I am fascinated in the origins and purpose of
ancient architecture. This site concentrates on
the important site of Avebury in southern Britain.
My work has been conducted over the last ten
years, where I have examined the configuration,
detail and function of this mysterious ancient work,
using my architectural training and experience.
The idea that the ancient Britons were not engaged in
the pursuit and development of a sophisticated form
of architectural process is a myth. Their work is serious
and impressive and the problem of understanding it is
a problem of our twenty first century ignorance.
To understand the nature of this complex architectural
assemblage, one must reacquiant old processes and
configure a world long before many of the technologies
that confuse our thinking nowadays.
To ancient man the world was a challenging home and Time
and it's measurement was one of the most powerful
intellectual tools they possessed. The Britons were old
masters of Time measurement and geomancy, as the Romans
made abundantly clear in their brief accounts of the isles.
The Britons skilled use of curved and linear form, navigation
and material processing was fully supported by a dark and
mind distending book of timekeeping knowledge.
The fact that few have recognised or been able to delve
sufficiently into their record has led to many assumptions
which are basically incorrect. This site plans to introduce and
explore some of the questions which have aroused my passion,
and hopefully yours.
Michael Godfrey 2010.
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Monday, 7 December 2009
Rising Sun - Setting Sun
At Britain's latitude the path of the Sun varies enormously
between winter and summer. In the winter it rises in the
south east, struggles to gain any altitude and sets in the
south west. In the spring and autumn it rises at the equinox
due east and sets due west. In the summer, it rises in the
north east, gains it's greatest altitude (at noon) and sets in
the north west. This was considered a marvel by visitors to
these isles in ancient times and may have conditioned the
term "summer land", where north facing slopes were lit in
summer light til late in the evening. The origins of Somerset
are considered by some to be a reference to this.
My research of Avebury Greater Monument was motivated
by formulative architectural questions. Was there a clear
function that could be extracted from deconstruction of
the ruins? One of the problems of studying Avebury is the
extent to which it has been destroyed by later settlement.
Computer modelling is useful in this respect. The centuries
of change can be peeled away and things can be considered
from a different perspective. Computer models are also great
for investigating Sun path, lunar and stellar alignments.
My earliest models were prepared to investigate basic ideas
about sun path, or perhaps shadow play. We know that early
timekeeping techniques (Sundialling) was concerned with
the measurements of solar rays and this could be made more
accurate and predictable with objects that occlude the sun's
ray's, casting a shadow. Avebury was clearly more involved
as a work than singular sundial objects and I began to consider
if the site's architecture was laid-out to respond to the tracking
Sun. I was fascinated to observe in my computer models that
Avebury became an animated mechanism of shadow play and
it raised many questions about the function of the site.
Archeaology informs us that Avebury's development ocurred
over many millenia and therefore it would be unwize to assume
that sundialling was responsible for the placement of major
features, separated in time by many, many generations.
However, the idea that observation of the heavens was being
conducted at Avebury remains a robust suggestion and the
further I researched ancient astronomy and timekeeping, the
more considerations came to light.
Ancient architects (at least in the Classical age) were already
recognised as an importantly educated bunch. We assume
this was because they were charismatic and influential thinkers.
Detailed research revealed something else that lay at the very
heart of Architecture as a discipline. Architecture was as much
about timekeeping as the ingenious construction of all manner
of structures. Vitruvious, the Roman architect whose treatise
upon architecture survives, was specific about this. He also
points attention at the preceding classical Greek architects,
who he recognised as being more advanced in these matters
than his own generation of Roman peers.
It should be remembered that the Romans were not the best
astronomers or were they particularly good at advancing
timekeeping. Roman architecture is acknowledged for many
reasons, but not adherence to a "canon of knowledge".
This brings me back to Neolithic Britain, the island.
Archeaology has established that the ancient Briton's
were accomplished in marine technology and traded.
The further one pushes the exploration of sea-routes,
the further one has to develop the supporting
technology.Timekeeping and navigation are intrinsically
linked. Voyages have to be considered with respect to
known and reliable references if any chance of return is
anticipated. My research into ancient architecture revealed
that architects were often selected at a young age for
training, because many of the techniques required for the
setting-out of timekeeping instruments were esoteric and
required a well honed geometric capability. This raises
another issue : there are many sceptics to the idea that
geometry was used in the construction of ancient British
sites. How can they be sure and rule it out? Many of the
so-called experts I have spoken to admit that they are
extremely poor geomatricians and have no grasp of thinking
geometrically. Geometry is a very ancient mode of inquiry,
certainly esoteric and certainly intelligent use of the human
brain's deductive powers.
