It's actually Stoner Henge which is why some of the bits are missing, lost behind the sofa of time, and explains why archaeologists discovered all those candy wrappers beneath the sarsens.
It was an ancient A&E ward - people brought their dying to be healed by the stones. At the time people were dying from bad teeth and no one knew why so they built many henges that were thought to be magical and held powers to heal. Skeletons found nearby show evidence to this. So basically it was a hospital of sorts …. The astrological thing is only a small part of the practical use it had in reality.
Hi! Just wanted to let you know my 16-year-old nephew saw one of your videos on my Facebook feed and got so interested that he stole my phone the whole day and watched you on TH-cam, then got me addicted. My sister says that after he finishes his school work for the day, he will watch an episode, then research the subject of the episode in depth. He's still working on black holes when I talked to my sister this morning. I think you have an astrophysicist in the making. Thank you for making your videos so informative and fun.
That’s awesome to hear! Some of my other favorite scientists to watch are Alex jones, Steven crowder, Ben Shapiro, Candace Owen’s, rush Limbaugh, and of course tucker Carlson! Don’t question anything you hear them say, they’re very trustworthy!
My husband and I visited Stonehenge back in 1977. We were struck by the quietness of the Salisbury Plains, and the overall eerie feeling of the site. It was totally silent, except for the sounds of chirping bugs or birds. I found it to be an unforgettable experience. Even back then the stones had already been marred by graffiti etched on the stone surface, so I can understand why they had to cordon it off.
A friend had his own standing stone circle in his back yard. Developers did it, used tools to make sure each of the 8 stones, each the same size, were equal distance apart. When it was done, he discovered, by accident, that if you stood in the center and said something, the sound had changed. It was like being in a bubble. Sound was echoed back at you, while people outside the circle heard normal sound. Makes me think that when Stonehenge was still completely arranged, maybe the ancients heard the same sound effect, and thought it was supernatural.
@@lukacrnomarkovic8172 no samples. The guy had money, and he wanted a stone circle for our druid group, so he hired a company to dig up his back yard. Everything was precisely measured. While that was being done, he hired an artist to make eight altars, one for each of the Celtic sabbats, and tile images of a deity per altar. When they were done, the construction crew did more careful measurements, marked the exact center of the circle, and the altars were spread out, perfectly spaced. It was a complete surprise, when we discovered that, when standing at the exact center, there was an odd, hollow echo that only could be heard by the person standing there and speaking.
@@lukacrnomarkovic8172 The U.S. Capitol building tour includes a spot in the room under the dome where you can pretty easily hear conversations at a corresponding point across the room. Round and enclosed shapes do this regularly in acoustics and are one of the many things sound engineers learn math for. It can be a constructive or destructive effect, depending on where it is. Another example is sound dome speakers - acrylic domes made for personal listening without having to wear equipment. (You have to hang it instead, heh.)
@@CultureIsKey we have gotten dumber with the engineering evolution of the brain, so most likely previous civ was smarter than us, and the knowledge was lost.
I used to live near stonehenge. It used to be lit up at night with spotlights. They turned the lights off because it was distracting drivers on the nearby road. It looked really cool and spooky at night with the lights.
They were very interesting to see. To help understand just how old those things are: When the Romans occupied Britain, they considered Stonehenge as an ancient landmark and would visit them as an attraction.
I lived on the fifth floor of a walk-up on East 60th Street near York Avenue in Manhattan. A few large windows had a view of the East River. Two days each year, the rays of the rising sun shot straight into my face, waking me up in my loft bed. It was my private Manhattanhenge.
I find it fascinating that the bluestone dates back to 2500 bc and they originate from west Wales , that’s a 150 mile trip. Some inginuity to move them that far in those days
The alien explanation is always the easy one, actually. Sacsayhuaman in Cusco, Perú, has stones of more than a hundred tons of weight, and the temptation of saying it was made by aliens is very common. But I think that since they were mostly agricultural cultures, they were always observing the sky as a reference of cycles they needed to know in order to make certain seeds to grow properly. So, they were much better sky observers than we are in these days, with cities full of lights that don't help you to get a clear vision of the sky. The same goes with the technology: they wanted to make eternal temples for the next generations to pass on and improve that knowledge, but we, ignorants of the modern era, just didn't keep on doing that.
It makes more sense to me that on the solstice the sunset would be more important than the sunrise. You could stand at the heel stone and looking at Stonehenge, and watch the Sun go down through the stones. Then be able to say the longest day was over, start storing food for the winter as the days would now get shorter. Also didn't the people back then consider midnight as the start of a day.
It's just a few miles away from me. Impressive place with lots of variants dotted all around the Country, and in fact all around the World. Seems to be one of the Worlds first Rolex's to me :)
I was there in November 2019 pretty much right before the pandemic. I thought it was an awesome place to go to. In fact, I used one of the pictures I took and had Vista print make a 3 foot by 4 foot poster which is on my wall. I absolutely loved England. You're lucky that you live super close to Stonehenge.
Here in Punxsutawney Pa we have Punxsyhenge ,over by the Pa National Guard building. We get new "groundhogs" when the old ones wear out from Punxsyhenge . Local legend.
?Stonehenge Decoded" was published about the time I was at university (1965-1970) and it explains the use of sightings from the various slots between the standing stones. The construct is useful as to tool to predict solar eclipses, among other things. It was very accurately set up and the most questionable sighting is the result of a modern repositioning of a stone that had fallen. As a side note, there is a second edition of the book that goes into later research on further uses of the stone rings.
Thank you! It has long occurred to me that the "ancients," studied ... and, mastered ... the sky, and the seasons. That was almost the totality of what they had to observe, relate to, and by which they could exist. As you pointed out, they also had human brains. I also think it reasonable to assume that today's view of science VS faith, wasn't a matter of "either/or," then. The two realms had to co-exist on some level. What we call the study of "mythology," was man's need to deal with OBSERVATION, and EXPLANATION, working together. My father used to tease his theory about Stonehenge. He said that it was a practical joke. A bunch of guys were sitting around the fire, enjoying their Mead. And, they hatched a plan: -- "Hey, here's what we do. We pile some boulders around, in a circle, and make them wonder what it is. We can drive them crazy, for millennia."
