Great Stone Circles: Fables, Fictions, Facts

Burl is among the leaders of scholars studying the stone and wood monuments scattered about the British Isles. This book, in many ways, is the culmination of years of research and publications. It brings to light some of the latest thinking on the origins of monuments like Stonehenge, Stanton Drew and Rollright. The selected sites are each unique in their own way. Burl presents historical considerations of the stone circles, updated with his own and others' insights. He's a vigorous writer, sharply critical where needed - equally praising when appropriate. A great demolisher of myths and mistakes, he uses the selected sites to demonstrate valid methods of study. His aim is to sweep away false or inadequate explanations to bring the sites and their builders to life. He's keenly aware that these are the constructions of real people. Bringing those people to life is a major aim of the book.This tour of selected stone circle sites makes compelling eading. Burl's witty style is enhanced by outstanding photography and many informative line drawings. The illustrations alone might put this book in the "coffee table" class, but the serious scientific base grants the book better status. Burl stresses the complexity inherent in each of the sights. Stonehenge, the prime example, was built through several phases, each taking previous structures into account. We are misguided into thinking overmuch about the visible stones, when much more, often indications of wooden structures, lie underground at the sites. This evidence, according to Burl, conveys a fresh story about the people building them than do the stones, standing or fallen. Burl argues that the lithic evidence indicates woodworking techniques were used to form the rocks of Stonehenge. For those new to the topic, this book may seem somewhat overbearing. Burl attempts to clarify many issues ["axes to grind" if you will], most particularly the astronomical orientations of many of the stone circles, and their means of construction. He is particularly emphatic over the question of transportation of stones from southern Wales. The feat, he stresses, is clearly implausible. His contention is that the stones were local to what is now Wiltshire. They were "erratics" deposited by glacial action. Neolithic peoples moved, shaped and placed them. At Stonehenge, construction techniques are more typical of woodworking, but in stone. Burl's suggestion is that the technology was imported from Brittany, likely through workers imported from that region.Burl has provided a good starting point for those interested in our historical roots. Clearly, the Neolithic people who built Stonehenge, Swinside and the other sites have left a legacy we share in some part. The notes and reading list Burl provides will lead the interested reader to guides for further investigation. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

This weighty book takes an original approach. Dr Burl has picked half a dozen of the biggest, best known and most studied stone circles in Britain and written what must be a definitive account of every significant fact and fable that has been documented about them. Ten sites: Stanton Drew, Swinside, the Rollrights, Long Meg, the Land's End cluster, Stonehenge and, as Burl points out, the sparsest site that we have learnt most from: Woodhenge. His discussion of the Heel stone is a good example of how he sieves the references and homes in on answers. Presumably Avebury is absent as he literally wrote the book on that in 1979. New discoveries there call for an update, but they would have been too late for this book. I'm sure this will come in time, indeed many of us hope Dr Burl will get round to an update of his 1976 Stone Circles of the British Isles.Burl's style is direct and can be poetic. If you can get inside his pithy humour it is inspiring to follow him as he targets and eliminates one misconception after another. From antiquarians to excavators, with a nod to the dowsers and ley hunters, the book documents all the attempts to penetrate the silence of the stones. He has little time for idle speculators, but he does at least give their ideas a quick airing rather than shying away like so many of his archaeological peers. Alas though, even drawing all this together can only go so far to answer many of the questions posed.Burl starts the Stonehenge section with a passionate argument as to how the Bluestones got there. I agree with him that the journey from Wales seems far-fetched, but I'm not convinced by the case for glacial erratics picked up from Salisbury Plain either! Burl's other heretical idea, the suggestion that the Bretons had a hand in building Stonehenge is convincing. Indeed his descriptions of anthropomorphic rock art at Stonehenge unwittingly lay the foundations for Terence Meaden to step in with his carved head ideas.There are inevitable comparisons with Burl's Prehistoric Avebury. One interesting section in that was his description of how people probably carried out their daily lives. Great Stone Circles does cover the construction of Swinside, but I'd liked to have seen more of this. As with many of Burl's other works, the great attraction is the space given to the lesser-known sites. I hope he can repeat the process at other circles in the future. Not a book you will tire of quickly if stone circles are your thing. So full of information it is hard to take in and digest in one reading, but that is more the fault of the reviewer than the author. Superb.Review by Andy Burnham - www.megalithic.co.uk