Examination of both ancient British architecture and our
maritime archaeology supports the fact that geometric
accuracy was practiced. Quite simply, vessels made of
dry-fit oak could not be prepared or made without well
practiced knowledge. This brings me back to the subject
of sun path and dialling. Basic sundialling provides a basic
measure of time, although some key rules have to be applied.
The ancient tradition of pilotage in British Isles should not be
ignored: The sun is a good "reckoner" of time but lacks the
accuracy required for good and reliable navigation.
The determining moment of sundialling is "noon", when the
sun's shadow is cast due north. Pilot-mariners and timekeepers
therefore use "midnight" as their preferred slot, a point which
Caesar made clear about the ruling Britons, in his account of
the island. If one wishes to set-out a place for repeated and
accurate observation you have to start with a sundial or
horologia, using the Sun. This will provide the noon-shadow
or northing (the line of approximate longitude). With this,
one can then refine the process by night to establish the
celestial pole position and therefore a much more accurate
bearing for longitude, which can be marked on the ground.
If one requires a really accurate instrument the whole
arrangement has to be scaled up to allow fine angular
measurement and this is where Avebury gets exciting.
The ancient Britons, from deconstructive analysis appear
to have first chosen a place for their timekeeping site (based
on sound established laws) and then started the process of
geometrically setting it out. The architects founding dial was
established at East Kennett Long-barrow (or the position now
marked by this feature).
From here, the small sun-dial placement (using a "wan-staff
as the gnomon) was scaled up in a procedure, firstly to establish
a triangle which aligned with the line of longitude, and extremes
of sunrise and sunset (arguably from a flat-earth model to
avoid terrain interference) and secondly, to scale this up
further to provide the basis of another class of instrument :
Chronologia.
The setting of a Chronologia is represented by the greater
works of Avebury's monument field and it is clearly an
instrument that was invested over time, according to strict
laws. As vast tracts of time unwound in the operation of this
device, the style of architecture and the behaviour of
different generations can be observed in the archaeology.
However, the same modus operandi can be traced from
the earliest interventions to the effective abandonment of
Avebury, around 1500 BC when it's operation had failed.
By then, Stonehenge had taken over with hundreds of
years of careful sychronous operation, when Avebury's
blueprint and marked record were carefully transferred
via a series of beacon stations between the two sites.
My research has indicated that the primary transfers
took place around 3150 BC and culminated around
2330 BC. This ties in with some astonishing developments
at both Avebury and Stonehenge. The Cursus can be
considered as a benchmark placement at Stonehenge
and Silbury Hill takes on an important role in this process
at Avebury. The final manifestation is the Avenue at
Stonehenge, which marks out the alignment upon a
set day in a set year, important for both sites.
The archimedian curvature of the Avenue is no accident.
My research has indicated that such curves were known
as "gub" curves, because they rotated in the z-axis.
(groundplan being x and y planes). The terms "hub"
describes alternative rotation axis (with respect to a
mounted wheel).
The Roman term "Gubernacular" or steering Oar is
related, when astronomic measurement and steerage
is considered as the esoteric function described.
Michael Godfrey 2009
between winter and summer. In the winter it rises in the
south east, struggles to gain any altitude and sets in the
south west. In the spring and autumn it rises at the equinox
due east and sets due west. In the summer, it rises in the
north east, gains it's greatest altitude (at noon) and sets in
the north west. This was considered a marvel by visitors to
these isles in ancient times and may have conditioned the
term "summer land", where north facing slopes were lit in
summer light til late in the evening. The origins of Somerset
are considered by some to be a reference to this.
My research of Avebury Greater Monument was motivated
by formulative architectural questions. Was there a clear
function that could be extracted from deconstruction of
the ruins? One of the problems of studying Avebury is the
extent to which it has been destroyed by later settlement.
Computer modelling is useful in this respect. The centuries
of change can be peeled away and things can be considered
from a different perspective. Computer models are also great
for investigating Sun path, lunar and stellar alignments.
My earliest models were prepared to investigate basic ideas
about sun path, or perhaps shadow play. We know that early
timekeeping techniques (Sundialling) was concerned with
the measurements of solar rays and this could be made more
accurate and predictable with objects that occlude the sun's
ray's, casting a shadow. Avebury was clearly more involved
as a work than singular sundial objects and I began to consider
if the site's architecture was laid-out to respond to the tracking
Sun. I was fascinated to observe in my computer models that
Avebury became an animated mechanism of shadow play and
it raised many questions about the function of the site.
Archeaology informs us that Avebury's development ocurred
over many millenia and therefore it would be unwize to assume
that sundialling was responsible for the placement of major
features, separated in time by many, many generations.
However, the idea that observation of the heavens was being
conducted at Avebury remains a robust suggestion and the
further I researched ancient astronomy and timekeeping, the
more considerations came to light.