Every society, once they progressed past struggling for daily food and shelter, built instruments or structures to determine time and change of seasons. I think it was a basic human goal that illustrated our attempt to integrate our lives into the rhythm of natural world. ( My uneducated guess.)
Hey Dr. Neil The Grace Tyson (thanks voice to text I'm not even going to correct it). I've been going through some rough stuff... but hearing your explanations and wild laughter while talking about incredible topics kind of keeps me going sometimes. Even if it's just a distraction. I was/still am the type of kid that would go to the library, THE LIBRARY, and I would pull the max book limit and all I would get was science books of all kinds and biology books and astronomy books. Okay fine... I also grabbed a couple Garfield comics. Don't judge me! And now I have TH-cam and I don't ever *actually read* much about anymore and I kind of feel guilty about it. I somehow erratically change the subject lol.. Ok, just let me go okay! You're an inspiration and everything you do all of the time makes me smile!! Thank you for being you!!
Before you start about Stone Henge, the conjecture that there is something to do with this structure. A man in 1930’s shifted and moved shuffled and thought he was doing a good job remodelling but we now have no references to confirm or deny.
My favorite cartoon, or one of them anyway, is a Charles Addams cartoon of a giant laying on his side playing with the stones like leggos. The Ring if Brodgar in the Orkneys is an impressive stone circle too. Check that one out sometime.
The secret to understanding Stonehenge is to map the shoreline which was at 90 meters. As humans settle along the water, this will explain everything. The ritual importance of Stonehenge is that it is located where the river Avon meets the sea. Once you realize what you are looking at, you'll struggle to comprehend the immense size of this civilization and how advanced it was. There is not an inch of this island that is not formed and sculpted by human hands, there was no wilderness at all in Neolithic Britain. They had a peculiar way of demarking the shoreline which makes it easy to see in satellite images.
I visted Stonehenge in 1975 on a highschool adventure. Touched them all and tried climbing a smaller stone. There was numerous inscribed names on some of the largest vertical ones dating back to the 17th century. 😏
You've been to Kilmartin Glen! I'm impressed. Next time you're in the area, try Callanish, it's older than Stonehenge and has a great, and unusual, origins myth.
Yep! The same thing happened with the Pyramids. I personally believe that it was Joseph, you know that son of Jacob. Jacob and the rest of his family, minus Joseph of course, since he was already there, went into Egypt to avoid the famine. Joseph who was made second in command at the time, designed and built the Pyramids to store grain in order to sell when the famine hit. The Pharaoh had inside knowledge that famine was coming seven years before it happened.
So you really think the Egytians needed someone from outside to build the pyramids for them? They needed labourers for physical works, yes, as slaves, but the construction, measurements and the planning was performed by Egyptian engineers. And even if the pyramids were used as storage for grain, we know that they were used as tombs for different pharaos and their families. The planning for the tombs was also performed by Egyptian engineers, not by Hebrews.
@herbertwest9626 --- Well, Joseph was kind of like an Egyptian, after all he was second in command, only the Pharaoh had more power than he did. He married an Egyptian woman and had two sons with her. Joseph lived long before the slavery happened to the Hebrews. According to Wik. The first Pyramid built in Egypt was in 1308 BCE, that is right around the time that Joseph lived. Granted some bodies of the Pharaohs were found in a tomb or two, but generally they were empty. Probably raided long before Archaeology became a thing. Originally they were built to store grain, they have a CAP stone on them to keep the grain dry. If they were used as the tombs of Pharaoh's , why have a Capstone at all, for what purpose would that serve.
Neil, you missed your chance to have Nigel Tufnel explain again how Stonehenge was constructed. The idea to use Nigel during a National Geographic special was just as hilarious as Nigel’s description.
Well, yeah, that's awesome that he figured out how Stonehenge was connected to astrology, the solstice, and predictions for both lunar and solar eclipse. But, the greatest mystery it will never let go, is how it was done and set up. Also, why there. What led to the location chosen for this incredible feat?😮❤
Neil De grass Tyson’s , has a gift of connecting to you in a level that makes you feel like you know something about science and galaxies! 🤓Lol !! Thats how he makes you interested to learn, and that’s what’s special about him! 🤩
That is the common skill of REAL genius=== To simplify complex issues and have the ability to make the complications understandable to lesser minds! Read “Philosophy for Dummies” by Tom V Morris”, another genius!
@@msmith53 I don’t know if I would use the word lesser minds! That’s a rude statement! The human mind is certainly not lesser, is just not been trained in certain subjects or never had a interest in them! I also don’t like title of those books for Dummies it is actually a turn off, the title Sounds arrogant and condescending! In my opinion. But I agree with you about the genius of Neil Tysons! He is amazingly humble and fun to watch and listen to , that’s how you learn from him! 🤩
13:47 *EXACTLY* , and this same rationale applies to all "alien-explained" phenomena or buildings out there: pyramids, submerged cities, Atlantis (if there was ever one), etc.
Man, why aren't we friends already. I know so few people who enjoy engaging in thought provoking conversation. It would be an absolute pleasure to just bounce ideas off of you.
Time to move ALL satellite functions to manned orbiting platforms, in various orbits, where companies can subscribe to the latest in monitoring technologies, rather than put the whole cost of satellite development and launch on individual companies, where their hardware becomes obsolete before launch date, and can't be upgraded.
My first thought.......why didn't they build it closer to the stone source??????......My second thought........if my existence is tied to, if my crop fails I starve to death.......knowing the seasons.......summer solstice and winter solstice......will allow me to know the best times to plant my seeds...........then Stonehedge is simply the first farmers almanic.
