Imposition of Stonehenge Exclusion Zone – circa 3,000 BC.
September 1, 2008 - 1:05 pm“Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose” (excuse the lack of appropriate accents).
It now seems that there was once some vast exclusion zone around Stonehenge, consisting of, on one side, the River Avon and the hills to the east and south-east, augmented by a two mile long, twenty foot high palisade elsewhere. The report I’ve read implies that this palisade was erected earlier than 3,000 BC, which has many truly fascinating implications, but as soon as I hear of any other dates for building and continued usage, I’ll publish them straightaway.
As anyone who reads this site will know, I have far more than a passing sympathy with some of the latter-day Druids and I certainly wouldn’t seek to tar them all with the same brush. I’m also sure, as I’ve written at some length on this site, that the ancient Druids had some connection with the early phases of Stonehenge, but I couldn’t help but be amused by the some of the immediate implications of this intriguing discovery by members of the Stonehenge Riverside Project.
To begin with, I don’t yet know of any firm dates for the construction and further usage of this palisade, but on the face of it, its existence threatens to throw a spanner into the works of the notion that Stonehenge was once the “A & E Department of southern England”, so as Mike Pitts has been quoted as saying that entry to Stonehenge would’ve been a ticket-only affair, it looks like Stonehenge was more BUPA than NHS, if the healing stones theory is to be believed. We’ll see.
Otherwise, to paraphrase Professor Josh Pollard, this huge wooden wall and ditch was specifically put in place to keep the peasants or riff-raff out, which would seem to throw a new light on some of the current calls by “King Arthur” to return Stonehenge to its natural environment and setting. If this includes being able to speak fluent Brythonic, write using Greek letters, memorise 20 years worth of verse, hold informed discussions on the movement of celestial bodies and the like, then not many people are going to be eligible for access rights, myself included, but there’s always “a consecrated spot in the country of the Carnutes, which is supposed to be the centre of Gaul” as a fallback, I suppose (Caesar, De Bello Gallico, Book VI, 13).
On a more serious note, the discovery of this astonishing structure will hopefully put an end to the inane archaeological pronouncements that Stonehenge was a “ritual meeting place”, as it was clearly something of a far greater magnitude than that. I was also fascinated to discover that this palisade crosses the north-western approach to Stonehenge, so I’ll have to present an update on TANITH when I’ve got time, which will include another aspect of the monument that Pete Glastonbury noticed when we last visited the ruins.
I’ve always maintained that Stonehenge’s importance to our prehistoric ancestors can’t be overstated, while I’ve also said that I believe that the builders and later celebrants expected some tangible reward or benefit for putting this wonder in place. Of course, there are those who were amused by the post I wrote about the real possibility that the ancient stargazers of Stonehenge contemplated the existence of life elsewhere in the universe, a notion that was summed up to perfection by Alun Salt’s description of these entities as “Sky People”.
Just a glance at the architecture of Stonehenge shows that it only allowed outsiders a glimpse of what was taking place inside through the increasingly narrow gaps in the sarsens, while there was also the unusual outer ditch and 6 foot tall internal bank that provided a further obstacle to an observer’s ability to view ceremonies taking place inside the monument. Now we learn that this huge palisade was probably put in place to shield not only the centre of the monument from public view, but also the imposing monument itself and its immediate environs.
I can’t help thinking that there’s one obvious weakness in the idea of a palisade, namely that a determined intruder could walk around it, as Pete’s pointed out elsewhere, so this would seem to me to make the function and existence of a Sentinel at Stonehenge not only likely, but a necessity. Mike Pitts has said of this arrangement that now includes a palisade “In modern terms, you had to be invited or have a ticket to get in”, which automatically implies the presence of “someone at the door”, like a bouncer. Or in ancient terms, a Sentinel.
All of which leads me to believe that the expectations and aspirations of our ancestors embodied the most ambitious goals imaginable at the time, or to put it in modern terms “The sky’s the limit”.
Iron Age burial in palisade ditch at Stonehenge, from currently non-working English Heritage link.
