Megalithomania Conference 2012

The Assembly Rooms, Glastonbury, UK
12 - 13 May 2012, plus 4-days of Tours

THE MEGALITHOMANIA 2012 line up has been announced with presentations from key speakers including Michael Cremo, Robin Heath, Klaus Dona, Brien Foerster, Bob Trubshaw, John Neal, Meghan Rice, Nicholas R. Mann, Andrew Gough, Kate Masters, Hugh Newman and more. After a weekend of presentations the conference continues into the following week with tours led by key speakers to Dartmoor, Avebury, Glastonbury and a private access visit to Stonehenge with Robin Heath.

Some Highlights:

MICHAEL CREMO
Co-author of the book Forbidden Archeology delivers  a presentation on the Extreme Antiquity of the Human Race

ROBIN HEATH will talk on the Megalithic Sites of Wales and Bluestone Magic.
Robin will also be leading a private access visit to Stonehenge followed with an excursion to the Cursus, Durrington Walls and Woodhenge on the Friday (11 May) preceding the conference.
Having  taken part in one of Robin's visits to Stonehenge and Avebury as part of the Megalithomania 2006 conference this visit is highly recommended so book early to avoid disappointment as places are limited.

Megalithomania 2006 @ Stonehenge
Robin Heath with big stick for those not paying attention!
(Author's picture)

JOHN NEAL presents the John Michell Memorial Lecture on Ancient Metrology, hosted by Christine Rhone

MEGHAN RICE will talk on the Sheela-Na-Gigs of Ancient Britain

NICHOLAS R. MANN's presentation will explore the Avebury Cosmos.

BOB TRUBSHAW will present The Song-Lines of Avebury and Beyond featured in his latest book Singing up the Country.

Itinerary:

SATURDAY 12 MAY
9.00 – Doors Open
9.45 – Introduction
10.00 - KATE MASTERS - Ancient Stones of the Orkneys & Shetlands
11.am - Coffee Break
11.30 - ANDREW GOUGH - The Sacred Bee in Prehistory
12.30 - Lunch
2.00 - BRIEN FOERSTER - The Enigma of the Elongated Skulls
3.00 - Break
3.15 - BOB TRUBSHAW - The Songlines of Avebury
4.15 - Tea Break
4.45 - JOHN NEAL - Ancient Metrology at Megalithic Sites - John Michell Memorial Lecture, hosted by Christine Rhone
5.45 – Dinner Break - Doors re-open at 7.15pm
7.30 - MICHAEL CREMO - The Forbidden Archaeologist
9.00 - CLOSE

SUNDAY 13 MAY
9.00 – Introductions
9.15 - HUGH NEWMAN - Megaliths & Earth Energies of South America
10.15 - Coffee Break
10.45 - MEGHAN RICE - Sheela-Na-Gigs of Ancient Albion
11.30 - Break
12.00 - NICHOLAS MANN - Avebury Cosmos
1.00 – Lunch
2.30 - KLAUS DONA - Mysterious Artifacts from Secret Collections
3.45- Tea Break
4.00 - ROBIN HEATH - Sacred Stones of Wales
5.15- break
5.45 - SPEAKERS FORUM - Hosted by JOHN MARTINEAU
with Special Guest ROBERT TEMPLE
6.45 – CLOSING ADDRESS
7.00 - CLOSE

TOUR DETAILS 
Coach travel included in price. Meet at Abbey Car Park.

Friday 11th May: £55
Stonehenge with Robin Heath - 3pm - 9pm
Private Access to Stonehenge, with excursion to the Cursus, several Tumuli, Durrington Walls and Woodhenge. (inc private access to Stonehenge)

Monday 14th May:£50
Avebury & the Valley of the White Horse - 9am - 5pm
An exclusive tour around megalithic Avebury, the largest stone circle in the world, West Kennett Long Barrow, Silbury Hill and more with Peter Knight.

Tuesday 15th May: £50
Ancient Glastonbury Walking Tour - 9am - 1pm
Visiting the Tor, Glastonbury Abbey, Michael & Mary energy lines
Tuesday Afternoon: (inc in above price)
Cadbury Castle & Burrow Mump - 2.30pm - 6pm
A guided visit to two of the most impressive earthworks in Somerset

Wednesday 16th May: £50
Dartmoor Stone Circles and Avenues - 8am - 6pm
A five-hour walk around the incredible landscape of megalithic Dartmoor, Devon, visiting stone circles, megalithic avenues and tracking earth energies.

NEW TOUR ADDED: MEGALITHIC CORNWALL TOUR 2012

Bookings
Early-Bird tickets available for the first 50 tickets @ £85 (normal price £90) for two full days of lectures. Discount available on the full 'mega-ticket' option (full weekend ticket plus all 4 tours), @ £275 - see  Megalithomania website for details.

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Bluestone Source Pinpointed

AMGUEDDFA CYMRU - NATIONAL MUSEUM WALES PRESS RELEASE

New geological discovery paves the way for further insight into the transport of Stonehenge rocks

A new paper in Archaeology in Wales, produced by Dr Rob Ixer of Leicester University and Dr Richard Bevins of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales confirms, for the first time, the exact origin of some the rhyolite debitage found at Stonehenge. This work could now lead to important conclusions about how stones were transported from Pembrokeshire to Stonehenge.

Over a period of nine months, Bevins and Ixer have been carefully collecting and identifying samples from rock outcrops in Pembrokeshire to try and locate the provenance of rocks that can be found at what is today, one of the world’s most iconic archaeological sites.

Craig Rhos-y-felin near Pont Saeson. 

Their recent discovery confirms that the Stonehenge rhyolite debitage originates from a specific 70m long area namely Craig Rhos-y-felin near Pont Saeson. Using petrographical techniques, Ixer and Bevins found that 99% of these rhyolites could be matched to rocks found in this particular set of outcrops. Rhyolitic rocks at Rhos-y-felin are distinctly different from all others in South Wales, which gives almost all of Stonehenge rhyolites a provenance of just hundreds of square metres. 

Yet, the story progresses. Along the Rhos-y-felin crags, the rhyolites are distinctly different on a scale of metres or tens of metres. This has enabled Bevins and Ixer to match some Stonehenge debitage samples to an even more precise locality at the extreme northeastern end of the area.

What this means is that the area is now small enough for archaeologists to excavate to try and uncover evidence for associated human activity so providing another strand of the story of how the stones from Pembrokeshire reached Stonehenge.

Dr Richard Bevins of Amgueddfa Cymru said: 
"Many have asked the question over the years, how the stones got from Pembrokeshire to Stonehenge. Was it human transport? Was it due to ice transport? Thanks to geological research, we now have a specific source for the rhyolite stones from which to work and an opportunity for archaeologists to answer the question that has been widely debated. It is important now that the research continues.”

In addition the level of work carried out at Rhos-y-felin confirms that the four remaining above surface rhyolite and dacite orthostats at Stonehenge do not come from Rhos-y-felin and work is in hand to determine if their source can be identified.

Dr Rob Ixer of Leicester University added: 
“Being able to provenance any archaeologically significant rock so precisely is remarkable, to do it for Stonehenge was quite unexpected and exciting. However, given continued perseverance, we are determined that we shall uncover the origins of most, if not all of the Stonehenge bluestones so allowing archaeologists to continue their speculations well into a third century.”

Source:  National Museum Wales Press Release
19 December 2011
Image: National Museum Wales


More on Pont Saeson:

• New Discovery Questions Bluestone Route - 5 March 2011
• Bluestones, Bluestones Everywhere - 13 March 2011

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