The Stonehenge topic got me wondering what Neil's thoughts are on the topic of advanced ancient civilizations or ancient lost knowledge. The topic that people like Randall Carlson, Graham Hancock, Brian Muraresku, Jimmy Corsetti, and Ben Van Kerkwyk dig into. Things ranging from the Younger Dryas Impact to the Archimedes Palimpsest, a set of texts that contained the beginnings of calculus many hundreds of years before Isaac Newton was born but was hidden under religious writings for centuries. Where could we be now if it were not for these setbacks? Setbacks caused both by nature and by ourselves.
One of the reasons I respect Neil is that he gives credit to ancient people for their ability to think. They less technological in the modern sense of the word, but they were not fools.
That's correct they were no fools. I would love to hear Neil's take on the Dogon Tribe's knowledge of the Sirius star system, particularly Sirius B. I would value his opinion on this.
the more I researched history the more I understood that ancient history had thousands of years more than the AD we live in, and all those civilizations were advanced in some way, I think what really lacked was good and fast communication, and still in those times they knew how important it was to have faster communication.
My family lived in London and the first time we drove to Devon we had to take a road called the A303 because the motorway hadn't been built. Stonehenge was still unprotected in those days, we stopped in the early morning and went to see the stones, being able to touch them and look around. It's a really lovely memory I have.
In Ireland we have a neolithic tomb (Newgrange) that is technically a building. It's 5000 years old (older than the pyramids), and on the winter solstice, the chamber in the centre lights up because of the alignment of the sun on that day. I think it's much more interesting than stonehenge, but I might be biased. It has carved swirls and striped patterns in the rocks.
I live half an hour from stonehenge. I am one of those old fellas reminiscing about climbing the stones in my youth. I wanted to carve my initials in the stones (that were partially leaning over at the time), but my dad said no!
I grew up not far from Stonehenge, and as you might be aware there is a military base near by. I was surprised to learn that the stones have been reseated many times and before it was restored in the early 1960's and treated with a bit of modern respect (though even back then you could park your car at the gate and walk around, touch the stones etc). There is a story of my late great-uncle and a bunch of his mates getting pretty hammered and stealing a stone using an army landrover. One officer spotted it and immediately knew who the ringleader was, and so kicked them out of bed before dawn (while they were still all drunk) to return it!
I had a copy of Stonehenge Decoded which I lost in the 70s, but not before I had visited Stonehenge at a time when you could walk amongst the stones and see some of the alignments that Hawkins wrote about. It's a fascinating place and you can't go into it anymore because some yobs decided to go and break some of the blue stones later in the 70s. I don't know if they were ever caught but if they were they should've been sentenced to 5000 years in prison.
That is a harsh sentence considering that there was a time when you were given a stone chipping hammer from the tour organizers, so that you could take a souvenir home.
Thanks for this one Neil. I think it deserves a whole hour podcast to discuss Stonehenge. I lived in Tidworth in 1968. I went to boarding school so was only there for the holidays. Obviously my father was in the Army. I would cycle up to the stones and sit among them. There was no one to shoo me off, it was just great. Just sitting there felt tingling. The stones had something in them. I wish I went more, but at 16 I had other interests too. Listen, you hardly covered it, do a full blown Startalk on Stonehenge with an expert who knows their stuff. It linked the movements of the sun and moon and included the ancestors too. That was the religion of the time, 4500 years ago in Britain.
@@jorgegonzalez-larramendi5491 They fetched the large blue stones all the way from Pembrokeshire in Wales. That's about 180 miles away and across the Severn Estuary to Wiltshire. I guess they thought that they were really special to do that. Also, that was 2500 years BC, which is late Neolithic. The tremendous effort of those people at the time has to be felt in the stones. Good job the Victorians didn't knock it down or move everything away. To me, at the time, when you could sit among the stones, the quiet and the sheer enormity of the place puts your mind in a special place. Certainly my mind at least. I feel very lucky to have those memories.
@@Tim67620 I watched the documentary about the stones to it blew my mind. I just thought they didn’t know much about anything but they were obviously really clever. I live right next to some stone monuments, literally 100m away,I should probably see if they align to anything ( any date and time )
@@drewthatsme6212 You're very lucky to be close to some stone monuments. Most Henges include a wall and ditch as well as stones and they are generally circular, since the movement of the Sun and Moon is circular. It would be interesting to see if they align to the main Solstices. The shortest day is December 21st. I would think they would mark the setting Sun on the shortest day and the rising Sun on the longest day. Some say it tracks the Moon too but I'm not so sure. It was all about Ancestors and the power of the Sun. There are many Circles and Henges in Britain but Stonehenge is, by far, the greatest. If your stones are circular then find an east-west alignment and wait for a Solstice to test it out. They can be natural and they can be more modern copies. I hope that yours is a real one.
Nice thanks guys! Since it’s not every day I get a chance to correct Neil...the Blues stones are from Wales around 120 miles away (a bit more than a few miles). The larger stones are from within 25 miles away (Marlborough) but some are 30 tones.
Hi Neil, I think it's about time we stop pedestalizing the Stonehenge because almost every tribal culture have it. Come to Northeast India, you will find lots of similar stone monuments.
The first time my wife and I visited the UK, we took a tour to Stonehenge. It was humbling to stand there where the stones had stood for centuries. I was impressed with the fact that those stones were placed so close to the highway so that people could see them more easily. :)
Mr. Tyson . . . I love how you explain things and have helped bring Science to so many people. ALSO . . . Love the comfy tattered neckline of your shirt. Double thumbs up for showing your just a normal dude like the rest of us.
Our Neolithic ancestors were amazing! Astroarchology is a thing! Both hunter- gatherers and farmers must keep track of seasons for their survival. I really know they knew more about astronomy than I. BTW The residents of early Neolithic were called Western Hunter Gatherers. They had dark skin and blue eyes. Yes genetic work has been done. Pre-Indo-European migrations into England.
