Prehistoric Astronomy and Ritual (Shire Archaeology) - Softcover

Burl, Aubrey

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747806144 ISBN 13: 9780747806141

Publisher: Shire, 2008

Synopsis

Stonehenge was not an observatory used by druidical astronomer-priests, but instead an almighty monument in which the moon, the sun, and the dead were joined together. In this compelling book, archaeological expert Aubrey Burl explains how, more than four thousand years ago, people in the British Isles identified life and death with the cycle of midwinter and midsummer, and with the rising and setting of the sun and moon. It is for this reason that so many megalithic monuments have astronomical sightlines bult into them. This book explores the development of astronomical customes in the British Isles, and, unlike other works about 'megalithic astronomy', keeps the techical explanations of azimuths and declinations to their simpliest, its emphasis being upon people rather than perturbations and eclipses.

About this title

About the Author:

Formerly Principal Lecturer in Prehistory at Hull College of Higher Education,Aubrey Burl is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. He has directed the excavation of several monuments in Britain. His other titles for Shire include: Prehistoric Stone Circles.

About this edition

• Publisher: Shire
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0747806144
• ISBN 13: 9780747806141
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 72