Astronomy in Prehistoric Britain and Ireland (Hardcover)

~ Dr. Clive Ruggles (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A rich repository of factual information--maps, sketches, and various numerical tables--that reflect in particular the author's own fieldwork. Remarkably, Ruggles does not demand that the reader possess an in-depth background; on the contrary, his book will be comprehensible to a broad audience, not just specialists. . . . A splendid treatise that is not destined to get dusty on bookshelves. -- Alexander Gurshtein, American Scientist

Product Description

For decades debates have boiled among archaeologists and astronomers over the idea that prehistoric stone monuments in Britain deliberately incorporate astronomical alignments. In this book Clive Ruggles is the first to approach the subject from the perspectives of both disciplines. He analyzes the history and lessons of previous debates, the most current research, and new agendas for future research.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; 1st Edition. edition (May 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300078145
• ISBN-13: 978-0300078145
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,687,697 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent text but from a cloistered viewpoint., August 11, 1999

By A Customer

Ruggles presents excellent arguments against prior texts by Alexander Thom and others who claimed that many stone rings and alignments demonstrated a highly sophisticated technology in prehistoric times. While Ruggles' approach is quite good, it lacks an understanding of common sense that dictates humanoid activity. In essence, he would be one who takes the viewpoint of many academics who have never lived in the real world outside of a university environment. For example, such academics could find a drinking glass, but state that we can never prove it was used as such because there are no lip imprints on it. Common sense says you don't create a drinking glass, unless it is for that purpose. He takes this same approach to the orientation of stone rings, recumbent stone rings, etc. While, he does demonstrate that Thom's accuracy claims are not valid, he doesn't give credence to rough alignments where if a declination of 29 degrees is ideal, a scattering a couple of degrees off this number is not indicative of 29 being sought. The builders of these rings did the best they could and if they were off by a couple of degrees, they still intended to hit close to the 29, 19, etc. Also, there were many traders moving goods in the regions of interest during the millenia of interest. To keep each other "honest", they would have to agree on some standards, such as "how much leather for how many stone axes"; hence a moderately standard "megalithic yard" as demonstrated by Thom is certainly valid. If Ruggles had assumed a "real world" view, the book would certainly rate 5 rather than the 4 stars.