mounds were a HUGE rock

Worshiping Rocks is not anything new at Mecca the revere the stone from the heavens

In Reiki some believe they help heal

Yes Richard your Stones in your neck of the woods have rare lichens and mosses ...some are very very very old

paddy · **Joined:** 01 Sep 2010 7:28 pm **Posts:** 165

richard.webster wrote:

paddy wrote:

Great thread, Richard. Apologies for inadvertently disrupting it.

Paddy

No worries, I thought it looked like a little faerie or similar as well, but Sheila is absolutely right. It's a bird, with its back to the camera ( :roll:

).

Thanks for your forbearance, Richard. I’ve been intrigued for a long time by the images of the genii cucullati and Telesphorus, which sparked the connection.

I guess it’s a case of a natural tendency to anthropomorphize.

I seem to remember a long time ago reading some interesting if subjective books by Michael Dames about Silbury Hill and Avebury (and I think Windmill Hill) in which he also finds human shapes in their landscaping.

Paddy

richard.webster · **Posted:** 14 Mar 2011 12:03 pm

paddy wrote:

I guess it’s a case of a natural tendency to anthropomorphize.

I seem to remember a long time ago reading some interesting if subjective books by Michael Dames about Silbury Hill and Avebury (and I think Windmill Hill) in which he also finds human shapes in their landscaping.

There's a word, Paddy, that describes this phenomena, which I can't for the life of me remember. A few years ago, in Avebury as it happens, in the village bookshop, I bought a book about face-like shapes that occur naturally in rock formations, tree trunks, and suchlike, but I gave it to someone as a present, and can't remember now either what the book was called, or the word that describes this.

This is the sort of thing I mean, from some woods near where I live. There's what (sort of) looks like a demonic mask or some such thing embedded into the trunk of the tree, poking out of the wound where there would once have been a branch.

Another famous example that I thought of would be The Old Man of the Mountains in New Hampshire, which unfortunately collapsed quite considerably a few years ago, but was fully intact when I saw it in 1996.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man_of_the_Mountain

Btw, people have made the same claim for the mountain of Bugarach, near Rennes-le-Chateau, and said that one can see a head-shape up there in certain light, but this is one of those more subjective ones where you need to squint and really want to see it. :wink:

But as for more unequivocal examples, there is a term for this, as I said, but I can't recall it, despite some "reverse-googling". If anyone knows, I'd be grateful, as it's annoying me a little bit, and I'd quite like to track down a copy of the book about it that I once bought.

paddy · **Joined:** 01 Sep 2010 7:28 pm **Posts:** 165

richard.webster wrote:

paddy wrote:

I guess it’s a case of a natural tendency to anthropomorphize.

I seem to remember a long time ago reading some interesting if subjective books by Michael Dames about Silbury Hill and Avebury (and I think Windmill Hill) in which he also finds human shapes in their landscaping.

There's a word, Paddy, that describes this phenomena, which I can't for the life of me remember. A few years ago, in Avebury as it happens, in the village bookshop, I bought a book about face-like shapes that occur naturally in rock formations, tree trunks, and suchlike, but I gave it to someone as a present, and can't remember now either what the book was called, or the word that describes this.

This is the sort of thing I mean, from some woods near where I live. There's what (sort of) looks like a demonic mask or some such thing embedded into the trunk of the tree, poking out of the wound where there would once have been a branch.

Another famous example that I thought of would be The Old Man of the Mountains in New Hampshire, which unfortunately collapsed quite considerably a few years ago, but was fully intact when I saw it in 1996.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man_of_the_Mountain

Btw, people have made the same claim for the mountain of Bugarach, near Rennes-le-Chateau, and said that one can see a head-shape up there in certain light, but this is one of those more subjective ones where you need to squint and really want to see it. :wink:

But as for more unequivocal examples, there is a term for this, as I said, but I can't recall it, despite some "reverse-googling". If anyone knows, I'd be grateful, as it's annoying me a little bit, and I'd quite like to track down a copy of the book about it that I once bought.

I think the word might be "pareidolia", Richard.

"Fortean Times" also runs a regular feature on this, I think, called "Simulacra Corner"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia

Paddy

richard.webster · **Posted:** 14 Mar 2011 4:54 pm

paddy wrote:

I think the word might be "pareidolia", Richard.

