Stonehenge & Other British Stone Monuments Astronomically Considered / Norman Lockyer

Norman Lockyer's studies of ancient Egyptian and British monuments rightfully makes him the progenitor of astro-archeology. His work on British megaliths, however, has been superseded by more exact calculations. In any case, his work, like other works in astro-archeology, reads more into the data than is justified. While it is entirely safe to say that the megalith builders consciously aligned many if not most of their monuments, it isn't at all clear that Lockyer is correct in claiming that that these alignments were set to observe the rising and/or setting of "warning stars" and "clock stars." Among the most interesting aspects of this book is Lockyer's hypothesis that the early megalith builders aligned many of their monuments to celebrate the year beginning in early May. He also includes discussions of British folklore and traditional celebrations which he claims support his astronomical interpretation of the megaliths.