Reminds me of how the Aztecs (actually Mexicas) lived more than thousands years after Teotihuacan, so for them, other ancient pyramids where already part of a heritage that probably was already a mystery to them. On top of that, Mesoamerica also gathers many cities constructed in align to astronomical observance. Perhaps this could be a good opportunity to schedule a talk with an astroarcheologist or archeoastronomer.
The uncovering or ,the finding of the main/extravagantly enormous metropolis would be interesting find,perhaps using radar technology from helicopters or bi planes in the future we will know where they once existed/were established, Aztecs are a lesser understood civilisation as were the Sumerians.
Neil, Chuck, would you consider doing an episode on the science/ science fiction of Doctor Who? And your special guest could be someone like Steven Moffat? Topics like what would the implications be if we could somehow invent/ harness the technology of the TARDIS. The real world science behind how “it’s bigger on the inside”? And possibly an astrophysical insight of the possibility of such an advanced civilization like “Time Lords” even existing. Citing examples from The Fermi Paradox, The Great Filter, and the Drake Equation. Would be a great show. Thoughts?
Visited Stonehenge a few weeks ago. First off, it's just off a major A road, which is weird. Driving from town to town and whoop, there's Stonehenge off in the field. Also, it's not one thing. It's surrounded by barrows and other structures. They had quite a long time to develop the display. They needed a ceremonial location. They found the cycle of the year powerful. They could see the night sky and knew about that cycle too. So they lined up their interest in the cycles with their rituals and bam, stones in a ring. We tell ourselves stories about it, because in the absence of testimony we make up answers. We do the same thing they did. Just with less long-lived structures.
Isn’t that what you’re doing too? Like just because you believe it was for rituals doesn’t make it true. Why is your opinion somehow more valid than one of the best scientific minds of the 21st century?
The reason why Stonehenge is in my head was seeing it as the default wallpaper in Windows XP. It probably registered in my mind though I paid very little attention to it and maybe as a resultant of repeatedly seeing it. It built up curiosity and I started googling it. Windows still does a good job of sparking curiosity with Spotlight - their version of lockscreen as a window into the world.
What's your Stonehenge theory?
It's actually Stoner Henge which is why some of the bits are missing, lost behind the sofa of time, and explains why archaeologists discovered all those candy wrappers beneath the sarsens.
I liked the Transformers movie idea. How Stonehenge becomes the center when Pangaea was whole.
ez.. placed using alien tech that uses vibrations to levitate objects.. Please do an episode on the Law of one!!!!!
It was an ancient A&E ward - people brought their dying to be healed by the stones. At the time people were dying from bad teeth and no one knew why so they built many henges that were thought to be magical and held powers to heal.
Skeletons found nearby show evidence to this.
So basically it was a hospital of sorts …. The astrological thing is only a small part of the practical use it had in reality.
@@alextw1488 omg hahaha 😅😅😅
Hi! Just wanted to let you know my 16-year-old nephew saw one of your videos on my Facebook feed and got so interested that he stole my phone the whole day and watched you on TH-cam, then got me addicted. My sister says that after he finishes his school work for the day, he will watch an episode, then research the subject of the episode in depth. He's still working on black holes when I talked to my sister this morning. I think you have an astrophysicist in the making. Thank you for making your videos so informative and fun.
good discipline he knows where to
Go Learn
That’s awesome to hear! Some of my other favorite scientists to watch are Alex jones, Steven crowder, Ben Shapiro, Candace Owen’s, rush Limbaugh, and of course tucker Carlson! Don’t question anything you hear them say, they’re very trustworthy!
Privileged children compared to some .
No hate just saying
@@Cam-rw7fr
One Should question every thing and are you a Russian bot ?
@@Cam-rw7fr
Candace Owens is unkl tom boot licking racist and y too probably are racist
Chuck is such a great balance for Neil. He plays the curious role so well while being comedic. Great job guys!
My thoughts exactly!
X2
Yeah it definitely works
Right, and he is very intelligent, so he knows just the right amount of input to give Neil even when he has a lot of knowledge on the subject
Agreed
My husband and I visited Stonehenge back in 1977. We were struck by the quietness of the Salisbury Plains, and the overall eerie feeling of the site. It was totally silent, except for the sounds of chirping bugs or birds. I found it to be an unforgettable experience. Even back then the stones had already been marred by graffiti etched on the stone surface, so I can understand why they had to cordon it off.
A friend had his own standing stone circle in his back yard. Developers did it, used tools to make sure each of the 8 stones, each the same size, were equal distance apart. When it was done, he discovered, by accident, that if you stood in the center and said something, the sound had changed. It was like being in a bubble. Sound was echoed back at you, while people outside the circle heard normal sound.
Makes me think that when Stonehenge was still completely arranged, maybe the ancients heard the same sound effect, and thought it was supernatural.
Hey, i know its been a while since ur comment, but do u have any more info or examples of this, as an audio engineer im suuuuper interested!
@@lukacrnomarkovic8172 no samples. The guy had money, and he wanted a stone circle for our druid group, so he hired a company to dig up his back yard. Everything was precisely measured. While that was being done, he hired an artist to make eight altars, one for each of the Celtic sabbats, and tile images of a deity per altar. When they were done, the construction crew did more careful measurements, marked the exact center of the circle, and the altars were spread out, perfectly spaced. It was a complete surprise, when we discovered that, when standing at the exact center, there was an odd, hollow echo that only could be heard by the person standing there and speaking.
@@lukacrnomarkovic8172 try searching Sonoran Sunrise Grove. There used to be pictures online.
@@lukacrnomarkovic8172 The U.S. Capitol building tour includes a spot in the room under the dome where you can pretty easily hear conversations at a corresponding point across the room. Round and enclosed shapes do this regularly in acoustics and are one of the many things sound engineers learn math for. It can be a constructive or destructive effect, depending on where it is. Another example is sound dome speakers - acrylic domes made for personal listening without having to wear equipment. (You have to hang it instead, heh.)
