ancient historic pictures

[methodistgirl]

Do any of you have pictures or stories of ancient or historic places,
tell me about it. Since I began playing the computer game Jewel
Quest, I have because of it being very interested in Mayan history,
the Egyptians and even Stonehenge. I would like to hear your
stories. by the way this is Chichan Itza. One of the 7 wonders of
the world and is a real time piece.
judy tooley

[marval]

Here are some photos and the history of Stonehenge



There is nothing quite like Stonehenge anywhere in the world and for 5000 years it has drawn visitors to it. We shall never know what drew people here over the centuries or why hundreds of people struggled over thousands of years to build this monument, but visitors from all over the world come to marvel at this amazing feat of engineering.
Before Stonehenge was built thousands of years ago, the whole of Salisbury Plain was a forest of towering pines and hazel woodland. Over centuries the landscape changed to open chalk downland. What you see today is about half of the original monument, some of the stones have fallen down, others have been carried away to be used for building or to repair farm tracks and over centuries visitors have added their damage too. It was quite normal to hire a hammer from the blacksmith in Amesbury and come to Stonehenge to chip bits off. As you can imagine this practice is no longer permitted!

Stonehenge was built in three phases. The first stage was a circle of timbers surrounded by a ditch and bank. The ditch would have been dug by hand using animal bones, deer antlers which were used as pick-axes to loosen the underlying chalk and then the shoulder blades of oxen or cattle were used as shovels to clear away the stones. Excavations of the ditch have recovered antlers that were left behind deliberately and it was by testing their age through radio carbon dating we now know that the first henge was built over 50 centuries ago, that is about 3,100 BC. That's where the mystery begins. We haven't just found old bones, around the edge of the bank we also found 56 holes now known as Aubrey Holes, named after the 17th century antiquarian, John Aubrey, who found them in about 1666. We know that these holes were dug to hold wooden posts, just as holes were dug later to hold the stone pillars that you see today. So this was the first stage built about 5,050 years ago, wooden post circle surrounded by a deep ditch and bank.
Then about 4,500 years ago – 2,500 BC and about 2,400 years before the Romans set foot in Britain, it was rebuilt. This time in stone, bluestones were used which are the smaller stones that you can see in the pictures. These came from the Prescelli Mountains in Pembroke, South Wales 245 miles (380kms), dragged down to the sea, floated on huge rafts, brought up the River Avon, finally overland to where they are today. It was an amazing feat when you consider that each stone weighs about five tons. It required unbelievable dedication from ancient man to bring these stones all the way from South Wales.
Before the second phase of Stonehenge was complete work stopped and there was a period of abandonment. Then began a new bigger, even better Stonehenge, the one that we know today- this was approximately 4,300 years ago, about 2,300 BC, the third and final stage of what we see now.

The bluestones were dug up and rearranged and this time even bigger stones were brought in from the Marlborough Downs, 20 miles (32 kms). These giant sandstones or Sarsen stones, as they are now called were hammered to size using balls of stone known as ‘mauls'. Even today you can see the drag marks. Each pair of stones was heaved upright and linked on the top by the lintels. To get the lintels to stay in place, the first wood working techniques were used. They made joints in stone, linking the lintels in a circular manner using a tongue and groove joint, and subsequently the upright and lintel with a ball and socket joint or mortice and tenon. This was all cleverly designed on the alignment of the rising of the mid summer sun.
How did they get these stones to stand upright? The truth is nobody really knows. It required sheer muscle power and hundreds of men to move one of these megaliths, the heaviest of them weighing probably about 45 tons.
There are some wonderful myths and legends and you can hear them on the audio tour at Stonehenge in nine different languages, English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Russian and Japanese.

