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 Ley-lines
-
('Ley','lea' - 'A clearing')
('Heilige
Linien' to the Germans 'Fairy
paths' to the Irish, 'Dragon Lines' to the Chinese, 'Spirit Lines' to
Peruvians and 'Dream paths'
(Turingas)
to the Australian Aborigines - and so on around the world).
Most cultures have traditions and words to describe the
straight, often geometrical lines that run across landscapes, connecting ancient
or sacred features together. Usually the names given to represent these
invisible lines are translated to an equivalent of 'spirit', 'dream', or
'energy' paths. Apart from the physical presence of these connected sites however, little remains
from which to deduce much about their origin or purpose.
Amongst the widely
differing (and often simplistic) theories that try to explain why
ley-lines and landscape alignments first appeared, the following theories probably say
more about us now than at any time in the past, although we are bound to
acknowledge and respect the writers opinions and conclusions as 'they', the following
few, are the giants upon whose shoulders we current sit:
|
What is a Ley-line?
"It is quite useless looking
for existing fragments, however old, of roads which may remain
from the first track, although, as we shall see, some bits may
form useful indications of its site. The changes from early
days have been so many in the matter of roads. We must
therefore clear our minds, not only of what we think of roads,
even Roman ones, but of our surmises, and begin again." -
Alfred Watkins (4)
Ley lines
are hypothetical alignments of a number of places of
geographical interest, such as ancient monuments and
megaliths. Their existence was suggested in 1921 by the
amateur archaeologist Alfred Watkins, whose book The Old
Straight Track brought the alignments to the attention of
the wider public.
But this explanation by no means completes the
modern definition, as we cannot say for example that an ancient
alignment of ten stones is a ley line, however old they are. Nor
does it follow that all ancient sites were aligned
deliberately, even those that appear to have been.
Alfred Watkins, the modern
founding father on the subject, created the first basic set of
guidelines in order to describe ley-lines according to his
perception. As we have learnt more about ley lines, so we have had
to adapt these original guidelines in order to explain our
findings, whilst keeping to the context with Watkin's original
ideas.
Any true Watkinsian ley requires it
to have a start (or finish) point in the shape of a hill.
We can gauge the strength of a
ley-line according to its length, accuracy of deviation, number
of ley-markers and their individual significance. We can also
separate ley lines into basic categories such as astronomical,
funerary, geometric etc, as the following examples illustrate:
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What was the original purpose(s) of
ley-lines.
There are several developed theories on this subject,
and many of them are valid, a point which in itself illustrates the complexity
of unravelling the myriad of pathways from several millennia of activity. We are
still learning and have much more to learn in this field of study. It
is likely that ley-lines are a product of different parts from several of the
following theories, being created at different times, for different purposes.
The following examples are the current contenders for explaining how such a
dedication to straight-lines has led mankind its present position.
Spirit ways and Death roads
- (Funerary paths):
 Although there is little
direct evidence for 'religious' worship in the modern sense of the word at megalithic sites, there is certainly evidence that
funerary rites were involved at several important locations (some of which may
be classed a secondary use). The burial of
valuable goods alongside funerary remains, placing of remains inside stone
chambers underground, and alignment of funerary structures or their inhabitants
with the rising sun, all attest to the fact that funerary ley-markers were not
placed according to
purely 'scientific' criteria, although they may also have been added to existing
pre-existing ley-lines.
A number of rituals and traditions have been associated with the path taken by
funerary parties. Traditionally known as 'death roads' (dood-wegen or geister-wege).
The fact that 'spirit paths' are traditionally straight and seem to include the
same 'markers' as ley lines significantly increases the argument for some of the
leys having once served this function. Spirit lines are also invisible, and are
viewed as 'tracks' or 'paths' for the movement of the spirits, which may explain
why markers are often not visible from one location to another (an argument traditionally
used against the existence of leys themselves).
(Note - Dood-wegen
- Dod-wegen - Dead-wegen)
Watkins mentions the tradition of stopping at a
crossroads and saying a prayer, a custom still practiced to this day. Other
customs involve walking a round or 'bumping' churches and stones en-route. Over
a bridge, processions are not to carry a corpse twice over the same bridge and
custom forbade singing or music on a bridge (Trees, stones, crosses, crossroads,
bridges and Churches, all the same points on Watkins list of ley-markers).