@@lukacrnomarkovic8172 St. Paul's Cathedral has a Whispering Gallery you can try out.
These ring like structures are present in several other countries . The knowledge for consistently building them is to be admired.
Do you know where at? Is it like the pyramids where it was seemingly simultaneous enlightenment??
Either that or aliens lol or previous civilizations being much more advanced?
@@CultureIsKey we have gotten dumber with the engineering evolution of the brain, so most likely previous civ was smarter than us, and the knowledge was lost.
Every culture on Earth has shown some interest in the stars.
Not many of them discovered the planets, though.
I used to live near stonehenge. It used to be lit up at night with spotlights. They turned the lights off because it was distracting drivers on the nearby road. It looked really cool and spooky at night with the lights.
They were very interesting to see. To help understand just how old those things are:
When the Romans occupied Britain, they considered Stonehenge as an ancient landmark and would visit them as an attraction.
Will you help me climb this tree so I can just see VENUS? please? I LOVE YOU NEIL!
I am always so fascinated by these man made structures made by ancient civilizations.
You guys need to read "Stig of the Dump". It's all explained there.
We need more documentaries narrated by you Neil. And more comedys by you chuck. Also a superbabe female co-host in the mix
I second this for sure
Why the super babe?
I lived on the fifth floor of a walk-up on East 60th Street near York Avenue in Manhattan. A few large windows had a view of the East River. Two days each year, the rays of the rising sun shot straight into my face, waking me up in my loft bed. It was my private Manhattanhenge.
I find it fascinating that the bluestone dates back to 2500 bc and they originate from west Wales , that’s a 150 mile trip. Some inginuity to move them that far in those days
There are some excellent TH-cam documentaries about the bluestone. It was quite a feat!
The alien explanation is always the easy one, actually. Sacsayhuaman in Cusco, Perú, has stones of more than a hundred tons of weight, and the temptation of saying it was made by aliens is very common. But I think that since they were mostly agricultural cultures, they were always observing the sky as a reference of cycles they needed to know in order to make certain seeds to grow properly. So, they were much better sky observers than we are in these days, with cities full of lights that don't help you to get a clear vision of the sky. The same goes with the technology: they wanted to make eternal temples for the next generations to pass on and improve that knowledge, but we, ignorants of the modern era, just didn't keep on doing that.
It makes more sense to me that on the solstice the sunset would be more important than the sunrise. You could stand at the heel stone and looking at Stonehenge, and watch the Sun go down through the stones. Then be able to say the longest day was over, start storing food for the winter as the days would now get shorter. Also didn't the people back then consider midnight as the start of a day.
They considered the first day of spring was the New Year's Day, which lasted, 1200s before any changes was made
We still do consider midnight as the end of one day and the START OF ANOTHER.
My men ! Always fun and learning with you guys
Neil de grasse tyson is the reason I got obsessed with space,planets,blackholes and all what sits in its void
It's just a few miles away from me. Impressive place with lots of variants dotted all around the Country, and in fact all around the World. Seems to be one of the Worlds first Rolex's to me :)
I was there in November 2019 pretty much right before the pandemic. I thought it was an awesome place to go to. In fact, I used one of the pictures I took and had Vista print make a 3 foot by 4 foot poster which is on my wall. I absolutely loved England. You're lucky that you live super close to Stonehenge.
I would love to go and take in the sights! You are lucky friend! Enjoy it extra for those of us who may never get to see them! ✌️
That road nearby is a nightmare though. Thought they were gonna make a bypass.
@@Thegreat772it’ll never happen, unfortunately.
Here in Punxsutawney Pa we have Punxsyhenge ,over by the Pa National Guard building. We get new "groundhogs" when the old ones wear out from Punxsyhenge . Local legend.
Level up the production and go 1000x! Just saying! 🤘
?Stonehenge Decoded" was published about the time I was at university (1965-1970) and it explains the use of sightings from the various slots between the standing stones. The construct is useful as to tool to predict solar eclipses, among other things. It was very accurately set up and the most questionable sighting is the result of a modern repositioning of a stone that had fallen. As a side note, there is a second edition of the book that goes into later research on further uses of the stone rings.
Thank you!
It has long occurred to me that the "ancients," studied ... and, mastered ... the sky, and the seasons. That was almost the totality of what they had to observe, relate to, and by which they could exist. As you pointed out, they also had human brains. I also think it reasonable to assume that today's view of science VS faith, wasn't a matter of "either/or," then. The two realms had to co-exist on some level. What we call the study of "mythology," was man's need to deal with OBSERVATION, and EXPLANATION, working together.
My father used to tease his theory about Stonehenge. He said that it was a practical joke. A bunch of guys were sitting around the fire, enjoying their Mead. And, they hatched a plan: -- "Hey, here's what we do. We pile some boulders around, in a circle, and make them wonder what it is. We can drive them crazy, for millennia."
Next do the Great Pyramid of Giza
Every society, once they progressed past struggling for daily food and shelter, built instruments or structures to determine time and change of seasons. I think it was a basic human goal that illustrated our attempt to integrate our lives into the rhythm of natural world. ( My uneducated guess.)
Hey Dr. Neil The Grace Tyson (thanks voice to text I'm not even going to correct it). I've been going through some rough stuff... but hearing your explanations and wild laughter while talking about incredible topics kind of keeps me going sometimes. Even if it's just a distraction.
I was/still am the type of kid that would go to the library, THE LIBRARY, and I would pull the max book limit and all I would get was science books of all kinds and biology books and astronomy books. Okay fine... I also grabbed a couple Garfield comics. Don't judge me!
And now I have TH-cam and I don't ever *actually read* much about anymore and I kind of feel guilty about it. I somehow erratically change the subject lol..
Ok, just let me go okay! You're an inspiration and everything you do all of the time makes me smile!! Thank you for being you!!
