Solving Stonehenge: The New Key to an Ancient Enigma Hardcover – Illustrated, June 17, 2008

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Having a math background - and a bit of a writer/blogger about world mysteries and the like - I chanced upon Anthony Johnson's most remarkable text and devoured it (after having read scores of books relative to the anthropological, archaeological, astronomical, calendrical and, especially, cosmological interpretations behind Stonehenge and its Aubrey Circle and Avenue). It wasn't long before I was carrying the book around almost as a second Bible; finally, someone who has clearly laid out in readable fashion those who from the 1100s on sought to unravel the mystery which is Stonehenge - and, more so, his history is incredibly inter-connected whereby he is able to compare and contrast and somehow get into the ethos, psyche and even the "spirit" of those antiquarians, archaeologists, philosophers and spiritual devotees who sought to unlock her mysteries.Although a self-proclaimed archaeological field researcher whose brilliance lies in the physics of magnetism and its affect upon soils - and obviously someone keen on the geometry and math behind the HOW of Stonehenge - he eventually succumbs to her enchantment and confesses he's been attempting (all along) to discover the WHY of Stonehenge...which really is at the crux of things, isn't it? You really can't be "into Stonehenge" without joining the mystical, happy and diligent throng who have explored her designs and wondered why these neolithic builders left us such a monument in the first place.His engagement with the Bush Barrow Lozenge and its geometric relationship with Stonehenge is compelling - whether these treasures were designed by the locals around the time of the build out of Stonehenge or imported by traders from the Near East (a.k.a. Middle East) is not the issue - the issue is its amazing similar and geometric integrity that meshes so well with Stonehenge itself.When Johnson rehearses the major sections of Aubrey Circle/Stonehenge he integrates the histories and researchers whose disclosures enhance his presentation of the immediate topic - whether the Avenue, Friar's Heel Stone, ditches, chalk mounds, holes/pits, Sarsen Stones, Entry Stones, bluestones, Trilithons - absolutely comprehensive and readable detail is given. Although he flirts with the WHY and acclaims he's tried to elicit the answers thereof - he's still much more into the HOW of Stonehenge (could it be that it's in the HOW we find the WHY?)...but always probing about trying to find out WHY. If the Station Stones present the octagon - WHY? Without equivocation, he proves that the designers and builders were nigh supernaturally endowed with pin-pointed accuracy and skill sets that rival anything to the present. With these skill sets and the most rudimentary of tools, Johnson illustrates the perfection used to construct the symmetry and mathematical masterpiece which is Stonehenge - his graphics are absolutely astounding and altogether purposeful - I've not seen anything like it on Stonehenge.Johnson concludes that the technology and the cosmological understanding which designed and constructed Stonehenge was not done in a vacuum - they had help. Rightly does he diminish the astrological/astronomical profundities associated in past interpretations of Stonehenge - Stonehenge is purposefully static, the universe is far too dynamic for Stonehenge...its stolid structure is far more given to mathematical and geometric interpretation.Johnson wisely abstains from the exotic interpretations found within the so-called "Sacred Geometry" community - the likes of Dr. John Michell - philosopher to the hippies and insights into the Dimensions of Paradise, the New Jerusalem; however, I think it would have embellished his quest for WHY without doing harm to his treatise in that Stonehenge commends itself to such fascinating speculation...whether it be a Michell's New Jerusalem or a Pearson Parker excavating the "life and dead ancestral" zones around Stonehenge ... everything's up for grabs. To subscribe "pure nonsensical speculation" to all who have aspired to tackle her mysteries (such as the late Dr. R.J.C. Atkinson) is nothing more than high-brow academic pomposity having little or no merit - it's people like Johnson whose diligence constructs and conclusions generate enthusiastic interest and further research into the ever-fascination of Stonehenge - a mandatory read by ardent researchers into world mysteries and professional archaeologists who understand the profound brilliance of those ancients who have left us such a legacy of potential discovery.Doug Krieger - Author - World Mysteries...blog.world-mysteries.com

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Really in depth, learned alot about the architecture of Stonehenge

Anthony Johnson puts forth one of the best geometric representations of the alignments associated with the structure.

Very Cool! Book as described!

Just what I needed

Very interesting.

