Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
First published in 1990. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Synopsis
Rodney Castleden presents an illuminating and convincing interpretation of Stonhenge's cultural context and historical meaning.
Synopsis
First published in 1990. Of all the monuments left by the past, Stonehenge is the most evocative, the most memorable and the most mysterious. Whilst the monuments of other cultures have gradually surrendered their mysteries, Stonehenge alone seems to stimulate endless conjecture. Rodney Castleden's vivid presentation of the world of the megaliths answers many of the most baffling questions about Stonehenge. There are, he stresses, few absolute certainties, but from the vast body of evidence assembled during the last hundred years it is now possible to get much closer to the truth than ever before. Who built the monuments and for what purpose? How were the bluestones moved from the sacred mountains of the west to Salisbury Plain? Who were the people responsible for this amazing undertaking, and what did they think and believe?
Synopsis
Looking beyond the origins of Stonehenge to the origins of the culture that produced it, Rodney Castleden debunks many of the popular myths surrounding the monument and its builders. Castleden shows, for example, that Stonehenge was not built by the druids, nor was its Heel Stone used to mark the position of the midsummer sunrise. Castleden examines the Stonehenge people's material culture as well as their social, political, and religious structures to present an illuminating and convincing interpretaiton of Stonehenge's cultural context and symbolic meaning.
Written in an accessible, engaging manner, Stonehenge People is above all an interpretive work. The narrative's principle aim is to help the reader journey back in time, to reveal the heart of an ancient people.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 269-274) and index.