Before you start about Stone Henge, the conjecture that there is something to do with this structure. A man in 1930’s shifted and moved shuffled and thought he was doing a good job remodelling but we now have no references to confirm or deny.
"If it is there when you arrive, why not use it" Same (probably) for the Sphinx.
My favorite cartoon, or one of them anyway, is a Charles Addams cartoon of a giant laying on his side playing with the stones like leggos.
The Ring if Brodgar in the Orkneys is an impressive stone circle too. Check that one out sometime.
There’s a Stonehenge replica in Biggs, Oregon. My mom took my brother and I one Easter… it was a great time!!
The secret to understanding Stonehenge is to map the shoreline which was at 90 meters. As humans settle along the water, this will explain everything. The ritual importance of Stonehenge is that it is located where the river Avon meets the sea. Once you realize what you are looking at, you'll struggle to comprehend the immense size of this civilization and how advanced it was. There is not an inch of this island that is not formed and sculpted by human hands, there was no wilderness at all in Neolithic Britain.
They had a peculiar way of demarking the shoreline which makes it easy to see in satellite images.
I visted Stonehenge in 1975 on a highschool adventure. Touched them all and tried climbing a smaller stone. There was numerous inscribed names on some of the largest vertical ones dating back to the 17th century. 😏
You've been to Kilmartin Glen! I'm impressed. Next time you're in the area, try Callanish, it's older than Stonehenge and has a great, and unusual, origins myth.
You guys have some good co-hosts but Chuck is the best.
I love this show
I live in Pembrokeshire West Wales, 25/30 miles from my home town are the preseli mountain's where you will find the blue stone's
Archaeologists got some volunteers and found out it only takes 90 people to set one of those huge stones in place after some trial and error.
Yep! The same thing happened with the Pyramids. I personally believe that it was Joseph, you know that son of Jacob. Jacob and the rest of his family, minus Joseph of course, since he was already there, went into Egypt to avoid the famine. Joseph who was made second in command at the time, designed and built the Pyramids to store grain in order to sell when the famine hit. The Pharaoh had inside knowledge that famine was coming seven years before it happened.
So you really think the Egytians needed someone from outside to build the pyramids for them? They needed labourers for physical works, yes, as slaves, but the construction, measurements and the planning was performed by Egyptian engineers. And even if the pyramids were used as storage for grain, we know that they were used as tombs for different pharaos and their families. The planning for the tombs was also performed by Egyptian engineers, not by Hebrews.
@herbertwest9626 --- Well, Joseph was kind of like an Egyptian, after all he was second in command, only the Pharaoh had more power than he did. He married an Egyptian woman and had two sons with her. Joseph lived long before the slavery happened to the Hebrews. According to Wik. The first Pyramid built in Egypt was in 1308 BCE, that is right around the time that Joseph lived. Granted some bodies of the Pharaohs were found in a tomb or two, but generally they were empty. Probably raided long before Archaeology became a thing. Originally they were built to store grain, they have a CAP stone on them to keep the grain dry. If they were used as the tombs of Pharaoh's , why have a Capstone at all, for what purpose would that serve.
Neil, you missed your chance to have Nigel Tufnel explain again how Stonehenge was constructed. The idea to use Nigel during a National Geographic special was just as hilarious as Nigel’s description.
You used to be able to touch the rocks but people kept chipping bits of it to take as souvenirs
Well, yeah, that's awesome that he figured out how Stonehenge was connected to astrology, the solstice, and predictions for both lunar and solar eclipse. But, the greatest mystery it will never let go, is how it was done and set up. Also, why there. What led to the location chosen for this incredible feat?😮❤
Neil De grass Tyson’s , has a gift of connecting to you in a level that makes you feel like you know something about science and galaxies! 🤓Lol !! Thats how he makes you interested to learn, and that’s what’s special about him! 🤩
That is the common skill of REAL genius=== To simplify complex issues and have the ability to make the complications understandable to lesser minds! Read “Philosophy for Dummies” by Tom V Morris”, another genius!
@@msmith53 I don’t know if I would use the word lesser minds! That’s a rude statement! The human mind is certainly not lesser, is just not been trained in certain subjects or never had a interest in them! I also don’t like title of those books for Dummies it is actually a turn off, the title Sounds arrogant and condescending! In my opinion. But I agree with you about the genius of Neil Tysons! He is amazingly humble and fun to watch and listen to , that’s how you learn from him! 🤩
Stone henge is not near London lol fair play for going there spontaneously, it’s about 2-3 hours drive 💪🏼
@4:45 Chuck, you genius xD
Yeah! New explainer!
13:47 *EXACTLY* , and this same rationale applies to all "alien-explained" phenomena or buildings out there: pyramids, submerged cities, Atlantis (if there was ever one), etc.
Thousands still gather there on the eve of solstice and dance and play music amoung the stones, a great pagan tradition.
The earliest stone circles are in Orkney islands Scotland, The culture spread from there,
They were in France 2,000 years earlier than Britain... it seems unlikely they'd skip all of the mainland and start in a North-West Scotish island.
Man, why aren't we friends already. I know so few people who enjoy engaging in thought provoking conversation. It would be an absolute pleasure to just bounce ideas off of you.
I believe Nigel St Hubbins had already covered this.
Dude us chillin
Am I right in thinking that the tilt of the Earth has changed since Stonehenge was built, so all the alignments are off?
My theory is " A bunch of interesting extra large stones with No Hinges" THEND.👁️👁️
My dad sounded just like that about Stonehenge. He's passed now but said "we used to be able to climb on Stonehenge"😂
Neil you are so dope o watch all of of vids
Time to move ALL satellite functions to manned orbiting platforms, in various orbits, where companies can subscribe to the latest in monitoring technologies, rather than put the whole cost of satellite development and launch on individual companies, where their hardware becomes obsolete before launch date, and can't be upgraded.
oh yesss! sit down everybody!
