The tor maze (or not) | Forum — The Modern Antiquarian

Mustard Feb 24, 2010 12:11:48

Farming terraces/maze/other?

The farming terrace theory seems distinctly unlikely, since (as far as I'm aware) nobody builds north-facing strip-lynchets. Also, if my understanding is correct, population levels were never high enough in Glastonbury to require terracing the tor for food production.

I'm open to the maze theory, but not 100% convinced. It doesn't help that the debate seems to have polarised between the archaeologists and new-agers, with the former group (ironically) religiously avoiding the maze theory, because they associate it so strongly with the latter group. Confusing!

Opinions?

moss Feb 24, 2010 13:47:59

Replying to Mustard

A third possibility, is the strata of different levels of stone and clay according to my book.. the maze theory happened in the 1960s did'nt it, at the start of all things magical and mystical to do with prehistory and the world ;)
Anyway a Dugdale drawing (17th century) shows medieval ridge and furrow half way up the Tor, and then the lynchets. Its a fascinating thing if it did turn out to be a maze but I'm not convinced, the person who thought it was a maze took his template from Chartres cathedral which seems a bit dubious...

tjj Feb 24, 2010 23:40:04

Replying to Mustard

A good website link below to a synopsis of the book by Geoffrey Ashe The Glastonbury Tor Maze which seems a lot easier to understand than the article I mentioned earlier by Patricia Villiers-Stuart - she went into some very complicated mathematics and geometry, I struggled with it and then abandoned it.

http://www.glastonburytor.org.uk/tor-maze.html

baza Feb 25, 2010 21:44:56

Replying to Mustard

Mustard wrote:

Farming terraces/maze/other?

Funnily enough, that's what the National Monuments Record says:

http://pastscape.english-heritage.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=196702&sort=4&search=all&criteria=glastonbury%20tor&rational=q&recordsperpage=10