Stonehenge was formerly owned by a local man, Sir Cecil Chubb, and he gave it to the nation in 1918 and it is now managed by English Heritage on behalf of the Government. In 1986, it was inscribed as a World Heritage Site and you can learn more about this on the World Heritage Site section. It is without doubt one of the finest prehistoric monuments in existence and an even more remarkable mystery.
The area is not special just because of the stones or the archaeologically rich landscape it sits in, but because of the plants that grow there. There is rare sedge grass and even the yellow and grey patches on the stones are tiny, slow growing plants called lichens.
It's thought that the name Stonehenge originates from the Anglo-Saxon period – the old English word ‘henge' meaning hanging or gibbet. So what we have is literally ‘the hanging stones', derived probably from the lintels of the trilithons which appear to be suspended above their massive uprights. Today the word ‘henge' has a specific archaeological meaning: a circular enclosure surrounding settings of stones and timber uprights, or pits.
Three kilometres to the north-east of Stonehenge, Woodhenge is another henge monument. Dated to around 2,300BC, originally it comprised six concentric rings of wooden post. It was probably covered with a roof, or perhaps the wooden posts were joined in the Stonehenge fashion. Now, although there is no evidence for animal or human sacrifice at Stonehenge, some believe that the presence of the grave of a young child, found at Woodhenge, would seem to indicate a ritual sacrifice, possibly a dedicatory burial.
Another feature which is worth mentioning, which was built before the stone settings, is the Cursus – which lies to the north. It consists of two straight banks and ditches 90-130 metres apart running 2.8 kilometres in length, from east to west. When it was called the Cursus in the eighteenth century, it was thought to be some sort of racetrack. Some people also think that it has a processional ritual use. However, its true function remains a mystery.
English Heritage is charged with caring for Stonehenge and is committed to its conservation and good management and preservation for future generations. In the landscape around it, the National Trust – who own nearly 1500 acres – are equally concerned for the well-being of this area. And if you have the time, an exploration of the surrounding countryside, with its henges, and cursus and barrows and all the other monuments, is well worthwhile. This is a vast prehistoric scene, with Stonehenge as the ultimate expression of the power which held society together at that time.

[Corno Dolce]

A historic time piece?

Then maybe this is what you're looking for:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...mutianyu_3.JPG

[methodistgirl]

Oh my word that was the Great Wall of China! Love it! Since this is
a music forum I believe there might even be some old pipe organs with
a long history behind them as well as these landmarks. Just keep the
pictures coming. I will have some more when I find more. To be frank
with you I didn't know Mexico had such a rich history with the Native
Americans and their accompliments.
judy tooley

[Corno Dolce]

Hi Ms. Judy,

Here is the world's oldest functioning pipe organ - Its from 1453

http://www.uquebec.ca/musique/orgues...e/sionndv2.jpg

It is many centuries younger than the Great Wall Of China which dates back to the sixth century B.C.

Cheers,

CD

[methodistgirl]

Chichan Itza dates to that time period as the Great Wall of China.
Aren't they both amazing? I have to be careful not
to spell chicken!
judy tooley

[Corno Dolce]

Hi Ms. Judy,

Chichen Itza came into focus not until 625 A.D. but it was only an agricultural center then. The Step-Pyramid that is so well-known was built between the 11th-13th century A.D. So, its a relative youngster when compared with the Great Wall Of China.

Cheers,

CD

[methodistgirl]

Tikal is another plaza where there are five temples. The tallest one
the Jaguar temple is taller than the two towers of the World Trade
Center which was knocked down by terrorist and killed all of those
people. Here is a picture.



