Download or read book John Aubrey Stone Circles written by Aubrey Burl and published by Amberley Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2010-10-15 with total page 613 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The career of eminent archaeologist John Aubrey and his revolutionary work on stone circles.
Download or read book John Aubrey My Own Life written by Ruth Scurr and published by New York Review of Books. This book was released on 2016-09-06 with total page 545 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A game-changer in the world of biography.” —Mary Beard, The Guardian Shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award Born on the brink of the modern world, John Aubrey was witness to the great intellectual and political upheavals of the seventeenth century. He knew everyone of note in England—writers, philosophers, mathematicians, doctors, astrologers, lawyers, statesmen—and wrote about them all, leaving behind a great gift to posterity: a compilation of biographical information titled Brief Lives, which in a strikingly modest and radical way invented the art of biography. Aubrey was born in Wiltshire, England, in 1626. The reign of Queen Elizabeth and, earlier, the dissolution of the monasteries were not too far distant in memory during his boyhood. He lived through England’s Civil War, the execution of Charles I, the brief rule of Oliver Cromwell and his son, and the restoration of Charles II. Experiencing these constitutional crises and regime changes, Aubrey was impassioned by the preservation of traces of Ancient Britain, of English monuments, manor houses, monasteries, abbeys, and churches. He was a natural philosopher, an antiquary, a book collector, and a chronicler of the world around him and of the lives of his friends, both men and women. His method of writing was characteristic of his manner: modest, self-deprecating, witty, and concerned above all with the collection of facts that would otherwise be lost to time. John Aubrey, My Own Life is an extraordinary book about the first modern biographer, which reimagines what biography can be. This intimate diary of Aubrey’s days is composed of his own words, collected, collated, and enlarged upon by Ruth Scurr in an act of meticulous scholarship and daring imagination. Scurr’s biography honors and echoes Aubrey’s own innovations in the art of biography. Rather than subject his life to a conventional narrative, Scurr has collected the evidence—the remnants of a life from manuscripts, letters, and books—and arranged it chronologically, modernizing words and spellings, and adding explanations when necessary, with sources provided in the extensive endnotes. Here are Aubrey’s intricate drawings of Stonehenge and the ancient Avebury stones; Aubrey on Charles I’s execution (“On this day, the King was executed. It was bitter cold, so he wore two heavy shirts, lest he should shiver and seem afraid”); and Aubrey on antiquity (“Matters of antiquity are like the light after sunset—clear at first—but by and by crepusculum—the twilight—comes—then total darkness”). From the darkness, Scurr has wrested a vibrant, intimate account of the life of an ingenious man.
Download or read book Building the Great Stone Circles of the North written by Colin Richards and published by Windgather Press. This book was released on 2013-11-30 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of all prehistoric monuments, few are more emotive than the great stone circles that were built throughout Britain and Ireland. From the tall, elegant, pointed monoliths of the Stones of Stenness to the grandeur of Stonehenge and the sarsen blocks at Avebury, circles of stone exert a magnetic fascination to those who venture into their sphere. In Britain today, more people visit these structures than any other form of prehistoric monument and visitors stand in awe at their scale and question how and why they were erected. Building the Great Stone Circles of the North looks at the enigmatic stone structures of Scotland and investigates the background of their construction and their cultural significance.
Download or read book Stone Circles written by Colin Richards and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2024-08-27 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive guide to the stone circles of Britain and Ireland From Stonehenge and the Ring of Brogdar to the Rollright Stones and Avebury, the British and Irish Isles are scattered with the stone circles of our prehistoric ancestors. Although there have been many theories to explain them, to this day there is no consensus about their purpose. Colin Richards and Vicki Cummings provide a clear and illuminating field guide to 424 key stone circle sites in Britain and Ireland. Organised by region, this handy volume sets out the features of these megalithic monuments, including their landscape position, construction, and physical properties. The authors take stock of cutting-edge research and recent excavations stone circles that were previously lost to time. They present new insights on the chronology, composition, and roles of different circles to transform our understanding the sites. Beautifully illustrated with photographs, maps, and plans, this is an essential guide to Britain and Ireland's most mysterious prehistoric monuments.