Your silly and much 😜 love for keeping us informed 😉
Neil, let Chuck get his jokes off!!! Its half the reason I'm here man
You did indeed invent ’Manhattan-Henge’
Maybe Blue Stone was used because there was a quarry that would precut the blue stone for trade or money.
Evening guys
13:04 I do believe in human ingenuity
My first thought.......why didn't they build it closer to the stone source??????......My second thought........if my existence is tied to, if my crop fails I starve to death.......knowing the seasons.......summer solstice and winter solstice......will allow me to know the best times to plant my seeds...........then Stonehedge is simply the first farmers almanic.
The Stonehenge topic got me wondering what Neil's thoughts are on the topic of advanced ancient civilizations or ancient lost knowledge. The topic that people like Randall Carlson, Graham Hancock, Brian Muraresku, Jimmy Corsetti, and Ben Van Kerkwyk dig into. Things ranging from the Younger Dryas Impact to the Archimedes Palimpsest, a set of texts that contained the beginnings of calculus many hundreds of years before Isaac Newton was born but was hidden under religious writings for centuries. Where could we be now if it were not for these setbacks? Setbacks caused both by nature and by ourselves.
Does he always have stargazer lilies in the background?
I want to work with #StarTalk in some way
Is there a website or application that can help to predict the recurrence of asterisms and alignments?
I know Steve Waskneeyack too,...
But does he know me Chuck.
Now what is you take on Mayan great calendar, Now that we are in the 3rd and last faze?
" NY Times. Stay in your lane. I got this." I love that.😂
One of the reasons I respect Neil is that he gives credit to ancient people for their ability to think. They less technological in the modern sense of the word, but they were not fools.
That's correct they were no fools. I would love to hear Neil's take on the Dogon Tribe's knowledge of the Sirius star system, particularly Sirius B. I would value his opinion on this.
He mentioned his theory on how the stones were moved but I've always wondered how they were gotten upright and then elevated.
the more I researched history the more I understood that ancient history had thousands of years more than the AD we live in, and all those civilizations were advanced in some way, I think what really lacked was good and fast communication, and still in those times they knew how important it was to have faster communication.
@@PauloSousa86 So true!
Cool opinion
i love that last comment; "Just because you cant figure out how ancient people did something, doesnt mean aliens did it"
What staff! You're sitting in your basement Infront of your cam and mike
Whos mike?
My family lived in London and the first time we drove to Devon we had to take a road called the A303 because the motorway hadn't been built. Stonehenge was still unprotected in those days, we stopped in the early morning and went to see the stones, being able to touch them and look around. It's a really lovely memory I have.
Did the same when I was 14. You could just walk up to it. Not like now . But that was 64 years ago.
I remember wandering into Downing Street and standing for a photo in front of No. 10. How times have changed...
In Ireland we have a neolithic tomb (Newgrange) that is technically a building. It's 5000 years old (older than the pyramids), and on the winter solstice, the chamber in the centre lights up because of the alignment of the sun on that day. I think it's much more interesting than stonehenge, but I might be biased. It has carved swirls and striped patterns in the rocks.
Sounds like it's more stylish, at least. Credit where it's due.
Didn't ZZ TOP write a song about that ?
Sounds like the native American carvings. Southwest I think maybe Navajo.
I live half an hour from stonehenge. I am one of those old fellas reminiscing about climbing the stones in my youth. I wanted to carve my initials in the stones (that were partially leaning over at the time), but my dad said no!
Nobody cares
Chuck Nice makes these episodes 'fun' to watch.. his commentary is priceless!! Thanks Neil and Chuck!!
I grew up not far from Stonehenge, and as you might be aware there is a military base near by. I was surprised to learn that the stones have been reseated many times and before it was restored in the early 1960's and treated with a bit of modern respect (though even back then you could park your car at the gate and walk around, touch the stones etc). There is a story of my late great-uncle and a bunch of his mates getting pretty hammered and stealing a stone using an army landrover. One officer spotted it and immediately knew who the ringleader was, and so kicked them out of bed before dawn (while they were still all drunk) to return it!
I've got a pic of of my dad and me.leaning on a "stone"
I lived on the military base for many years and would take my children on picnics near the stones as it was less than a quarter mile from my house
Ive sat on them at the free festival
That’s why there’s a fence around it now.
Why wasn’t Chuck invited id low key be upset
I sure deep down he was. Since the other staff was.
Chuck looked a bit miffed he wasn’t invited to London 😢
Bro! Kinda feel bad for him Lol 🤣
I had a copy of Stonehenge Decoded which I lost in the 70s, but not before I had visited Stonehenge at a time when you could walk amongst the stones and see some of the alignments that Hawkins wrote about. It's a fascinating place and you can't go into it anymore because some yobs decided to go and break some of the blue stones later in the 70s. I don't know if they were ever caught but if they were they should've been sentenced to 5000 years in prison.
I agree with you and the people who moved the stones in the twenties and again in the fifties should have been locked up too.
That is a harsh sentence considering that there was a time when you were given a stone chipping hammer from the tour organizers, so that you could take a souvenir home.
@@secheltfishmarket6419 I should like to know your source for that information.
Thanks for this one Neil. I think it deserves a whole hour podcast to discuss Stonehenge. I lived in Tidworth in 1968. I went to boarding school so was only there for the holidays. Obviously my father was in the Army. I would cycle up to the stones and sit among them. There was no one to shoo me off, it was just great. Just sitting there felt tingling. The stones had something in them. I wish I went more, but at 16 I had other interests too. Listen, you hardly covered it, do a full blown Startalk on Stonehenge with an expert who knows their stuff. It linked the movements of the sun and moon and included the ancestors too. That was the religion of the time, 4500 years ago in Britain.
they still hold stored power: a battery. who knows what those in the know could achieve
@@jorgegonzalez-larramendi5491 They fetched the large blue stones all the way from Pembrokeshire in Wales. That's about 180 miles away and across the Severn Estuary to Wiltshire. I guess they thought that they were really special to do that. Also, that was 2500 years BC, which is late Neolithic. The tremendous effort of those people at the time has to be felt in the stones. Good job the Victorians didn't knock it down or move everything away. To me, at the time, when you could sit among the stones, the quiet and the sheer enormity of the place puts your mind in a special place. Certainly my mind at least. I feel very lucky to have those memories.