Another interesting funerary-custom, practiced into the 20th century was for
mourners to carry a pebble and when they passed certain spots (cairns?), throw
their pebbles into a pile of previous mourners pebbles. The 'Fairy paths ' of
the Irish have folklore associated with them. There are numerous stories of
houses being built over Fairy-lines and being destroyed or cursed. It is very
probable that many, if not most of the alignments that involve churches and
cemeteries, and passing areas with traditional funerary rites or death rituals
have been mistakenly classified as 'ley lines'.
Feng shui - (Earths Magnetic
Field)
Many important ley-markers are associated with springs and water
sources.
The Chinese art
of 'Feng-shui', or 'wind and water', also means 'that which cannot be seen and
cannot be grasped'. The duty of the practitioners of the art was to determine
the flow of 'lung-mei', or 'Dragon currents'. Every building, stone and planted
tree was so placed into the landscape as to conform to the 'dragon currents'
which flowed along these lines. The main paths of the forces were believed to be
determined by the routes of the sun, moon and five major planets. We know that the
Earth is encompassed within a magnetic field. The strength and direction of the
magnetic currents vary according to the position of the sun, moon and closer
planets. The magnetic field is also affected.
It is possible that this
field was
detected
(i.e. through dowsing),
and mapped out in the past. Noobergen
(6), reminds us that the earths natural
magnetism was believed to have been used to re-fertilise the soil, in the same
way as the
aborigines did with their 'turingas' or 'dream lines'. He also mentions that
there is scientific research that shows that water is extremely sensitive to electromagnetic
fields, and that as the fields are changed or influenced, so the chemistry of
the water may be altered too. Horticulturalists have discovered that plants
placed within a magnetic field grow more than six times faster than in normal
conditions. We are able to show today that the strength and direction of the
Earths magnetic currents vary according to the positions of the Sun, Moon and
other planets.
Astronomy -
The fact it took so long for us to realise that astronomy was
in any way involved with megalithic culture is almost as surprising as the
fact that it was ever forgotten. Although there
has been a traditional resistance to this theory from the scientific
establishment, we live in a time when it is finally accepted that many of the
larger megalithic constructions were designed so as to be able to accurately
identify celestial objects or measure their cycles.
The clear link between megaliths and astronomy can also be
said for megaliths and ley-lines, as they are often found to be prime ley-markers,
and are often found to be intersections of several ley-lines (i.e.
Stonehenge,
Arbor-Low, Avebury etc etc).
One of the largest Leys in England, the
so-called St. Michaels Ley, is aligned along the
path of the midsummer sunrise and can therefore be considered
astronomical. This line passes through several megalithic sites before it
reaches Glastonbury,
(artificially shaped to follow the direction of the ley), and then the
Avebury/Silbury complex, both significant English landscape features.
Stonehenge, whist not being a part of the St.
Michael's ley, is connected through geometry, and also forms the crossing point
of several prominent ley-lines - both astronomical and non-astronomical.
The first astronomically significant ley-line
to pass through Stonehenge was first identified by Sir Norman Lockyer, and later
extended to 22 miles in length by K.H. Koop. This ley follows the path of the
mid-summer sunrise on a bearing of 49° 15' (2). (more below).
Another significant ley-line to pass through Stonehenge was
also identified by Lockyer, and can be shown
to extend accurately for 18.5miles. It skirts only the edge of the henge at the
junction of the avenue, missing the centre (and the sarsen stones) altogether.
This line runs on a bearing of 170° 45' (2), and appears to have no astronomical
significance.
We can begin to see a fusion of
astronomy, geometry (and other factors) at the three most significant
sites of southern England. These same three sites: Glastonbury, Stonehenge and Avebury/Silbury, align
to create a right-angled triangle which points approximately north, but directly
towards Arbor Low; which itself has been shown to be an important ancient 'hub' from which leys and alignments
radiate across the country. It is indeed curious that this large-scale alignment
is not orientated to true north as we would expect that a site such as Stonehenge,
with its clear astronomic function, to have been cardinally orientated (although
the direction of this particular alignment may have been determined with a
compass, instead of the stars, for example).