Download or read book The Stone Circles of Britain Ireland and Brittany written by Aubrey Burl and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The spectacular stone circles of western Europe, some nearly 6000 years old, have intrigued viewers through the ages. This beautiful book about these megalithic rings explores their ancestry, methods of construction, and eventual desertion. A substantially revised version of Aubrey Burl's highly praised work The Stone Circles of the British Isles, it offers new insights into the purpose of stone circles. It also provides a new interpretation of Stonehenge and of Callanish in Scotland, the first overview of the cromlechs in Brittany, a discussion of the problems of archaeoastronomy as related to stone circles, a greatly expanded Gazetteer, and an up-to-date list of radiocarbon dates and recent excavations.
Download or read book The Hill Forts Stone Circles and Other Structural Remains of Ancient Scotland written by Christian Maclagan and published by . This book was released on 1875 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain Ireland and Brittany written by Aubrey Burl and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This practical and knowledgeable guidebook deals comprehensively with the stone circles of Britain and Ireland and with the cromlechs and megalithic "horseshoes" of Brittany. This new edition includes a section on "Druidical" circles, romantic creations of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. "This book is not only an elegant and practical guide, it is also the best single-volume study of this extraordinary phenomenon, embracing 500 monuments from Shetland to Brittany. . . . Confident, erudite, pleasurable, this volume can be recommended as travel guide, archaeology, literature, and sheer good company."--Ian Sheperd, British Archaeology "This is a wonderful book and is a must for anyone remotely interested in things megalithic."--Paul Walsh, Archaeology Ireland
Download or read book Stone Circles written by Hugh Newman and published by eBook Partnership. This book was released on 2021-05-20 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What are stone circles? When were they built, and why? How come so many of them egg-shaped, or geometrically flattened? What do they have to do with the landscape, Sun, Moon and stars? In this beautifully illustrated book, megalithomaniac Hugh Newman takes us on a fascinating journey around the world, examining these mysterious monuments of the megalithic culture from Wessex to Scotland, France to Poland, North America to Africa and India to Japan. "e;Fascinating"e; FINANCIAL TIMES. "e;Beautiful"e; LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "e;Rich and Artful"e; THE LANCET. "e;Genuinely mind-expanding"e; FORTEAN TIMES. "e;Excellent"e; NEW SCIENTIST. "e;Stunning"e; NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.
Download or read book From Stonehenge to Samarkand written by Brian Fagan and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-07-20 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ever since Roman tourists scratched graffiti on the pyramids and temples of Egypt over two thousand years ago, people have traveled far and wide seeking the great wonders of antiquity. In From Stonehenge to Samarkand, noted archaeologist and popular writer Brian Fagan offers an engaging historical account of our enduring love of ancient architecture--the irresistible impulse to visit strange lands in search of lost cities and forgotten monuments.Here is a marvelous history of archaeological tourism, with generous excerpts from the writings of the tourists themselves. Readers will find Herodotus describing the construction of Babylon; Edward Gibbon receiving inspiration for his seminal work while wandering through the ruins of the Forum in Rome; Gustave Flaubert watching the sunrise from atop the Pyramid of Cheops. We visit Easter Island with Pierre Loti, Machu Picchu with Hiram Bingham, Central Africa with David Livingstone. Fagan describes the early antiquarians, consumed with a passionate and omnivorous curiosity, pondering the mysteries of Stonehenge, but he also considers some of the less reputable figures, such as the Earl of Elgin, who sold large parts of the Parthenon to the British Museum. Finally, he discusses the changing nature of archaeological tourism, from the early romantic wanderings of the solitary figure, communing with the departed spirits of Druids or Mayans, to the cruise-ship excursions of modern times, where masses of tourists are hustled through ruins, barely aware of their surroundings.From the Holy Land to the Silk Road, the Yucatan to Angkor Wat, Fagan follows in the footsteps of the great archaeological travelers to retrieve their first written impressions in a book that will delight anyone fascinated with the landmarks of ancient civilization.
