Aubrey Burl
Encyclopedia
Harry Aubrey Woodruff Burl MA, DLitt, PhD, FSA, HonFSA Scot (born September 24, 1926) is a British archaeologist most well known for his studies into megalithic monuments and the nature of prehistoric ritual
s associated with them. Prior to retirement he was Principal Lecturer in Archaeology, Hull College
, East Riding of Yorkshire.
Burl has received a volume edited in his honour. He has been called by The New York Times, "the leading authority on British stone circles".
Burl's work, while considering the astronomical roles of many megalithic monuments, is cautious of embracing the more tenuous claims of archaeoastronomy
. In 'Prehistoric Avebury' Burl proposes that Circles and Henge monuments, far from being astronomical observatories for a class of 'astronomer priests' were more likely used for ritualistic practices, connected with death and fertility rites, and ancestor worship, similar to practices observed in other agriculutral cultures (in particular the rituals of Native North American Tribes such as the Algonquin and the Pawnee). Rituals would have been performed at key times of the year, such as the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, to ensure a successful harvest from the land.
His approach led him to question what he sees as the over-romanticised view that Stonehenge
was built from bluestone
s hauled by hand from the Preseli Hills
in south west Wales
to Salisbury Plain
. Rather, the stones were left close to the site by earlier glacier
s and then exploited by the monument's builders Others have argued that the bluestones have been traced to only the Preselli Hills through their chemical signature and that they could not have come from elsewhere. Additionally, it was claimed that there was no known glacier with a course linking the hills with Salisbury Plain
or a glacier from anywhere that reached far enough south. On the other hand, recent research by earth scientists shows that glacier ice reached the Scilly Isles on at least one occasion and that ice which crossed Pembrokeshire did cross the coasts of Somerset and Devon.
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
s associated with them. Prior to retirement he was Principal Lecturer in Archaeology, Hull College
Hull College
Hull College is a further education College in Hull, England. The enrollment of around 28,000students makes it one of the largest schools of its type in the United Kingdom...
, East Riding of Yorkshire.
Burl has received a volume edited in his honour. He has been called by The New York Times, "the leading authority on British stone circles".
Burl's work, while considering the astronomical roles of many megalithic monuments, is cautious of embracing the more tenuous claims of archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy
Archaeoastronomy is the study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky how they used phenomena in the sky and what role the sky played in their cultures." Clive Ruggles argues it is misleading to consider archaeoastronomy to be the study of ancient astronomy, as modern...
. In 'Prehistoric Avebury' Burl proposes that Circles and Henge monuments, far from being astronomical observatories for a class of 'astronomer priests' were more likely used for ritualistic practices, connected with death and fertility rites, and ancestor worship, similar to practices observed in other agriculutral cultures (in particular the rituals of Native North American Tribes such as the Algonquin and the Pawnee). Rituals would have been performed at key times of the year, such as the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, to ensure a successful harvest from the land.
His approach led him to question what he sees as the over-romanticised view that Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
was built from bluestone
Bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...
s hauled by hand from the Preseli Hills
Preseli Hills
The Preseli Hills or Preseli Mountains are a range of hills in north Pembrokeshire, West Wales...
in south west Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
to Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
. Rather, the stones were left close to the site by earlier glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s and then exploited by the monument's builders Others have argued that the bluestones have been traced to only the Preselli Hills through their chemical signature and that they could not have come from elsewhere. Additionally, it was claimed that there was no known glacier with a course linking the hills with Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
or a glacier from anywhere that reached far enough south. On the other hand, recent research by earth scientists shows that glacier ice reached the Scilly Isles on at least one occasion and that ice which crossed Pembrokeshire did cross the coasts of Somerset and Devon.
Major Archeological books
- Burl, Aubrey. The Stone Circles of the British Isles. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976. ISBN 978030001972
- Burl, Aubrey. Prehistoric Avebury. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979. ISBN 9780300023688
- Burl, Aubrey, and Edward Piper. Rings of Stone: The Prehistoric Stone Circles of Britain and Ireland. New Haven: Ticknor & Fields, 1980, ISBN 9780899190006
- Burl, Aubrey, and Max Milligan. Circles of Stone. The Harvill Press, 1999. ISBN 1860466613.
- Burl, Aubrey. The Stonehenge People / Aubrey Burl. London: J.M. Dent, 1987, ISBN 9780460044851.
- Burl, Aubrey. Great Stone Circles: Fables, Fictions, Facts. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999, ISBN 9780300076899.
- Burl, Aubrey. The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000, ISBN 9780300083477.
- Burl, Aubrey. A Brief History of Stonehenge. London: Robinson, 2007. ISBN 9781845295912
Other books
- Burl, Aubrey. Danse Macabre: Franc̦ois Villon, Poetry, & Murder in Medieval France. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Pub, 2000.
- Burl, Aubrey. God's Heretics: The Albigensian Crusade. Stroud: Sutton, 2002. ISBN 9780750925723
- Translated into Polish as Burl, Aubrey, and Dorota Strukowska. Heretycy: krucjata przeciw Albigensom. Wrocław: Wydawn. Dolnośląskie, 2003. ISBN 9788373840751
- Burl, Aubrey, and Humphrey Clucas. Catullus: A Poet in the Rome of Julius Caesar. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2004
- Burl, Aubrey, and Aubrey Burl. Black Barty: Bartholomew Roberts and His Pirate Crew 1718-1723. Stroud: Sutton, 2006
- Burl, Aubrey. Courts of Love, Castles of Hate: Troubadours and Trobairitz in Southern France 1071-1321. Stroud: Sutton, 2008. ISBN 9780750945363
Reviews
- The Stone Circles of the British Isles
- Gerald S. Hawkins (1977), The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 36 (3): 206–207, doi:10.2307/989076.
- Sharon Gibbs (1979), Isis 70: 461, doi:10.1086/352310.
- Prehistoric Avebury
- R.J.C. Atkinson (1979), Nature 282: 175–176, doi:10.1038/282175a0.
- Sarunas Milisauskas (1980), American Anthropologist 82 (4): 882–883, doi:10.1525/aa.1980.82.4.02a00340.
- Rory Fonseca (1981), The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 40 (4): 326–327, doi:10.2307/989650.
- Elsebet Sander-Jørgensen Rowlett (1980), Technology and Culture 21 (4) 644–646, doi:10.2307/3104091.
- Rings of Stone: The Prehistoric Stone Circles of Britain and Ireland.
- R.J.C. Atkinson (1980), Nature 284: 700.
- Circles of Stone.
- Simon Denison (2001), British Archaeology.
- The Stonehenge People
- Andrew Fleming (1991), American Journal of Archaeology 95 (3): 543–544, doi:10.2307/505497.
- A. Whittle (1988), Journal for the History of Astronomy. Supplement: Archaeoastronomy 12: S85.
- R. Castleden (1987), Nature 329: 773.
- The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany
- Michael Hoskin (2001), Journal of History of Astronomy, Archaeoastronomy Supplement 32: S89.