Early British Trackways. By Alfred Watkins. Simpkin, Marshall & Co.—4s 6d net.
In a lecture to the Hereford Naturalists’ Field Club last September, Mr Alfred Watkins outlined what he claims to be a discovery of wide scope, which reveals a systematic planning of prehistoric trackways, and throws a flood of light on the reasons for the sites of camps, castles, churches and villages and on the meaning of many place-names. Field-ramblers and Scoutmasters will find in this quest a problem for their outings.
Briefly stated, the outhor’s contention is that in the Neolithic age all trackways were in straight lines, marked out by experts on a sighting system. These lines ran from peak to peak in the first instance, and in the valleys the intermediate points were marked by trees, pumps, stones, water, or other objects natural or made. Earth sighting points—mound, tuftUnclear: not ‘twt’ as AW wrote, castle, bury, cairn, garn, tomen, low, barrow, knoll, knap, moat and camp—are chiefly on eminences. They are used not only for trading routes, but for all movements of the population.
Mr Watkins has worked out his thesis on a wide expanse of country round Hereford, and he contends that the conclusions can be verified for the most part on an ordnance map with the aid of a straight edge. Taking all the earthworks mentioned add to them all ancient churches, all moats and ponds, castles and castle-farms, wayside crosses, ancient stones, traditional trees like gospel oaks, and legendary wells, you make a small ring round each on the map, then stick a steel pin on the site of an undoubted sighting point; place the straight edge against it and move it round until several (not less than four) of the objects marked come exactly in line. You will find on the line here and there ancient roads and footpaths and small bits of modern road conforming to the line. Extend it into adjoining maps and you will find new sighting points on the line which will usually terminate at both ends in a mountain peak or (in later examples) in a legendary well or other objective.
The author has carefully worked out his essay, supplied a score of plates and maps in illustration, investigated all the mounds, castles, churches and peaks in the area and added much information on cognate matters like place names, and included a very full index of places: “The mounds whose many names I have mentioned are artificial. I do not question the fact that they were often used as burial places, and perhaps even built with that end in view, but the straight leys (sighting lines) on which I find practically all on this district line up, prove their primary purpose to be sighting tumps. Arthur’s Stone, a dolmen, which was probably the core of a burial tump, is on two sighting lines.
Antiquaries will have in this volume another theory like those proposed to explain the orientation of the stones in circles or the meaning of cup-markings and sculptures on standing stones, which will give rise to still more speculation and expositions.
Source info: Cuttings agency.