A Reassessment of the High Precision Megalithic Lunar Sightlines,1: Backsights,Indicators and the Archaeological Status of the Sightlines

AA2 Thom A. Thom A. S. , “A new study of all megalithic lunar lines”, Archaeoastronomy, no. 2 (1980), S78–89.

BAR Ruggles C. L. N. Whittle A. W. R. (eds), Astronomy and society in Britain during the period 4000–1500 b.c. (BAR 88, Oxford, 1981).

JHA Thom A. Thom A. S. , “A reconsideration of the lunar sites in Britain”, Journal for the history of astronomy, ix (1978), 170–9.

MLO Thom A. , Megalithic lunar observatories (Oxford, 1971).

MRBB Thom A. Thom A. S. , Megalithic remains in Britain and Brittany (Oxford, 1978).

MSB Thom A. , Megalithic sites in Britain (Oxford, 1967).

OSAR Ordnance Survey archaeological records, Southampton and Edinburgh.

RBAR Ruggles C. L. N. , “A critical examination of the megalithic lunar observatories”, in BAR (see above), 153–209.

TBAR Thom A. S. , “Megalithic lunar observatories: An assessment of 42 lunar alignments”, in BAR (see above), 13–61.

MSB, chs 8 and 10; MLO, ch. 7.

JHA; AA2; TBAR..

RBAR, 153–4; see also Ruggles C. L. N. , “Megalithic astronomical sightlines: Current reassessment and future directions”, in Heggie D. C. (ed.), Archaeoastronomy in the Old World (Cambridge, in press).

RBAR, Section 4.3 (Level 2); Section 4.4 (Leve.

TBAR..

AA2..

TBAR, Appendix.

JHA..

See TBAR, Table 1.1 or AA2, Table 1; and JHA, Table 3.

Renfrew C. , Investigations in Orkney (London, 1979), ch. 5.

Burgess C. , The age of Stonehenge (London, 1980), 337–8, and references cited in ch. 7 therein.

MRBB, 136–7.

For the site plan and nomenclature see MRBB 122.

Petrie G. , “Description of antiquities in Orkney recently examined”, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, ii (1857), 56–62.

OSAR, HY 21 SE 12.

Burgess , op. cit. (ref. 12), 37.

Descriptions of them are given by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Inventories of ancient monuments, xii (1): Orkney (Edinburgh, 1946), no. 885.

Hedges M. E. , “The excavation of the Knowes of Quoyscottie, Orkney”, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, cviii (1977), 130–155. Radiocarbon datings are given in Appendix VI, but are in fact misquoted and should read between 3145±120 bp (F103) and 2660±85 bp (F91), i.e. around 1100 be and later (P. J. Ashmore, priv. comm.).

Morrison L. V. , “On the analysis of megalithic lunar sightlines in Scotland”, Archaeoastronomy, no. 2 (1980), S65–77, p. S67.

Names of foresights at Brogar, as at other sites with more than one foresight, are given here merely to aid cross-referencing with Part Two.

MRBB 123.

MRBB, Table 1.

MRBB 126.

MRBB 128.

Thomas F. W. L. , “Account of some of the Celtic antiquities of Orkney”, Archaeologia, xxxiv (1852), 88–136. The relevant part of the plan is reproduced in MRBB 125.

Ritchie J. N. G. , “The stones of Stenness, Orkney”, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, cvii (1975), 1–60.

MRBB 130.

Henshall A. S. , The chambered tombs of Scotland, i (Edinburgh, 1963), 232, no. 45.

Piggott S. , Neolithic cultures of the British Isles (Cambridge, 1954), 243–4.

MLO 92.

OSAR, ND 23 NE 6.

Atkinson R. J. C. , “Comments on the archaeological status of some of the sites”, Appendix 4.2 to RBAR 206 (Site 5).

Cooke J. A. Few R. W. Morgan J. G. Ruggles C. L. N. , “Indicated declinations at the Callanish megalithic sites”, Journal for the history of astronomy, viii (1977), 113–33, p. 120.

