Michael Parker-Pearson's current (widely supported) theory is that the feasting was all at nearby Durrington Walls, which had timber posts, and the dead were ceremonially brought to Stonehenge in procession for the Solstice. While different groups used the site for different purposes over time, the general theme of "place of the ancestors" seems to have been frequent. Wood for the living, stone for the dead. The turning of the year likely had connection to the dead finally being at rest.
We think of it as honoring the dead and the ancestors in general, and it likely was. But throughout northern Europe (and plenty of other places) the idea of placating the spirits of the dead so that they didn't harm you was also strong. The ceremonial ring is meant to keep some things out, like the unworthy, and some things in, like the ancestors.
I wonder, has anyone ever considered the lintels as potential locations to present corpses to the birds for consumption and 'delivery to the heavens' (also known as excarnation)? Other cultures had done this- the Tower of Silence being one example.
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Michael Parker-Pearson's current (widely supported) theory is that the feasting was all at nearby Durrington Walls, which had timber posts, and the dead were ceremonially brought to Stonehenge in procession for the Solstice. While different groups used the site for different purposes over time, the general theme of "place of the ancestors" seems to have been frequent. Wood for the living, stone for the dead. The turning of the year likely had connection to the dead finally being at rest.
We think of it as honoring the dead and the ancestors in general, and it likely was. But throughout northern Europe (and plenty of other places) the idea of placating the spirits of the dead so that they didn't harm you was also strong. The ceremonial ring is meant to keep some things out, like the unworthy, and some things in, like the ancestors.
I wonder, has anyone ever considered the lintels as potential locations to present corpses to the birds for consumption and 'delivery to the heavens' (also known as excarnation)? Other cultures had done this- the Tower of Silence being one example.
@ douglas - the raised platform that preceding the internal rings was probably an excarnation site for centuries. That amount of ancestors adds up.
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