Nick Mann combines his expertise in archaeology, astronomy and anthropology to uncover the purpose of the amazing World Heritage site in Wiltshire, England, that embraces not only the Avebury henge, but Silbury Hill, the Longstones or 'Adam and Eve' cove, the Sanctuary and the West Kennet long barrow.
Mann's latest book, Avebury Cosmos, gives a compelling account of the creation of this extraordinary landscape, underlining the homage that the neolithic monument builders paid to the sun, moon and stars, the cycles of which were marked exactingly by the megaliths, and providing probably the most inspiring and comprehensive investigation of Avebury ever published.
Anyone who reads this book is bound to see Avebury with fresh eyes, and possibly find the awe in which our distant ancestors held the heavens, and the lost knowledge that made such remarkable feats of engineering possible, stirring tantalisingly within.
A Profound Understanding of the Heavens
These Stone Age stargazers were moved to build calendrical monuments by a profound understanding of the heavens, including the movements of the sun and moon, says Mann who, with the aid of state-of-the-art astronomy software, turns back time to show us what the sky at night would have looked like over Avebury 5,000 years ago.
What he finds is revelatory. In about 3,300 BCE, the Milky Way, which today lies overhead, would have formed a ring right round the horizon every winter. The stars of the Southern Cross and Cygnus constellations would have pointed to the north and south poles, making Avebury appear to be at the very centre of the cosmos.
This majestic sight was due to the 26,000-year rotation of the Earth's axis, known as the precession of the equinoxes, and only our Avebury forebears were privileged to witness it.
Gargantuan Efforts to Keep Pace with the Stars
By this time, the West Kennet long barrow was already built. The stars of the Southern Cross and Centaurus rose over it at the beginning of winter but, over time, a small displacement in the stars relative to markers in the landscape would have been noticed. That was what triggered the construction of the stone circles at Avebury nearby – the first stones set up there were aligned to the rising of the Southern Cross and Centaurus, too.
Then the stars shifted still further, and Silbury Hill was built within a new set of alignments. Centuries later, the whole complex finally fell into disuse when the stars moved on and there was no one left with the ability or the inclination to follow them.
Mann offers some explanations for why the neolithic people made such gargantuan efforts to keep pace with the stars. There probably was a farming need, in knowing the correct times to sow seeds and to harvest crops, and a social one, too, in the right times for ritual and ceremony to honour the dead and, most important, the ineffable cycles of nature themselves, perhaps rendered as chthonic gods.
Exploring the Wisdom of Ancient Civilizations
Surely the stones would have been centres for community activity and repositories of knowledge and wisdom. As places of special power, they could also have facilitated shamanic journeying, making use of the stellar alignments.
Mann is an internationally respected author and speaker who has spent decades exploring the wisdom of ancient civilizations. He is the author of many books covering earth mysteries, sacred geometry, geomancy, the Celtic tradition and the history, legends and mysteries of Glastonbury, Somerset, where he lives – but with Avebury Cosmos he has excelled himself and produced a classic of the genre.
- Mann, Nicholas R, Avebury Cosmos: The Neolithic World of Avebury Henge, Silbury Hill, West Kennet long barrow, the Sanctuary and the Longstones Cove. O-Books, 2011. UK £14.99 / US $24.95. ISBN 978-1-84694-680-6.
Geoff Ward - Geoff Ward, MA Lit., is a British journalist, media consultant, author and lecturer/tutor in literature and creative writing