Download or read book Great Crowns of Stone written by Adam Welfare and published by Royal Commission. This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stone circles always excite the imagination, and nowhere more so than in the north-east of Scotland, which holds one of the most dense concentrations to be found anywhere in the British Isles. Illustrated with unique plans, this volume examines the facts, myths and mysteries surrounding some of Scotland's most evocative ancient monuments.
Download or read book William Stukeley written by David Boyd Haycock and published by Boydell & Brewer Ltd. This book was released on 2002 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: William Stukeley was the most renowned English antiquary of the 18th century. This study discusses his life and achievements which he shared with his illustrious friend Isaac Newton and with other natural philosophers, theologians and historians.
Download or read book Exploring Avebury written by Steve Marshall and published by History Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Avebury in Wiltshire is best known as the world's largest stone circle, but surrounding it is a wealth of ancient monuments. Captivated by its unique atmosphere, many visitors form a personal, often spiritual, connection to Avebury and its 'sacred landscape'. What was it that first attracted people to the Avebury area more than 5,000 years ago?Beautifully illustrated with over 400 photographs, maps and diagrams, Exploring Avebury invites us on a journey of discovery. For the first time the importance of water, light and sound is revealed, and we begin to see Avebury through the eyes of those who built it.
Download or read book The Mysterious Druids written by Clayton N. Donoghue and published by FriesenPress. This book was released on 2020-02-13 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few subjects have inspired more fascination throughout the centuries than the druids, but were they really as mystical and mysterious as they are often portrayed? In an absorbing mix of scholarly presentation and entertaining stories from folklore and history, The Mysterious Druids takes a deep dive into this question . . . and the answer may surprise you. This meticulously researched study takes readers on a wild romp through history, legend, and mythology. It explores the mystical symbols and healing plants used in druidic life, the druids’ astronomy, and the amazingly advanced medical techniques they employed. There are riveting accounts of battles, cameos from characters like Merlyn and Boudicca, and up-to-the-minute observations on current theories and archeological research. Fueled by a deep love and in-depth understanding of Celtic culture, The Mysterious Druids makes great reading for history buffs and folklore/fantasy lovers alike.
Download or read book The Mystery of Stone Circles written by Paul Mason and published by Heinemann-Raintree Library. This book was released on 2008 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How was Stonehenge created? Did circle builders use math to arrange the stones? What happens on Midsummer Day? Some things are so strange that they cannot be explained. This series explains the connection between science and natural phenomena and how science can be used to try to explain mysteries.
Download or read book Rings of Stone written by Aubrey Burl and published by Houghton Mifflin. This book was released on 1980 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book From Carnac to Callanish written by Aubrey Burl and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1993-01-01 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses the lines of standing stones that until now have been the neglected wonders of prehistoric Europe, rows that were foci of rituals in Britain, Ireland and Brittany for over two thousand years. Places such as Carnac in Brittany and Callanish in the Hebrides are visited by many visitors each year, but before now there has been no book that seriously explains the history, significance and background to these impressive sites. Aubrey Burl shows that the settings vary from pairs of isolated stones in the far south-west of Ireland to networks of long lines in Scotland, Dartmoor and Brittany, and describes the types in a sequence of architectural chapters that stress the increasing social and commercial connections between regions hundred of miles apart. He uses information from a wide variety of sources - excavation reports, megalithic art, astronomical analyses and legends - to provide explanations of why the rows were erected, when, and what they may have been used for.
Download or read book Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland written by Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and published by . This book was released on 1906 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes List of members.
