Astronomers and researchers have different presentations and assumptions of the Stonehenge. However, one major assumption made by people is that the Stonehenge showed the presence of ancient astronomy. As per its location and positioning, the site aligns with the sunset direction during the winter solstice and the sunrise direction during the summer solstice. Dr. Gerald Hawkins was one of the astronomers astonished by the rocks and came up with his interpretation of the Stonehenge. According to him, the Stonehenge shares similar qualities to an IBM computer and it may be the blueprint for computer technology. Despite his descriptions, Richard Atkinson, Glyn Daniels, and Patrick Moore detest him, saying that there is no link between the Stonehenge and computers. The paper looks at the three instances described in the documentary and opposing views by the three authors.
Hawkins began his research while at Boston University as it had the basic facilities to fund his project. From the findings of Stonehenge, Hawkins fed the standing stones’ position and other minor features to the institution’s IBM 7090. He modeled the sun and moon movements using the mainframe. The project was a success and enabled him to come up with three instances of the Stonehenge and its application to the ancient astronomers. The first instance was that the Stonehenge acted as an observatory. He found 165 significant features on the monument which he plotted using the computer. He tested all alignments from sunrise to sunset, the moon’s movement, the planets, and bright stars as it were in 1500BC.
The eleven lunar and thirteen solar correlation fitted exactly to the early features though precision was far less in features by the monument. Another instance is the use of Aubrey holes as a way of predicting the lunar eclipses. Hawkins described the features by moving the markers from one hole to another. The results were similar to the eclipse timing which was an 18.6-year lunar cycle movement. According to Hawkins, the ancient astronomers tracked the pattern in three cycles, bearing in mind the stone markers’ movement around the circle made by fifty Aubrey Holes.
The last instance made by Hawkins was the Slaughter and Heel stones. The position of these two stones made it possible to plot the dawn of summer solstice and sunset of winter solstice. According to him, the ancient builders had knowledge of how to position the stones despite them being quite big and heavy. Another assumption made is that the ancient builders had guidance from astronomers who knew of the solar system movement. The three instances were part of his publication book, Stonehenge Decoded. It received worldwide acceptance from different scholars and authors. However, the opposing parties who felt his theories lacked proper justification and proof outlined several issues. One of the opposing parties, Richard Atkinson had quite a lot to say in the documentary, unlike the other two interviewers. Some of his thoughts had possible bearings and meanings though others lacked proper backing from assumptions made.
According to Atkinson, Professor Hawkins uses the factual inaccuracies by referring to inaccurate published sources, which he used in his research. The referencing to cattle-pounds is irrelevant and obscure. The sources outline the embanked circles that contained rings of pits lacks any relationship with the hilltop enclosure. Another mistake Hawkins makes it confusing the stone circle’s axis and the line of sight that runs from the center to the Heel Stone’s tip. The two items are not the same despite Hawkins justification of Atkinson’s thoughts that they were similar. The citation made on Atkinson’s statements refers to the two distinctive lines of sight that show two different dates.
Hawkins makes another false statement by arbitrarily assuming that it is acceptable to factor in errors of a similar size. He takes the findings made by Atkinson on the probable errors one finds when factoring in plus or minus a few degrees. Atkinson notes that the sun and moon have diameters slightly bigger than half a degree. From his photographs, the lateral shift by one-sixth of a degree horizontally is perceptible. If the statement is true, it will turn out to be a resolving power towards the unaided vision. It is quite impossible to distinguish the change with the naked eye especially the detail visible on the moon’s surface.
It is quite unlikely to use the pictures as evidence for or against Hawkins’s theories. The interpretation would be wrong as the positioning depends on the camera angle and perspective. Hence, it bears false viewpoints, which might not be helpful towards the overall justification of the theory. The sunrise photographs were valueless because of its angle, as they look forced. Dr. Glyn Daniels shares similar sentiments with Atkinson, especially towards the Aubrey holes. The Aubrey device was functioning well despite the different assumptions Hawkins makes in his book.
Daniels suggests that the stones were not built with the knowledge of the sunrise and sunset but with the knowledge of the moon and sun. The statement bears its truth from the Greek sources of god Typhon, the number 56 and both eclipses. Previously, the Stonehenge contained 30 stones in total, arranged to form a circle. The circle formation acted as a base for thirty interlocked lintels placed at the top. Four of the station stones formed an almost perfect rectangle that short with the short sides aligning to the midwinter sunset positions and midsummer sunrise. Hence, there lacks a justifiable reason explaining the grounds the ancient people had while building the Stonehenge.
In conclusion, the mystery surrounding Stonehenge still confuses most of the researchers and astronomers, because of the lack of a proper script that would shed light on the use of the stones or reason behind its establishment. Others tend to sight the area as a burial ground for the ancient people as per the evidence collected in recent years from the area. Others state it as a place of worship as evident from the documentary. Others feel that aliens were responsible for its establishment as it connected the people on earth with them. However, evidence made by astronomers and researchers will remain unanswered until the development of a final script that shows full evidence.
Work Cited
Hawkins, Gerald S. The Mystery of Stonehenge (1965). 1965. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFyw1PaL9sY >