Ancient architects (at least in the Classical age) were already
recognised as an importantly educated bunch. We assume
this was because they were charismatic and influential thinkers.
Detailed research revealed something else that lay at the very
heart of Architecture as a discipline. Architecture was as much
about timekeeping as the ingenious construction of all manner
of structures. Vitruvious, the Roman architect whose treatise
upon architecture survives, was specific about this. He also
points attention at the preceding classical Greek architects,
who he recognised as being more advanced in these matters
than his own generation of Roman peers.
It should be remembered that the Romans were not the best
astronomers or were they particularly good at advancing
timekeeping. Roman architecture is acknowledged for many
reasons, but not adherence to a "canon of knowledge".
This brings me back to Neolithic Britain, the island.
Archeaology has established that the ancient Briton's
were accomplished in marine technology and traded.
The further one pushes the exploration of sea-routes,
the further one has to develop the supporting
technology.Timekeeping and navigation are intrinsically
linked. Voyages have to be considered with respect to
known and reliable references if any chance of return is
anticipated. My research into ancient architecture revealed
that architects were often selected at a young age for
training, because many of the techniques required for the
setting-out of timekeeping instruments were esoteric and
required a well honed geometric capability. This raises
another issue : there are many sceptics to the idea that
geometry was used in the construction of ancient British
sites. How can they be sure and rule it out? Many of the
so-called experts I have spoken to admit that they are
extremely poor geomatricians and have no grasp of thinking
geometrically. Geometry is a very ancient mode of inquiry,
certainly esoteric and certainly intelligent use of the human
brain's deductive powers.
Examination of both ancient British architecture and our
maritime archaeology supports the fact that geometric
accuracy was practiced. Quite simply, vessels made of
dry-fit oak could not be prepared or made without well
practiced knowledge. This brings me back to the subject
of sun path and dialling. Basic sundialling provides a basic
measure of time, although some key rules have to be applied.
The ancient tradition of pilotage in British Isles should not be
ignored: The sun is a good "reckoner" of time but lacks the
accuracy required for good and reliable navigation.
The determining moment of sundialling is "noon", when the
sun's shadow is cast due north. Pilot-mariners and timekeepers
therefore use "midnight" as their preferred slot, a point which
Caesar made clear about the ruling Britons, in his account of
the island. If one wishes to set-out a place for repeated and
accurate observation you have to start with a sundial or
horologia, using the Sun. This will provide the noon-shadow
or northing (the line of approximate longitude). With this,
one can then refine the process by night to establish the
celestial pole position and therefore a much more accurate
bearing for longitude, which can be marked on the ground.
If one requires a really accurate instrument the whole
arrangement has to be scaled up to allow fine angular
measurement and this is where Avebury gets exciting.
The ancient Britons, from deconstructive analysis appear
to have first chosen a place for their timekeeping site (based
on sound established laws) and then started the process of
geometrically setting it out. The architects founding dial was
established at East Kennett Long-barrow (or the position now
marked by this feature).
From here, the small sun-dial placement (using a "wan-staff
as the gnomon) was scaled up in a procedure, firstly to establish
a triangle which aligned with the line of longitude, and extremes
of sunrise and sunset (arguably from a flat-earth model to
avoid terrain interference) and secondly, to scale this up
further to provide the basis of another class of instrument :
Chronologia.
The setting of a Chronologia is represented by the greater
works of Avebury's monument field and it is clearly an
instrument that was invested over time, according to strict
laws. As vast tracts of time unwound in the operation of this
device, the style of architecture and the behaviour of
different generations can be observed in the archaeology.
However, the same modus operandi can be traced from
the earliest interventions to the effective abandonment of
Avebury, around 1500 BC when it's operation had failed.
By then, Stonehenge had taken over with hundreds of
years of careful sychronous operation, when Avebury's
blueprint and marked record were carefully transferred
via a series of beacon stations between the two sites.
My research has indicated that the primary transfers
took place around 3150 BC and culminated around
2330 BC. This ties in with some astonishing developments
at both Avebury and Stonehenge. The Cursus can be
considered as a benchmark placement at Stonehenge
and Silbury Hill takes on an important role in this process
at Avebury. The final manifestation is the Avenue at
Stonehenge, which marks out the alignment upon a
set day in a set year, important for both sites.
The archimedian curvature of the Avenue is no accident.
My research has indicated that such curves were known
as "gub" curves, because they rotated in the z-axis.
(groundplan being x and y planes). The terms "hub"
describes alternative rotation axis (with respect to a
mounted wheel).
The Roman term "Gubernacular" or steering Oar is
related, when astronomic measurement and steerage
is considered as the esoteric function described.
Michael Godfrey 2009
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