Ponting M. R. Ponting G. H. , “Decoding the Callanish complex—some initial results”, in BAR, 63–110, p. 76.

For a site plan see either MSB 128 or Cooke op. cit. (ref. 34), 118.

Ponting and Ponting, op. cit. (ref. 35), 84 (site plan) and 86.

OSAR, NB 22 NW 1.

RBAR 179.

OSAR, NO 36 SW 2.

Young A. , “Report on standing stones and other remains near Fowlis Wester, Perthshire”, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, lxxvii (1943), 174–82; for a site plan see also MRBB 174.

Atkinson , op. cit. (ref. 33), 206–7 (Site 19).

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Inventories of ancient monuments, xi: Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan (Edinburgh, 1933), no. 379.

MLO 55.

For a summary of the discussion with references, see Heggie D. C. , “Highlights and problems of megalithic astronomy”, Archaeoastronomy, no. 3 (1981), S17–37, pp. S29–31.

Thom A. , “The lunar observatories of Megalithic Man”, Vistas in astronomy, xi (1969), 1–29, pp. 8–9.

Cowie T. , in Discovery and excavation in Scotland (1979), 28–29.

Scott J. G. , in Discovery and excavation in Scotland (1975), 12–13; (1976), 15; (1977), 7; (1978), 22; (1979), 32; (1980), 30–31.

Scott , op. cit. (ref. 48) (1979), 32.

For a site plan see either MLO 46 or Patrick J. D. , “A reassessment of the lunar observatory hypothesis for the Kilmartin stones”, Archaeoastronomy, no. 1 (1979), S78–85, p. S80.

Patrick , op. cit. (ref. 50), S83–84.

Thom's nomenclature (see MLO 46) rather than Patrick's.

MLO 45.

RBAR 187, Fig. 4.3c.

TBAR, Table 1.1 or AA2, Table 1.

MLO 47, Table 5.1.

MLO 46, Fig. 5.1.

Barber J. W. , “The excavation of the holed-stone at Ballymeanoch, Kilmartin, Argyll”, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, cix (1978), 104–11.

Campbell M. Sandeman M. , “Mid-Argyll: A field survey of the historic and prehistoric monuments”, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, xcv (1962), 1–125, no. 175.

MLO 63.

OSAR, NR 89 SW 35.

MLO 65.

RBAR 187, Fig. 4.3b.

MRBB 169.

Pennant T. , A tour in Scotland and voyage to the Hebrides, 1772 (London, 1776), 224.

Scott J. G. , “Bronze Age burial sites at Asgog Bay, Ardlamont, Argyll”, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, lxxxiv (1950), 212–16, p. 216.

MLO 66.

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Argyll: An inventory of the ancient monuments, i: Kintyre (Edinburgh, 1971), no. 143.

MLO 60, Fig. 6.1.

Thom A. Thom A. S. , “Another lunar site in Kintyre”, Archaeoastronomy, no. 1 (1979), S96–97; see also Thom A. , “The standing stones in Argyllshire”, Glasgow archaeological journal, vi (1979), 5–10, p. 8.

OSAR, NR 95 NW 1.

Atkinson , op. cit. (ref. 33), 207–8 (Site 38).

JHA 173.

RCAHMS, op. cit. (ref. 68), no. 136.

MLO 62, Fig. 6.5.

RCAHMS, op. cit. (ref. 68), no. 134.

RCAHMS, op. cit. (ref. 68), no. 130.

MLO, 56–57.

RCAHMS, op. cit. (ref. 68), no. 148.

RCAHMS, op. cit. (ref. 68), no. 131.

RCAHMS, op. cit. (ref. 68), no. 149.

MLO 63.

OSAR, NX 07 SE 3.

MLO 72, Fig. 6.17, top diagram.

Clare T. , “Some Cumbrian stone circles in perspective”, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Archaeological and Antiquarian Society, 2nd series, lxxv (1975), 1–16, p. 8.

TBAR 51.

OSAR, SM 93 NE 12.

MLO 73.