16 Responses to “Imposition of Stonehenge Exclusion Zone – circa 3,000 BC.”
I flatter myself that I can spot an interloper or one of the Great Unwashed in the same way that a leopard can spot a gazelle with a limp, so if I can manage this in the course of my largely ceremony-free day, I don’t doubt that a Sentinel at a place like Stonehenge could’ve done far better as far as the “tickets only” scenario is concerned. Anyway, as you can see, this was one of my rapid response posts, so I’ll give it some more thought and wait for a bit more information before I write about this again, but it’s still a fascinating development whichever way you look at it. If I understand it rightly, then this palisade was built with 20 foot high posts throughout its 2 mile length, so when we include screening material and the ditches, that’s clearly no small undertaking, whatever its precise function was.
last years dig at the west end of the cursus revealed post holes in the ditch so the whole of the cursus may well have been palisaded as well.
With respect to the various articles on the subject of the Stonehenge fence, if “the palisade is an open structure which would not have been defensive and was too high to be practical for controlling livestock”, and “it certainly wasn’t for hunting herded animals”, why does Dr.Pollard have to default to “like everything else in this ceremonial landscape, we have to believe it must have had a religious significance”? Why doesn’t he apply the same reasoning to the idea that it was “to keep the lower classes from seeing what exactly their rulers and the priestly class were doing”, for if it was built for that purpose would we not expect to see a corridor of two parallel fences on the approach to Stonehenge opening into a vast enclosure containing the entire site? Anything less would not shield the site from public view (unless he thinks it was a north/south or east/west divide along the lines of Hadrians Wall). At an estimated 20ft it would have been three times the height required to shield the site from public view! Instead it is slightly taller than the Sarsen circle, which is a clue to its actual purpose in shielding the site from the wind blowing over the surface of a water-filled henge. As soon as they release the details I’ll add it to the 3D models.
They have discovered a buried whole skellie of a deer at the Palisade.
Why bury a whole one?
Maybe it was special, like a White Hart?
PeteG
I don’t suppose I’m the only one to start thinking about Cernunnos when I hear this. Just a thought.
I seem to remember reading about a Druid “fence of protection” as well, although it was probably supernatural in nature and wasn’t recorded until a lot later in the day than this palisade.
My first thought upon reading your article was also that this would be useless as a barrier if you could have walked around it, and it’s over engineered for a line of sight barrier, so a wind break would be a most practical solution.
My first winter solstice at Stonehenge it was -7 degrees with a north wind.
Having said that, I would laugh my socks off at the irony of an ancient ‘members only’ access after all of the recent debate about open access.
Seriously though, a nice discovery, but why try to suggest its purpose at all without some further evidence to actually suggest its purpose?
The deer was probably just going about his normal business and then bang – he wasn’t expecting a 20 foot fence in the middle of Salisbury Plain.
It will be most interesting if the context provides a date.
I’ve read about the druid screening fence as well. Ever since the palisade story came out, I’ve had this visual image of a druid fence come vividly to mind every time I think about it. I’m guessing that the image formed when I first read a description of the druid fence, but I can’t for the life of me remember where I read it. It wasn’t recently, but the fence I read about was a very physical structure, not supernatural. I’m glad to know that someone else thought the druid fence as well and that my mind wasn’t just conjuring up a memory from nowhere. I’m going to have to dig through some old books to see if that’s where I found it.
How far apart are the post holes and can you see the whole of the fence from the circle? Are there any drawings of the locations online yet?
As to the Deer skeleton, it sounds like remnants of the Stag Cult to me. The Stag was revered in Paintings all over Europe in caves. Represented by a man with Antlers on his head. A Shaman. This would fit perfectly well with the idea of a Sentinel.
The whole notion of the Stag being at Stonehenge and Druidry having Stag related areas is the strongest evidence towards ritual connection between Druids and the Stonehenge builders.
As soon as I find out anything else at all about this palisade, I’ll certainly post it up, but as yet, I don’t know of any drawings or diagrams.
