Ley Lines: Early British Trackways, Moats, Mounds, Camps and Sites (Forgotten Books) [Paperback]

Book Description:

"This was the first book about ley lines. Ley lines are alignments on the landscape of natural and artificial features, some of which follow perfectly straight tracks for miles. First discovered in Britain by the author of this book, Alfred Watkins, a photographer and inventor, ley lines were pursued eagerly by organized clubs in the period between the world wars. Interest in leys died out after the 1930s, but was revived in the 1960s, after the publication of a popular book on the subject, The View Over Atlantis, by John Michell. Latter-day ley-hunters took the concept much further than Watkins and the earlier enthusiasts. Dowsing, flying saucer paths, crop circles, biodynamic farming, and feng shui have all been associated with ley lines. Collections of ley lines have been said to conceal hidden messages, reveal the location of esoteric items, or contain star maps. The existence of ley lines is now one of the accepted tenets of New Age belief. This topic is collectively called 'Earth Mysteries'. However, they aren't just limited to this planet: leys have even supposedly been charted in the Cydonia region of Mars in the vicinity of the 'Face of Mars'.

Watkins never attributed any supernatural significance to leys; he believed that they were simply pathways that had been used for trade or ceremonial purposes, very ancient in origin, possibly dating back to the Neolithic, certainly pre-Roman. His obsession with leys was a natural outgrowth of his interest in landscape photography and love of the British countryside. He was an intensely rational person with an active intellect, and I think he would be a bit disappointed with some of the fringe aspects of ley lines today.

Originally just the existence of ley lines was considered speculative by academic archeologists and topographers. Since Watkins, there have been similar alignments discovered in far-flung locations, including the Atacama desert of Chile, the Southwestern United States, and other places; all of these can be directly traced to human activity, and associated with ceremonial and astronomical activities. So this probably makes the concept of similar alignments by Neolithic Britons more acceptable to traditional academics, once all the mystical connotations are subtracted.

Watkins wrote several other books on this topic, including The Old Straight Track [1925], and The Ley Hunter's Manual [1927]. These books go into much greater detail but essentially cover the same set of points in this, his first book on leys." (Quote from sacred-texts.com)

Table of Contents:

Publisher's Preface; Foreword To The Average Reader; Introduction; Proof; The Ley; Antiquity Of The Ley; Individuality Of A Ley; Mounds; Earth Cuttings; Water Sighting Points; Mark Stones; Sighting Stones; Trees; Camps; Churches; Castles; Traders' Roads; Hereford Trackways; Traditional Wells; Previous Data; Roman Roads; Place Names; Discovery By Place Name; The Ley-men; Hints To Ley Hunters; A Few Leys; Endword; Acknowledgments; Maps

About the Publisher:

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, Esoteric and Mythology. www.forgottenbooks.org

Forgotten Books is about sharing information, not about making money. All books are priced at wholesale prices. We are also the only publisher we know of to print in large sans-serif font, which is proven to make the text easier to read and put less strain on your eyes.

About the Author:

"Alfred Watkins (27 January 1855 - April 15, 1935) was a a self-taught amateur archaeologist and antiquarian who noticed in the British landscape the apparent arrangement of ancient features along straight lines, known as ley lines.

Watkins was born in Hereford to an affluent family which had moved to the town in 1820 to establish several businesses including a flour-mill, a hotel and brewery. Watkins travelled across Herefordshire as an 'out-rider' representing the family businesses and so got to know the area intimately. He was also a respected photographer. He made some cameras himself and manufactured the Watkins exposure meter, an example of which is in the Hereford City Museum.

On June 30, 1921, Watkins visited Blackwardine in Herefordshire when he had the idea that there was a system of straight lines crossing the landscape dating from Neolithic times. He presented his ideas at a meeting of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club of Hereford in September 1921, and published his first books Early British Trackways in 1922 and The Old Straight Track in 1925. Thereafter he spent a major part of his life developing his theory. He published a further book on ley lines and participated in the Old Straight Track Club from 1927 to 1935 (the papers from this organisation are also in the Hereford City Museum).

Watkins ideas are not universally accepted by archaeologists. At first it was thought was that the ancient Britons were too primitive to have devised such an arrangement, but this is no longer the argument used against the existence of ley lines. More crucially there are so many ancient features that finding some in approximate alignment is highly likely. Watkins was sensitive to such arguments and argued for caution. He also drew up a list according to which landscape features could be given values between 1/4 and 1 point, five points or more being required as evidence of a ley line.

Watkins was a member of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, an authority on beekeeping and a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. He was also involved in the preservation of Pembridge Market Hall.

Watkins' work was revived and popularised from the 1960s following John Michell's publication of The View over Atlantis 1969. In 2002 Watkins had a beer ..." (Quote from wikipedia.org)