January 10th 2019

‘From Orkney to Stonehenge; new archaeological discoveries’
Malcolm Deacon

Our old friend and fellow villager, Malcolm returns to speak to us about one of his interests, which will be accompanied by photographs. He has a way of engaging even the most disinterested historian, so well worth coming along to hear what he has to say.

Review of the Evening

Malcolm introduced his talk by saying that he had recently visited Orkney, where his father had been stationed during WW2. The main part of his talk was to link the stone circles of The Ring of Brodgar, on Orkney with Stonehenge, Wiltshire. Transport for such a long journey would have been by water, thousands of years ago. There is a huge similarity between the circles, positioning, sizes and construction. Animal remains near Stonehenge have been forensically tested and proved to have been from the Orkney islands. A chambered cairn, Maeshowe, unique to Orkney has also got links to Stonehenge in that the position of it aligns itself to the solstices.

Links also between Stonehenge (stone circle) and Woodhenge (wooden circles) nearby - stone for the dead and wood for the living. These two sites are linked by the River Avon - the journey from life to death. A very interesting talk and it left questions in our minds.

Ring of Brodgar, Orkney

Maeshowe, Orkney

Stonehenge, Wiltshire