VIII.—Instances of Orientation in Prehistoric Monuments of the British Isles

Archaeologia ◽  
1923 ◽  
Vol 73 ◽  
pp. 193-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boyle Somerville
Keyword(s):  

The occurrence of orientation in prehistoric structures has long been noticed. It has not, however, received from investigators much more than a passing comment, such as ‘the barrow is directed to the eastward’, or ‘the entrance to the chamber faces the north-west’. If a definite bearing is given, it is rarely stated whether it is ‘Magnetic’ (such as is obtained from a prismatic compass), or a True Bearing, i. e. an azimuth.

1893 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 396-401
Author(s):  
Henry Hicks

In a recent article on the Pre-Cambrian Rocks of the British Isles in the Journal of Geology, vol. i., No. 1, Sir Archibald Geikie makes the following statement: “There cannot, I think, be now any doubt that small tracts of gneiss, quite comparable in lithological character to portions of the Lewisian rocks of the North-West of Scotland, rise to the surface in a few places in England and Wales. In the heart of Anglesey, for example, a tract of such rocks presents some striking external or scenic resemblance to the characteristic types of ground where the oldest gneiss forms the surface in Scotland and the West of Ireland.” To those who have followed the controversy which has been going on for nearly thirty years between the chiefs of the British Geological Survey and some geologists who have been working amongst the rocks in Wales, the importance of the above admission will be readily apparent; but as it is possible that some may be unable to realize what such an admission means in showing geological progress in unravelling the history of the older rocks in Wales during the past thirty years, a brief summary of the results obtained may possibly be considered useful.


2002 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Bonsall ◽  
Mark G. Macklin ◽  
David E. Anderson ◽  
Robert W. Payton

Farming can be shown to have spread very rapidly across the British Isles and southern Scandinavia around 6000 years ago, following a long period of stasis when the agricultural ‘frontier’ lay further south on the North European Plain between northern France and northern Poland. The reasons for the delay in the adoption of agriculture on the north-west fringe of Europe have been debated by archaeologists for decades. Here, we present fresh evidence that this renewed phase of agricultural expansion was triggered by a significant change in climate. This finding may also have implications for understanding the timing of the expansion of farming into some upland areas of southern and mid-latitude Europe.


1914 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 211-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Matley

The subject of the derivation of the materials which form the Bunter Pebble-beds has given rise to wide differences of opinion and to a voluminous literature. These it is not my intention to recapitulate, as an excellent summary of the subject will be found in Mr. O. H. Shrubsole's paper of 1903. Mr. Shrubsole then gathered together the known evidence, added some new facts of his own, and came to the conclusion that the Midland Bunter pebbles were brought from a southerly direction. This opinion may be said to have held the field until recently, when the question was again taken up by Mr. Jukes-Browne in the third edition of The Building of the British Isles (1911). After reviewing the whole evidence and taking into consideration the results of an investigation by Mr. E. C. Martin, which tended to show that the direction of transportation in Somersetshire in Bunter times was towards the south, Mr. Jukes-Browne abandoned the view he had taken in the second edition (1892) of that work, and now, adopting in the main the conclusions of Professor Bonney, considers that the bulk of the pebbles of the Midland Bunter came from the north-west, though he agrees that the fossiliferous quartzite pebbles could not have come from that direction, and he suggests for these a south-easterly derivation (Suffolk).


1992 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 477
Author(s):  
James K. Mitchell ◽  
Hubert Lamb

1925 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 451-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Gregory

A valuable monograph on “The Glacial Geology of the North-West of Ireland” (Proc. R. Irish Acad., xxxvi, 1924, pp. 174–314, pls. 8 and 9) by Professor J. K. Charlesworth describes the complex glacial phenomena of Tyrone. He endorses the main conclusion of my paper on the Irish Bskers (Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., 1920, vol. 210, pp. 115–51) that they are usually deposited along the margin of a glacier, and are not due to subglacial rivers. The two works further agree in their rejection of the long advocated theory that Irish glaciation was dominated by a huge dome of ice which accumulated as snow above the Central Plain and over-rode the surrounding mountains. That view, due to Hull (Physic. Geol. and Geogr. Ireland, 1878, p. 228), has in later years been advocated, amongst others, by Mr. T. Hallissy (Proc. R. Irish Acad., xxxi, part 7, 1914, p. 9), and also by him in association with the late Professor Cole (Handb. Reg. Geol, Ireland, 1924, p. 46; Cole, ibid., British Isles, 1916, p. 328). The lines of ice movement marked on my map (op. cit., 1920, p. 143) illustrating the distribution of the Irish eskers are fundamentally inconsistent with the traditional theory; I am therefore glad to find that theory emphatically rejected by Professor Charlesworth. He adduces convincing evidence that the ice was formed on the mountains and flowed from them on to the plains. In two minor questions Professor Charlesworth differs from the views of my paper. I remarked (op. cit., p. 133) that the eskers of Tyrone are “different in several respects” from those of the Central Plain. I did not state the differences as I mentioned the Tyrone eskers only in reference to the subglacial formation of eskers; and as they gave no support to that process, I briefly referred to them as having had the same marginal origin as the typical eskers of the Central Plain.


Author(s):  
J. H. Fraser

SynopsisThe distribution of about thirty species of warm water siphonophores over the period 1947–1964 to the north-west and north of the British Isles is used to give a generalized picture of the path of the Lusitanian stream. These species, which originate much further south, are relatively intolerent to change of environment and the distances they are carried can be associated with the degree of inflow on a yearly and seasonal basis.Grouping the findings into four series of years over the 18 year period shows an increase in their northerly distribution from 1947 reaching a maximum in 1953 and 1954. This has since been maintained, with annual variations, at least until 1963. It is hoped that the data presented here can be used when comparing future studies of climatic change with the distribution of water masses.


Author(s):  
Daryl A. Cornish ◽  
George L. Smit

Oreochromis mossambicus is currently receiving much attention as a candidater species for aquaculture programs within Southern Africa. This has stimulated interest in its breeding cycle as well as the morphological characteristics of the gonads. Limited information is available on SEM and TEM observations of the male gonads. It is known that the testis of O. mossambicus is a paired, intra-abdominal structure of the lobular type, although further details of its characteristics are not known. Current investigations have shown that spermatids reach full maturity some two months after the female becomes gravid. Throughout the year, the testes contain spermatids at various stages of development although spermiogenesis appears to be maximal during November when spawning occurs. This paper describes the morphological and ultrastructural characteristics of the testes and spermatids.Specimens of this fish were collected at Syferkuil Dam, 8 km north- west of the University of the North over a twelve month period, sacrificed and the testes excised.


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