"Fortean Times" also runs a regular feature on this, I think, called "Simulacra Corner"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia

Paddy

Thanks, Paddy. Simulacram - I'm sure that's the word used in the title of the book I bought at Avebury.

The attached link has a nice sequence of these sort of images (now that I know the right word to Google!).

http://www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk/stonefaces.htm

roscoe · **Joined:** 02 Dec 2006 3:44 pm **Posts:** 6952

Of course what you didn't say was that Windmill Hill and it's causeway marks the setting sun on Midsummer's day.

Arbor Low is one degree east of Glastonbury and two degrees north.

Arbor Low 53° 10' N, 01° 46' W
Glastonbury 51° 09' N 2° 45' W

The error is about one nautical mile in 135 miles

Glastonbury is in Somer set

The principle street in Glastonbury is called Magdalene Street.
However the patron of the Church is St John the Baptist.
Feast day 24th June. i.e. The end of the Summer Solstice.

Avebury/Silbury 51° 25' 40'' N 01° 51' 6" W
Stonehenge 51° 10' 42'' N 01° 49.4' W
Whiteleaved Oak (Centre) 52˚ 01' 20" 02˚ 21' 03"

Arbor Low

Whiteleaved Oak sits exactly on the borders of three counties.

But hey

It's ALL coincidence. :wink:

richard.webster · **Posted:** 22 Mar 2011 12:33 pm

Thanks, Roscoe. I've read field notes that refer to Windmill Hill being quite "disguised" within the landscape - and it is certainly very anonymous from certain angles - but how from other places in the vicinity (the ones I've seen mentioned are the Ridgeway south of the lesser visited East Kennet Long Barrow, and a path that goes west out of the village of Winterbourne Monkton) the hill appears much more prominent, and has far more presence in the landscape. I plan to go back there soon, and hopefully under clearer skies, to look at Windmill Hill from both of these vantage points.

On a related topic, thinking of hilltop settlements and how they might have communicated with one other by the lighting of beacons (something we've speculated about with regard to landscape alignments elsewhere), this piece of news from the BBC was interesting.

Quote:

An experiment has shed light on how Iron Age people communicated from their hilltop homes 2,500 years ago.
About 200 volunteers stood on the summit of 10 hillforts in north Wales, the Wirral and Cheshire, and signalled to each other with torches.
Their aim was to learn if communities used the summits to warn each other.
"It was a success," said archaeologist Erin Robinson. "It captured the public's imagination and we made extra links we did not think were possible."

Here's a link to the whole article. It includes a map.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-nort ... s-11832323

lovuian · **Posted:** 22 Mar 2011 2:31 pm

Tolkiens lighting the fires of Gondor to warn of the attack and call for help was a great example of it

John Harper · **Joined:** 28 May 2007 8:46 pm **Posts:** 841

Quote:

Richard wrote - Thanks, Roscoe. I've read field notes that refer to Windmill Hill being quite "disguised" within the landscape - and it is certainly very anonymous from certain angles - but how from other places in the vicinity (the ones I've seen mentioned are the Ridgeway south of the lesser visited East Kennet Long Barrow, and a path that goes west out of the village of Winterbourne Monkton) the hill appears much more prominent, and has far more presence in the landscape. I plan to go back there soon, and hopefully under clearer skies, to look at Windmill Hill from both of these vantage points.

On a related topic, thinking of hilltop settlements and how they might have communicated with one other by the lighting of beacons (something we've speculated about with regard to landscape alignments elsewhere), this piece of news from the BBC was interesting.

Bear in mind that the archaeologist Erin Robinson was testing communications between Iron age hill forts, not Neolithic/Megalithic sites.

My own experience is that most megalithic structures, stone circles and henges, aren't located in prominant positions, they're usually found on slopes, many just below a skyline, but I'm not sure about burial mounds and long barrows? Those burial mounds that I have noted in the vicinity of circles have all been located uphill, above the circle? It would be interesting to know if this distinction between the two structures was more widespread?

BTW, may I suggest that the item hanging from the branch of a tree above is a mahl stick used by artists and sign writers to steady their brush hand whilst painting.

John

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