It would be good if this book marked a change of tide in the perception of Stonehenge, not as a place of mythical ritual, but a place designed by engineers, and to some extent it did. The best bit about this book for me was its clarity of purpose, not deviating into mysticism. It stands on its diagrams alone, which tally well with the latest overhead photography. It is worth it just for these, and the excellent history, and is bound to become a classic must have text for students of the Stonehenge puzzle.Most people will be fully content, but I do agree with other reviewers that scaleable geometry is not enough. There has to be a decision regarding dimensions, and going by the many circles of similar size there is a tendency towards standardisation. Likewise the number of uprights/gaps in the outer circle is not just a randomly chosen number, but crucial to the statement of knowledge that Stonehenge represented.By strictly limiting his analysis to geometry, however, the author does not in any way ‘solve Stonehenge’ so the title is a misnomer. The main reason for this is that before analysing Stonehenge, he looks at the Bush barrow lozenge, found on a buried visitor of at least 500 years later, and which probably came from Brittany. This primes the reader, and the author, to believe that similar geometry was used to build Stonehenge. The complex geometry models proposed are, for me, not convincing as a practical method of constructing the Aubrey ring or the trilithons. As the author concedes himself, most of the stones have been moved so much, any attempt to get an exact model is doomed to failure, so it’s probably better to use pencil, ruler, and paper than CAD.It is refreshing to have a book on Stonehenge that sees the builders as astute engineers not superstitious astrologers. I don’t agree with the geometry models, but the propositions got me scribbling like mad and I really enjoyed having a go at solving Stonehenge myself, with far simpler geometry. As Stonehenge represents the height of Neolithic ‘science’ unsurpassed anywhere at the time, it deserves books to counteract the still widespread belief that Neolithic Britons were ignorant savages, and this is such a book, to make us proud of our ancestors.

A considerable volume of literature has been written about Stonehenge of varying quality and precision, from Chippendale's excellent 'Stonehenge Complete' to Druidic fantasy. The attraction for me of this book was its claim to literally solve aspects of this outstanding and enigmatic monument.It is not until circa page 170 of its 269 pages that it ventures into its claimed new territory so for those with an already good understanding of the topic it takes a while to hit its stride. But for those new to the subject the first 170 pages provide a cogent and succint summary of Stonehenge's history.The warming thing about the author's style is his humility in explaining his rationale and analysis and how persuasive that is in drawing you into his thinking and approach. Augmented by the substance of his arguments where he conclusively proves the geometric and architectural intelligence weaved into the design of Stonehenge the author makes a genuinely important contribution to the understanding of this famous structure and has the humility to concede that there is more left to discover.There are some issues of varying significance though, e.g. he insists that it is "impossible" to ever know the planning intent behind the Bluestone circle due to disturbance to date and incomplete excavation, yet the excavation that has yet to be done will surely add to our knowledge; he insists that no unit of measure was used in the construction of the monument as it is purely a series of scaleable geometric constructs yet admits measuring rods have been found in Bronze Age graves and the most casual observer must see that the conformity of the stone circle's height and the lintels require measurement as well as geometry - geometry gives you a plan, height and choice of diameter require measurement; he describes Hawley's suggestion of the fallen Slaughter Stone having been originally in Hole E as "inexplicable" subsequent to reporting Hawley's qualified explanation that the socket of Hole E had an imprint that resembled the base of the Slaughter Stone; most egregiously, the author repeatedly insists that the surveyors could not have surveyed the Y and Z and other holes from the centre using a cord after the stone monument's construction as the centre stones would obstruct any such cord. Equally, he requires the bank to have eroded by the time the Station Stones were being surveyed to provide the required line of sight from the ground. But the surveyors, architects and constructors of Stonehenge were not people who allowed any obstacles to get in their way whether it was bringing the Sarsens from the Marlborough Downs, the bluestones from the Prescelli mountains, erecting the 45-ton Sarsens or fashioning mortice and tenon joints to accommodate the 6-ton lintels. It is somewhat ironic that armed with a complex CAD computer the author could not envisage those responsible for constructing Stonehenge to literally circumvent the obstructing stones problem (should it have been one) by simply elevating the cord above the monument with the aid of just two tall poles attached to each end and survey whatever they chose, unimpeded by anything. (I also do not fully agree with his account of the lesser astronomical significance of Stonehenge nor the choice of 30 Sarsen uprights of the circle being simply fortuitous due to the naturally available stone sizes - there is surely much more significant meaning to the numerics and metrics of the monument than that and the builders repeatedly adapted what they had rather than be confined by what they had.)These anomalies should not detract from the painstaking analysis and laudable effort expended by the author to create such a worthy addition to the Stonehenge canon though. Our knowledge and understanding is greatly enhanced as a result of his work and no doubt, as the author suggests, this will provide a higher platform from which future studies can start.Now, when is English Heritage going to commission the long overdue completion of the excavation and restoration work at Stonehenge?

This book contains far more accurate information about the monument than any other comparable book. It is also a very good read. I have lots of books on Stonehenge (needed them for a research project).I ended up needing to buy two copies of this: One for reference, one relatively clean. And I paid the full cover price for both.I could go on, but the above probably says all that a potential buyer needs to know.

Used for research. Interesting theory.

An interesting approach to understanding the monument. Skilfully and persuasively argued. After reading this book it is difficult to see how anyone could argue the Sarsen was never completed or that there is any celestial alignment other than the summer/mid-winter solstice, with the focus in fact on mid-winter. A simply brilliant book.