(More about Archaeo-astronomy)
Geometry
-
The previous
examples have offered a indication that geometry might be involved in the
orientation of some ley-lines. It is arguable that as many of the sites are aligned astronomically, and as
geometry is a natural product of astronomy, the effect might be a product of
'automatic' or 'accidental' geometry within the layout of certain sites,
but this does not explain geometry between sites which certainly involves
surveying techniques, which in turn requires deliberate and applied mathematics
(logarithms and trigonometry or their equivalent?).
Sir Norman Lockyer
(Astronomer-Royale), was the first 'respectable' person to recognize
geometry in the ancient English landscape. He
noticed
the geometric alignment between
Stonehenge, Grovely (Grove-ley)
castle and Old Sarum (The site where the original Salisbury
'Sol-leys-bury'
cathedral was built). The three form an equilateral triangle
with sides 6 miles long, with the Stonehenge-Old Sarum
line continuing another 6 miles to the site of the present Salisbury Cathedral.
This extremely
significant finding shows both that the early megalithic builders were aware of
both astronomy and geometry, and combined them deliberately into their
constructions. At the same time as this reasonable astonishing revelation, we
are able to see how many ley-markers may have been introduced along pre-existing
alignments, and it is important to know the origin of all the markers on
ley in order to accurately determine its origin and purpose.
The
megalithic tradition in the British Isles can apparently be traced back to at
least 3,000 B.C., if not earlier still. This tradition seems to have been based
on a very sophisticated philosophy of sacred science such as was taught
centuries later by the Pythagorean school.
As
Professor Alexander Thom observes in his book Megalithic Sites in Britain
(1967): “It is remarkable that one thousand years before the earliest
mathematicians of classical Greece, people in these islands not only had a
practical knowledge of geometry and were capable of setting out elaborate
geometrical designs but could also set out ellipses based on the Pythagorean
triangles.”
(More about Geometric
Alignments)
Cartography -
There is
increasing
evidence to
suggest that our
prehistoric ancestors
managed to circumnavigate the world, measure and map it accurately.
It is argued that many of the most sacred and oldest buildings were sited at specific points on
this 'Grid'. Evidence for such an
apparently incredible suggestion is offered in the form of the
Piri-reis map and other Portolano's, which show the outline of the continent of Antarctica (a
feat only
possible before it froze over, estimated at 4,000 BC), and which include a higher form of
cartography (involving the equivalent of spherical trigonometry,
logarithms and an awareness of the Earth's size and shape).
Support for this theory comes from varying mythologies, sacred texts and ancient
buildings, all of which record various figures of earthly dimensions (see
'Hamlet's Mill', by Santillano). Examples of such recorded information are
world-wide, and suggest a connection between the ancient measurements of both
time and space.
In relation to this, the Giza
complex is often cited as the geodetic 'Navel' of such a venture, and is
therefore testimony of the
required knowledge. The fact that the orientation
of the structures at Giza
are still fixed to the
current poles suggests that any project involving it would have occurred
following any past speculated
'polar-shift-event'.
(More on the 'World Grid')
Other
traditions -
The
Aborigines of Australia tell of a 'pastage', which they call the 'dream-time',
when the 'creative
gods'
traversed the country and reshaped the land to conform with important paths
called 'turingas'. They say that at certain times of the year these 'turingas'
are revitalised by energies flowing through them
fertilising the adjacent countryside. They
also say that these lines can be used to receive messages over great distances.
The Incas used 'Spirit-lines' or 'ceques' with the Inca temple
of the sun in Cuzco as their hub. (9).
The Jesuit father Bernabe Cobo referred to these 'ceques'
in his 'History of the new World'. 1653. These were lines on which 'wak'as'
were placed and which were venerated by the local people. Ceques were described
as sacred pathways. The old Indian word 'ceqque' or 'ceque' means boundary or
line. Cobo describes how these lines are not the same as those at Nazca, being
only apparent in the alignment of the wak'as. These wak'as were most often in
the form of stones, springs, and often terminating near the summits of holy
mountains. Documentary records made by the Spanish record that 'qhapaq Hucha'
ceremonies of human sacrifice (usually children), took place at wak'as as an
annual event and also at times of disaster. In the 17th century the Roman
catholic church ordered that the holy shrines along the routes be destroyed. As
in Europe, many ancient holy places were built over with churches.