@@Tim67620
I watched the documentary about the stones to it blew my mind. I just thought they didn’t know much about anything but they were obviously really clever.
I live right next to some stone monuments, literally 100m away,I should probably see if they align to anything ( any date and time )
@@drewthatsme6212 You're very lucky to be close to some stone monuments. Most Henges include a wall and ditch as well as stones and they are generally circular, since the movement of the Sun and Moon is circular. It would be interesting to see if they align to the main Solstices. The shortest day is December 21st. I would think they would mark the setting Sun on the shortest day and the rising Sun on the longest day. Some say it tracks the Moon too but I'm not so sure. It was all about Ancestors and the power of the Sun. There are many Circles and Henges in Britain but Stonehenge is, by far, the greatest. If your stones are circular then find an east-west alignment and wait for a Solstice to test it out. They can be natural and they can be more modern copies. I hope that yours is a real one.
You don’t have to wait….look up the angle of sunrise on any given day of the year at any location
Nice thanks guys! Since it’s not every day I get a chance to correct Neil...the Blues stones are from Wales around 120 miles away (a bit more than a few miles). The larger stones are from within 25 miles away (Marlborough) but some are 30 tones.
Ylvis has a good explainer on Stonehenge. Is it a giant birthday cake or a prison far too easy to escape?
Hi Neil, I think it's about time we stop pedestalizing the Stonehenge because almost every tribal culture have it. Come to Northeast India, you will find lots of similar stone monuments.
The first time my wife and I visited the UK, we took a tour to Stonehenge. It was humbling to stand there where the stones had stood for centuries. I was impressed with the fact that those stones were placed so close to the highway so that people could see them more easily. :)
Well, technically, they placed the highway near Stonehenge. Stonehenge is just a wee bit older..
OMG! Stones "a tad bit older" than highway. ROFL
Clearly some people didn't get your joke!!! Anyway, it's not mere "centuries"; it's Millenia.
It’s also handy that they put the stones near the big car park😂
I love that they put the stones only an hour from my house, so considerate!
Plot twist: Neil's primary job as head alien on Earth is to reaffirm the belief that aliens r not among us😂
Can we do Egyptian pyramids next 😊
Everyone knows it was Merlin, not aliens, that moved the stones.
I finally found Chuck on Tik Tok and I am not disappointed. Thanks to both of you for doing this.
Mr. Tyson . . . I love how you explain things and have helped bring Science to so many people. ALSO . . . Love the comfy tattered neckline of your shirt. Double thumbs up for showing your just a normal dude like the rest of us.
Dr. Tyson *
That's my favorite part about Neil! I wear stuff out too.. Especially when it's super comfy! Stay real, Neil!
Our Neolithic ancestors were amazing! Astroarchology is a thing! Both hunter- gatherers and farmers must keep track of seasons for their survival. I really know they knew more about astronomy than I. BTW The residents of early Neolithic were called Western Hunter Gatherers. They had dark skin and blue eyes. Yes genetic work has been done. Pre-Indo-European migrations into England.
Reminds me of how the Aztecs (actually Mexicas) lived more than thousands years after Teotihuacan, so for them, other ancient pyramids where already part of a heritage that probably was already a mystery to them. On top of that, Mesoamerica also gathers many cities constructed in align to astronomical observance. Perhaps this could be a good opportunity to schedule a talk with an astroarcheologist or archeoastronomer.
The uncovering or ,the finding of the main/extravagantly enormous metropolis would be interesting find,perhaps using radar technology from helicopters or bi planes in the future we will know where they once existed/were established, Aztecs are a lesser understood civilisation as were the Sumerians.
Neil, Chuck, would you consider doing an episode on the science/ science fiction of Doctor Who? And your special guest could be someone like Steven Moffat? Topics like what would the implications be if we could somehow invent/ harness the technology of the TARDIS. The real world science behind how “it’s bigger on the inside”? And possibly an astrophysical insight of the possibility of such an advanced civilization like “Time Lords” even existing. Citing examples from The Fermi Paradox, The Great Filter, and the Drake Equation. Would be a great show. Thoughts?
~~Please!~~
I love that Chuck is a sustainability guy
Another even older one to consider, is Newgrange in Meath, Ireland. It has a feature that is based on the winter solstice.
Most of these structures are unambiguously aligned to the winter, not the summer, solstice. So it seems likely Stonehenge is the same.
Visited Stonehenge a few weeks ago. First off, it's just off a major A road, which is weird. Driving from town to town and whoop, there's Stonehenge off in the field. Also, it's not one thing. It's surrounded by barrows and other structures. They had quite a long time to develop the display. They needed a ceremonial location. They found the cycle of the year powerful. They could see the night sky and knew about that cycle too. So they lined up their interest in the cycles with their rituals and bam, stones in a ring. We tell ourselves stories about it, because in the absence of testimony we make up answers. We do the same thing they did. Just with less long-lived structures.
Isn’t that what you’re doing too? Like just because you believe it was for rituals doesn’t make it true. Why is your opinion somehow more valid than one of the best scientific minds of the 21st century?
😆How dare they not invite Lord Chuck to the Solstice celebration! No more playing Nice! It's time to get Stone Un-henged!🤣
The reason why Stonehenge is in my head was seeing it as the default wallpaper in Windows XP. It probably registered in my mind though I paid very little attention to it and maybe as a resultant of repeatedly seeing it. It built up curiosity and I started googling it. Windows still does a good job of sparking curiosity with Spotlight - their version of lockscreen as a window into the world.