Posted on 03/05/2008 7:02:05 PM PST by blam
Skeleton could hold secret to Stonehenge
The skeleton discovered at Stonehenge in 1978, which has been on display in Salisbury Museum.
A SKELETON, which has been on prominent display in Salisbury Museum for nearly a decade, could hold the secret to Stonehenge's mysterious past and show the site to be an arena of gladiatorial combat, an archaeological expert has claimed.
The skeleton, that of a man who had been killed by arrows in 2,300 BC, was discovered in the ditch surrounding the stones during excavation work, carried out by Professor Richard Atkinson and J.G Evans in 1978.
After being analysed, the skeleton was donated to Salisbury museum, where it has been on display as a key part of the museum's Stonehenge exhibit under the title of "the body from the ditch".
However, Stonehenge expert and former archaeologist with Wessex Archaeology, Dennis Price, believes the skeleton's inauspicious title belies the fact the remains offer tangible proof the site was once used as an ancient arena hosting violent combat sports.
He said: "There is firm evidence of a long-standing tradition of sentinels at Stonehenge going back to when it was originally built in 2,600 BC - and possibly before.
"The function of these individuals was to symbolically guard the temple, but I think they could only be replaced by someone who physically defeated them in a ritual combat.
"I think that remains of one of these Stonehenge Sentinels is on display at Salisbury Museum, where he's currently known as 'the body from the ditch'."
As evidence for this claim, Mr Price points to the fact many of the burial plots found at the site contain a variety of ancient weaponry.
He added: "Many of the barrows surrounding Stonehenge contained weapons such as daggers and maces, and these were extremely violent times.
"Many of the human remains found in the Stonehenge landscape suffered crippling wounds, especially the Amesbury Archer and the Boscombe Bowmen, or other builders of Stonehenge."
Mr Price also points to evidence from a site similar to Stonehenge, located in Italy, as further evidence for his argument gladiatorial combat once took place in south Wiltshire.
He said: "There was a well-recorded murderous ritual at the temple of Diana, at Nemi, in Italy, in Roman times, where a man could become a priest of Diana's temple only by fighting and killing the resident priest.
"There is a striking resemblance between what we know of Stonehenge and Nemi - both sites regularly witnessed the violent death of individual humans, both were linked with archery and with gods or goddesses who were archers, and both have an obvious religious significance."
Director of Salisbury and south Wiltshire Museum, Adrian Green, added: "What I love about Stonehenge is the endless number of stories surrounding the evidence that has been found there.
"Dennis Price's idea that there was a sentinel or guardian of Stonehenge, who could only be replaced through combat to the death, conjures up a harsh image of life more than 4,000 years ago, but it also has a certain romantic quality to it."
GGG Ping.
How, did he have his MP3 player on record?
In before the Spinal Tap references.
Its my uncle Jake.
The same could be said of Philadelphia and New Orleans. Maybe Stonehenge was the location of a failed welfare state.
“could hold the secret to Stonehenge’s mysterious past and show the site to be an arena of gladiatorial combat”
That’s cool. Forgive the testosterone, but I always thought the “druids prayer circle thing” was lame. (Not that prayer is lame, but praying to trees/stones is...)
Must be a guy thing to want to kill a person so you can stand guard over some rocks.
Stonehenge: Where Atlantis Died
(1972)
A novel by
Harry Harrison and Leon E Stover
by
Harry Harrison
This rousing adventure story set in the Europe of 1473 B. C.
Above all sets out to entertain.
But it also has a rather more serious purpose -
to expound another theory about the reasons for
the building of the fascinating stone circles.
Arkancide?
The professor reads way too much from a dead body. The man could be simply killed in a skirmish and buried near a sacred site (in a graveyard.)
His theory of ritual combat also holds no water. You can't do ritual combat by sneaking behind an unsuspecting man and sending an arrow into his back; it's plain murder, not a ritual. Besides, death from multiple arrows would suggest a combat situation, against multiple archers. Further invalidating the prof's original theory, no sane gladiator will ever go against an archer, let alone several; he'd be a pin cushion before he reaches them.
but it also has a certain romantic quality to it
Yes, that's the reason for all those theories. A fairly tale is always more pleasing than a real, sad story of that time.
You can have the key when you pry it from his cold, skeletal fingers...
You can have the key when you pry it from his cold, skeletal fingers...
|
|
|||
Gods |
Thanks Blam. |
||
|
· Mirabilis · Texas AM Anthropology News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · · History or Science & Nature Podcasts · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists · |
|||
Maybe it was a really brutal version of "Red Rover".
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.