Elsewhere in
America, fragments of ancient tracks can still be found such as the Mayan 'Sache',
of which 16 have so far been found originating in Coba, Mexico. The following is
a description of one found in the Yucatan;
'...a great causeway, 32ft wide,
elevated from 2-8 ft above the ground, constructed of blocks of stone. It ran as
far as we could follow it straight as an arrow, and almost flat as a rule. The
guide told us that it extended 50 miles direct to
Chichen itza (it started from
the other chief town of Coba) and that it ended at the great mound, 2km to the
north of Nohku or the main temple in a great ruined building' (3).
Other
ancient tracks have been found in New Mexico. These roads are barely visible at
ground level and radiate from Chaco Canyon. As in Bolivia, some of these paths
run parallel and others lead to nowhere. One of the major sites connected by the
'Anasazi' roads is Pueblo Alto.
The German equivalent of ley lines is 'Heilige
Linien', or 'holy lines'. The area of 'Teutberger Wald', also known as the
'German heartland' has a significant network of these lines which include the
Externsteine and the megalithic stone circle at Bad Meinberg.
Random Chance -
It has been suggested that there are enough sites
to play statistical 'dot to dot' with, and that a survey of English pubs and
telephone boxes will yield the same level of statistical probability as
determined by ley-hunters. This is a reasonable point and therefore needs to be
remembered at all times. The argument of random chance is countered by the
addition of folk-lore and tradition associated to ley-markers and through
exhaustive research that has enabled predictions of locations of ancient tracks
and ley-markers to have been later substantiated through archaeology (4).
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When were Ley-lines
first made.
We know that the European landscape was
significantly redesigned using geometric principles in the middle ages by the
Cathars, Knights Templar and the Holy church of Rome. We also know
that a large number of the great Cathedrals Churches and Holy sites were built over
earlier pre-existing pagan sites and constructions (Glastonbury,
Knowlton, Rudstone
etc etc). The re-use of ancient sites can even be seen to extend back to
pre-historic times such as the re-use of several large menhirs as capstones for
passage-mounds in the Carnac region. It is this
simple fact, combined with the observation that these same megalithic structures
are invariably found to be the ley-points along which such lines are determined,
that places the origin of ley-lines into the prehistoric past. (It by no means
follows that all megalithic sites were placed on ley-lines).
It is not uncommon to find the terms
'ley-lines' and 'roman roads' in the same context, but it is important to draw a
distinction between the two, as there is absolutely no pre-requisite for a
ley-line to include roads, pathways, or any visible connection between
ley-points of any kind whatsoever. It is the case however, that some ley-lines
have been identified along which ancient paths or roads follow (or run
alongside), and it is perhaps worth first considering the origin of these
ancient tracks, and their connection with ley-lines.
In the first place, many of the long
straight roads of Britain have been classified incorrectly as 'Roman Roads'. A
fact that can be proven through their existence in Ireland, as noted by J. Michell,
who pointed out that '...these same roads exist in Ireland, a
country which never suffered Roman occupation..', then also noted the fact
that '...beneath the Roman surfaces of the Fosse Way, Ermine Street and
Watling Street excavators have uncovered the paving stones of earlier roads,
at least as well drained and levelled as those which succeeded them'.
The same observation was made in other parts
of Europe by the Romans themselves, who
in their conquest of the Etruscans,
noted standing stones set in linear patterns over the entire countryside of
Tuscany. Romans also record discovering these 'straight tracks' in almost every
country they subjugated: across Europe, North Africa, Crete, and the regions of
ancient Babylon and Nineveh.
Fairly conclusive then - the roads existed
before the Romans. In fact, considering the scale of developments in the
Neolithic period approx 5,000 - 3,000 B.C. it is quite likely that they (or the
first, or some at least), existed at that time too, if only to connect sites.
