Great Stone Circles: Fables, Fictions, Facts [Hardcover]

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

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]