Believe me climbing this one is like climbing Mount Everest.
judy tooley

[methodistgirl]

I love ancient history do you? I was reading upon some of Mexico's
history and this nation is nothing in spite of it's europian influnce
is full of Native American people and what they accomplished. Look
at the picture of Chichen Itza's pyramid. This structure was used
as a time piece that measured the stars,planets,our moon, and
the seasons. During the spring equilnax and fall a snake like carving
will appear. I imagine at 12:00 noon the sun is directly right on the
top of the pyramid. A distant from it is a temple with a thousand
pillars. These people are also the ones who invented the number
zero 0 in math. Do you have any more interesting stories?
judy tooley

[methodistgirl]

There is other ancient history in this world. Pick up the Bible and
read it. I know what history says about the Egyptians but you will
find out just who built the pyramids and other structures. But the
nation has been around since the dawn of time. I think they have
been around even since after Noah's flood. There is another pyramid
in Iraq that was built after the flood. It's in the bible known as the
tower of Babel. Believe me it's still standing! Is there any more
that you guys might know about? Yes I'm digging for more answers.
I like to learn about these ancient facts. The civilation of Atlantis
is also a mystery.
judy tooley

[marval]

The Avebury Ring is one of the greatest stone circles in Britain. The whole of the surrounding area is full of pre-historic monuments - Stonehenge, the Ridgeway, the Long Barrows at West Kennet, Eat Kennet and Beckhampton, as well as Silbury Hill and The Sanctuary
John Aubrey is credited with first ascribing, in 1648, the standing stones at Avebury, to being a Druid temple. In the 18th century William Stukeley saw that the stones are being destroyed as farmers attempted to clear the land for agriculture. Stukeley published a book on Avebury and its origins in 1743. Many of the stones were re-erected in the 1930's by Alexander Keiller - whose other claim to fame was marmalade

What is the Avebury Ring?
Thought to date from around 2500 BC, it is a large earthwork bank and ditch surrounding a circle of standing stones.
The bank is around 450 yards in diameter, and its ditch was originally 30 feet deep
The standing stones comprise an outer circle and two inner circles, known as the northern and southern circles. These inner circles are believed to have been built first, with the outer circle and the surrounding earthworks being added around a century later.
The outer circle has four "gates" at roughly north, south, east and west. From two of these gates ran two great avenues. Only the West Kennett Avenue from the southern gate survives, and a small section of it has been reconstructed with a border of standing stones to show what it looked like. Originally this avenue led to the Sanctuary on Overton Hill.
The other long avenue has not survived, but it to the area of Beckhampton Long Barrow

The Avebury Circle appears to have been actively used for 700 years - an incredibly long period in human terms

Rumour has it that if you walk round the ring one way, and count the stones and then walk round it the opposite way counting the stones, you will never get the same number. But I haven't tried it yet.


Margaret

[greatcyber]

Do any of you have pictures or stories of ancient or historic places,
tell me about it. Since I began playing the computer game Jewel
Quest, I have because of it being very interested in Mayan history,
the Egyptians and even Stonehenge. I would like to hear your
stories. by the way this is Chichan Itza. One of the 7 wonders of
the world and is a real time piece.
judy tooley

I hope this works. Click on the link above and then click on the download button. This is a short movie of pics taken and compiled with preclick movie maker. (in case you should be prompted for a program... but it is web-based.) Anyway, once the pictures open up, press the green "play" arrow at the bottom of the screen and the movie should play. It's only a few minutes long.

Sorry for the few pics that are sideways.

Stephen

Sorry about the link not working, so I am re-uploading the file as an .avi
Will edit this again as soon as the link really works.

[methodistgirl]

My computer took a notion to be stubborn again. It didn't download.
Do you have it on you tube?
judy tooley

[greatcyber]

It's not on you tube, but I guess I could try that.

Stephen

[greatcyber]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0cMvI0J5BY

I copied the the little movie I made out of the photos and put it on YouTube. I made it into a DVD quality MPEG-4, but on YouTube it isn't quite as crystal clear as it looks on my computer with the original software. I'm still pretty new at all this video upload/download stuff. I'll see if I can maybe convert it to DIVX, but in the meantime, I just wanted to share a few places we've been.

I found out that even though I purchased new CODECS for my software, I failed to register them until just now, so that might be part of the reason for the less than DVD quality. (I'm learning)



Stephen

(Thanks for the idea Judy)