Exactly how old the original straight paths were is a matter of
debate. We can read of ley-lines connecting offshore beneath the English channel
(1), upon which basis, Behrand concluded that these particular leys must have
been marked out between 7,000 BC and 6,000BC.
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A Chronology of European Geomancers.
In
1740, Dr.
William Stuckley, first noted that the
axis of Stonehenge and the Avenue leading from it point to the north-east,
'whereabouts the sun rises when the days are longest'. He perceived the whole
British landscape as laid out according to a sacred 'druidic' pattern, and
etched with symbols of serpents and winged discs. At Barrow near Hull he found a
great earthwork representing a winged circle, its trenches arranged so as to
measure the seasonal tides of the Humber Estuary. He disclosed another near
Navestock Common in Essex which now lies forgotten in a small wood, near the
northern most Central-Line terminal. In his book on Avebury, Stuckley wrote '...They have made plains and hills, valleys, springs and rivers contribute to
form a temple three miles in length...They have stamped a whole country with the
impress of this sacred character'.
William Black
-
In the 1800's, an expert
on roman roads announced his
theory that he had uncovered a whole system of 'grand geometric lines', radial
and polygonal, which ran across Britain and beyond. He pursued his studies for
fifty years before releasing the theory. They linked major landmarks in a
precise manner, even defining the boundary markers of counties. Black died in
1872. (4).
Sir Montague Sharp -
Working in the early years of the 20th century, he discovered a network of
rectangles in Middlesex and became aware that ancient churches, which he
recognised as marking pagan sites, fell on alignments (2).
In
1904,
F. J. Bennet -
Published the findings on what he called the 'Meridonal
lines' in Wiltshire and Kent, which apparently linked prehistoric sites and
ancient churches in generally N-S alignments, often with regular divisions,
based on the mile, between sites (2).
In 1911,
Xavier Guichard
- The French philologist started
researching the origins of ancient European place-names. He came to the
conclusion that there were three basic root names: Burgus, Antium and
Alesia, of which the last was unique as never having been given to a town or
village founded in historic times. In its Greek form of Eleusis, the word
dated from the legendary pre-Homeric times; in its Indo-European roots, Ales,
Alis or Alles meant a meeting point to which people travelled. His
research explored derivatives of the word 'Alesia' as far afield as Egypt
(Eleusis on the Nile Delta) and Poland (Kalisz), with the highest concentration
in France. Guichards' research into the people who first used the word and its
true origin and meaning consumed the next 25 years of his life. He identified
two invariably identifying features in connection with associated sites:
'landscaped hills overlooking rivers, and man-made wells of salt or mineral
water' . He deduced that the name was associated with 'travel stops' where one
could be sure of receiving these life-giving properties. His final results
revealed over 400 sites in France alone, which appear to have been placed in a
geodetic system extending across Europe, and centred on a remote ancient site
called Alaise, near Besancon in southern France. He suggested that Europe had
been divided into two 'roses-des-vents' (compass cards such as those used
by Greek geographers): one of 24 lines that divided the horizon into equal
segments; and one of four lines that marked the meridian and the equinox, and
the solstices. This implied, he said, a knowledge of latitude and longitude, and
the position of the North Pole and the Equator. Moreover he was able to trace a
common distance between sites that suggested a common unit of measurement. Referring
to several old cities in his native France says, “These
cities were established in very ancient times according to their immutable
astronomical lines, determined first in the sky, then transferred to the Earth
at regular intervals, each equal to a 360th part of the globe". In 1936, and without any
apparent knowledge of Alfred Watkins work on 'ley-lines', or his similar
conclusions over associations with water and salt, Xavier Guichard had a book
printed at his own expense called Eleusis Alesia (complete with 555
maps). Unfortunately, his home at Abbeville was bombed during the second world
war, killing him and destroying almost all copies of his book.