All I’ve been able to find out about the Druid “fence of protection” was that a Druid put one in place before the Battle of Culdremne in 561, but that’s from Wikipedia, for what it’s worth, while it also says that the original term was an “airbe drtiad”, but I don’t know of any specialists I can ask for a translation.
I’m not too hot on my Arthurian material, Aynslie, so I was wondering if there were anything remotely similar in any of the Arthurian legends? I ask for obvious reasons and this seems to have been a fruitful area of enquiry before.
You’re right, Frank, I’m jumping the gun, but it’s nice being able to think out loud about these things and it’s hard not to when something as impressive and as intriguing as this comes up. As and when I learn anything else, I’ll post it up asap.
Finally John, I suppose the deer could’ve done what you suggested, but I doubt he buried himself afterwards as well – hmm, it’s like a prehistoric “Who Killed Bambi?”
So far I’ve had no luck finding where I read about the druid fence (though I’ve still got several books to check), but another, quite different thought has been developing in my mind regarding a possible palisade around the Stonehenge complex. The idea of a barrier as large (in all respects) as has been suggested brought to mind the old King Kong movie that I saw as a child. The enormous wooden stockade built around the center of the island to contain not only Kong but various prehistoric monsters was there not to keep the “riff-raff” out, but to keep things in. I’m not in any way suggesting that giant creatures were involved, but if there was indeed a 20 ft high palisade separating parts of the Stonehenge complex from the outside world, isn’t it possible that, for some reason unknown to us, those on the outside didn’t want to see what was inside? Consider the fact that parts of the inside contained the dead. Is it possible that this whole area might have been viewed as a sort of Annwn, into which only initiated spiritual intercessors would want to venture?
The idea of the 20 foot high palisade took a serious knock the other day when someone emailed me a reply from Dr Josh Pollard, who said that he’d been completely misquoted in the media as far as this palisade’s concerned. Rather than muddy the waters further, I’ll leave it at that for now, but when Pete or myself hear anything concrete on this subject, we’ll post it up.
Otherwise, that’s certainly an interesting idea and it’s hard to avoid seeing it in this way, especially as the ruins are so closely linked with the dead. It reminded me of my time in North London, many years ago, when I lived close to Highgate Cemetery that was allegedly haunted by a vampire. The cemetery has to be one of the most gloomy and atmospheric places I’ve ever visited and when I saw the massive walls separating it from the outside world, I wondered if they’d been built to keep people out or something else in and I gather I wasn’t the only one thinking along these lines.
I have posted elsewhere that timbers can be sawed to whatever height was required.
Nor am I convinced the height of the palisade can be determined. Without the evidence of a post itself (such as having fallen and then rotting in situ to leave an impression).
What is frustrating there seems to be no real detail available whatsoever. Why does the Riverside Project not consider reporting simple basics such as a map of where they are excavating and simple descriptions of what they have found?
After all not everyone can get to Salisbury and they must know there is a considerable lay interest in this.
These are very interesting and pertinent points. I’ve had a think about it, and rather than post another comment, I’m trying to put together a new post asap.
Care to comment?
Dennis
The exclusion zone you refer to is imaginative and fits in with what seems to be the accepted notion of the Woodhenge/Durrington-Avon-Stonehenge ceremonial pathway. Personally I cannot take that on, just as I (and you) cannot take on the Lourdes theory.
If this palisade is associated with the Palisade/Gate ditch, then a view of the ceremonies could have been possible from the higher ground to the west? That may not be a coincidence as otherwise the approaches to the site are uphill. Clearly an internal bank and outer ditch also take on a significance if ‘restriction’ is the aim.
My feeling is the Cursus not the Avon has a far more important role because the palisade (if it follows the line of the ditch) seems to be a major divide between it and Stonehenge. The latter is a constricted site compared to the long and broad Cursus so suggests the flow of the crowd was from the Cursus to Stonehenge.
As I recall the ditch ‘touches’ the Avenue at its elbow before curving away from it to the NW (towards the Cursus) and that may be important.
What I do wonder is if the purpose was to divide “oik” from “nob”, how did the Sentinel identify one from the other?
Rgds
John