(Click here for a full copy of Eleuse Alaise)
(More about the Eleusian
Mysteries)
(More about Xavier Guichard)
Livvio Stechinni -
Stecchini
believed that certain ancient oracle centres had been intentionally separated by
units of 1° of latitude which he said was designed to create what he called an 'oracle
octave', along which the seven major centres were placed, each devoted to
one of the seven known planets, and symbolised by different sacred trees (for
more on this subject refer to the 'Tree alphabet' in R. Greave's books, 'The
White Goddess'), and it was this geometry, he believed, that formed the
basis of the 'Eleusian mysteries'.
Note: 'Eleusis' - 'Alaise'
- 'ley' - (aisle, alley, valley)
Stecchini's theory was later included as a part of R. Temples book
'The Sirius mystery', in which he also suggested that the
distribution of oracle centres embodied an ancient knowledge which
had been stored in myth and tradition. Significantly, he states
that the pre-dynastic capital of Egypt, Behdet 'existed before
3,200 BC', and was replaced by the city Canopus, (the same
name as the star that represents the 'rudder' of the constellation
Argo). He suggested that this was a connection between the two
mythological narratives of the ‘Ark’ and the ‘Argo’
of the Argonauts, which he said, revealed evidence of a
prehistoric system which included an understanding of astronomy
mathematics and geo-metry (as in the sense of measuring the
earth).
(Click here for more)
In 1911, W.Y.Evans-Wentz,
mentions the 'Fairy paths', along which invisible elemental spirits are believed
to travel across Ireland. In his book 'The fairy faith in Celtic countries', he
referred to them as the 'arteries' through which the Earth's magnetism
circulates.
After the
1914-18 world war, Major F.A. Menzies,
M.C., a distinguished British army
engineer and surveyor, decided to live in France where he chose to investigate
the energies of the earth. Major Menzies was very interested in the study of
radiesthesia and while in France he was tutored by M. Bovis and other leading
French exponents of radiesthesia. During this time Major Menzies became aware of
the importance of the Feng Shui system of geomancy which had been developed by
the ancient Chinese geomancers. He was able to see examples of the Chinese
geomancers compass in certain museums in Paris, which had been brought from
China by Jesuit missionaries. Major Menzies made drawings of one of these
amazing compasses and eventually constructed a modified version for his own use.
By learning how to use the Chinese geomancers compass in conjunction with his
British army compass, Major Menzies became very proficient in locating earth
energy alignments (ley-lines), and also sources of noxious energy which were
creating areas of geopathic stress and ill health. Eventually, Major Menzies
returned to England where, during the 1940's, he carried out research work,
using both his compasses, at the ancient megalithic site of
Stanton Drew,
six miles south of Bristol in the south west of England. Stanton Drew is
comprised of several megalithic stone circles which are said to possibly date
back to 3,000 B.C. They show several astronomical alignments and are believed to have been associated with solar (fire)
worship in Pagan times. While investigating these stone circles, Major Menzies
had an extraordinary experience which he subsequently related to a friend and
fellow surveyor, George Sandwith. Major Menzies said:
“Although the weather was
dull there was no sign of a storm. Just at a moment when I was re-checking a
bearing on one of the stones in that group, it was as if a powerful flash of
lightning hit the stone, so the whole group was flood-lit, making them glow like
molten gold in a furnace. Rooted to the spot - unable to move - I became
profoundly awestruck, as dazzling radiations from above, caused the whole group
of stones to pulsate with energy in a way that was terrifying. Before my eyes,
it seemed the stones were enveloped in a moving pillar of fire - radiating light
without heat - writhing upwards towards the heavens: on the other hand it was
descending in a vivid spiral effect of various shades of colour - earthward. In
fact the moving, flaring lights gyrating around the stones had joined the
heavens with the earth"
Major Menzies'
experience at Stanton Drew may have a direct bearing on the “fire-pillars” of
ancient Phoenician tradition and elsewhere. To re-quote Rev. J.A. Wylie: “Altein
is a name given to certain stones or rocks found in many districts of Scotland,
and which are remarkable for their great size, and the reverence in which they
are held by the populace, from the tradition that they played an important part
in the mysteries transacted in former days. Altein is a compound word -
al, a stone, and teine, fire, and so it signifies 'the stone of
fire'….These 'stones of fire' form a connecting link between the early Caledonia
and the ancient Phoenicia….The fire-pillars that blazed at the foot of Lebanon
burned in honour of the same gods as those that lighted up the straths of
Caledonia. Ezekiel speaks of the 'stones of fire' of Tyre, and his description
enables us to trace the same ceremonies at the Phoenician alteins as we
find enacted at the Scottish ones.” (History of the Scottish Nation,
1886, vol. I).
In 1919, Bishop Brown,
studied the cup and ring markings of the 'recumbent' stones of Scotland. He
found that many of them were accurately arranged to form patterns of various
constellations, but in each case the image was reversed. Watkins believed that
the markings indicated the paths of leys. Perhaps the two are compatible.
In the early 1920's,
Alfred Watkins first became
aware of the prehistoric alignment of ancient sites covering the English
landscape. He concluded that a feature of the old alignments was that certain
names appeared with a high frequency along their routes. Names with Red, White
and Black are common; so are Cold or Cole, Dod, Merry and Ley.
(The last as we know, he used to name the lines, although it has been noted
that 'ley' is Saxony for 'fire'). He suggested that ancient travellers
navigated using a combination of natural and man-made markers. Certain lines
were known by those that most frequented them so that 'White' names were
used by the salt traders; 'Red' lines were used by potters, 'Black'
was linked to Iron, 'Knap' with flint chippings, and 'Tin' with
flint flakes. He suggested that place names including the word 'Tot', 'Dod" or
'Toot' would have been acceptable sighting points so that the 'Dodman', a
country name for the snail, was a surveyor, the man who 'planned' the leys with
two measuring sticks similar to a snail's horns (or the 'Longman of Willington')
(It is noted that the Germans have similar names such as 'Dood' or "Dud',
which mean 'Dead'). Watkins maintained that leys ran between initial
'sighting posts'. Many of the 'mark stones', and 'ancient tracks' he refers to
have since disappeared, a situation which is considerably unhelpful to serious
research. Similarly to Guichard (above), Watkins believed that the lines were associated with former
'Trade routes' for important commodities such as water and salt. He found
confirmation in this through 'name-associated' leys.
Even today the Bedouins of North Africa use the
line system marked out by standing stones and cairns to help them traverse the
deserts. A letter to the
Observer (5 Jan 1930), notes similarities with Watkins theories and the local
natives of Ceylon, who had to travel long distances to the salt pans. The tracks
were always straight through the forest, were sighted on some distant hill,
(called 'salt-hill'), and that the way was marked at intervals by large stones
(called 'salt-stones'), similar to those in Britain. On the other hand, should
the leys be ancient tracks then it should be possible to see one point from
another. Also it is noted that there are many ancient 'tracks' across Britain,
such as the Ridgeway, and none of them are dead straight.
Alexander Thom
showed through vigorous
research that the length of 2.72 ft was a common unit of measurement (The
megalithic yard), in the geometry of many megalithic monuments across Europe. He
also found a smaller common unit of measurement in the
spiral
carvings on certain megaliths. He concluded that the megalithic builders were
sophisticated astronomers engaged in a detailed study of the movements of the
heavenly bodies, incorporated into their structures over a long period of
observation.
( More
about the megalithic yard)
In
1929,
Joseph Heinsch,
a German Geographer,
discovered
geometric alignments across Germany. (i.e. Xanten cathedral), Heinsch
found that the mosaic discovered in the floor was orientated towards and
contained the pattern of the layout of churches in the district. Available in
English translation. (5).
In 1939.
Dr. Heinsch, read a paper to the international Congress at Amsterdam
entitled 'Principles of Prehistoric Cult-Geography'. He concluded in his
paper that the sites of the ancient 'holy centres' had been located on lines of
great geometrical figures which were themselves constructed in relation to the
positions of the heavenly bodies. Lines set at an angle of 6° north of due East
joined centres dedicated to the moon cult of the West with those of the Sun
in the East. The regular units of measurement used in this terrestrial geometry
were based on simple fractions of the Earth's proportions.
In 1929, Wilhelm Teudt,
a German evangelical parson and contemporary of Alfred Watkins, published a book
called 'Germanische Heiligtumer', which gave details of ancient site
connections called 'Helige Linien' (Holy-Lines), that were similar to
the 'leys' of Britain. His work led to the discovery that vast areas of central
Germany appear to have been laid out so that the ancient sites are on straight
lines hundreds of kilometres long and these lines in turn form geometrical
shapes. He also made a number of associated archaeo-astronomical findings.
In 1939,
Major H. Tyler published a small volume titled 'The Geometric
arrangement of Ancient Sites' (As the British museum copy was lost during
the 'war' the book is virtually unobtainable). J. Michell describes in 'The
View over Atlantis' how Tyler re-examined Watkins theory with the assistance
of a professional surveyor. His findings confirmed and supported Watkins
original hypothesis. He also realized that as more leys were plotted, it became
evident that many of them shared a common intersection. In some cases,
concentric circles drawn from these sites revealed other, equidistant sites.
Elsewhere he found leys running parallel for several miles (putting into
question their origin as pathways). Tyler also confirmed Watkins observation
that a number of 'leys' were set to mark the extreme positions of the Sun or
Moon (referring to Dr. Heinsch paper of 1938).
An
important conclusion from Tyler's research was that was that..
'...the ancient tracks
did conform to the alignments, but that they were there before the pathways
were established. The alignments were 'the remaining index of some
great geometrical arrangement of these sacred sites'.
....'It
seems to be getting clearer that all alignments are not connected with roads or
tracks. He felt that the only explanation of so many alignments was that they
were to do with a system of rectangular land division'. (2)
John
Michell
re-awaked the spirit of investigation
in the 1970's. He brought to the
public attention the existence on the famous English 'St Michael's
ley', and also
revealed in 'City of
revelation',
the existence of a large scale
geometric decagon across southern Britain, associating ley-lines with both
geometry and astronomy. He claimed that the ancient Celtic 'perpetual
choirs' at Llantwit manor (This location is not accurate),
Glastonbury
Abbey and
Stonehenge
were vertices of a regular decagon of majestic proportions. A fourth vertex
exists at Goring-on Thames where a major pagan temple once stood at the junction
of several important track ways.....The
centre of the decagon is at the apparently insignificant hamlet of Whiteleaved
Oak where the former counties of Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester came
together. This decagon is apparently
related by angle and
distance to the other geomantic centres of Britain. Michael Behrend supported
the concept but made two small changes to the original scheme.
( Click
here for more about the 'Decagon')
Paul Devereux and Nigel
Pennick - found in their book entitled
'Lines on the Landscape', that wherever the straight landscape line occurred,
and where it did not have any obvious function such as a boundary or road, it
appeared to have a religious significance. Their research into ceremonies and
traditions and pilgrimages associated with straight tracks disclosed a key
theme connecting them which was a belief in the dead travelling along
'spirit/funerary paths', to the 'Otherworld'. Paul Devereux headed the
'Dragon Project', which tried for 10 years to record and recognize the energy
that was claimed to exist at different ancient sites (specifically the
Rollright
stones), with results that showed anomalous 'pulsing' of the outlying King Stone
with ultrasonic equipment, higher than normal Geiger readings within the circle
than outside, and that the magnetic field was significantly lower inside the
circle that outside. The Dragon project also discovered that certain stones at
other circles were highly magnetic (such as Easter Aquorthies which has a
magnetic patch at head height). This led to research being directed to the
effect of magnetic and radioactive fields on the human brain. ('The results of
the 'Dreamwork' program were not available in 1999 (3). It is recognised in respect of this
finding that other animal species are able to detect
magnetism
(pigeon migration). It is also recognised that the la-Venta 'Fat boy' (amongst
others), has a naturally magnetized navel and temple.
Michael Behrend
- Determined that the Stonehenge, Glastonbury Tor and
Midsummer Hill alignments form a 5:5:3 Isosceles triangle correct to 1 in 1000 (2).
D. Chaundy
- Found that the White-Horse hill figures of Wessex fall into what appeared to
be ordered alignments and triangular configurations (2).
J ohn
Barnatt - Undertook a survey of
ancient sites of Derbyshire with a computer, and found 'Challenging geomantic
relationships' between them. (2)
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Examples of Ley-lines -
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