Stonehenge: Mysteries of the
Stones and Landscape, David Souden, Collins and Brown/English Heritage,
1997, ISBN 1 85585 291 8, hardback, 160 pp., £20.00.
Souden has provided a service by providing an
introduction to Stonehenge which includes clear colour maps and diagrams, places
the monument in the general context of megalithic culture and draws comparisons
with other astronomically-aware monument building societies, particularly the
Egyptian and Mesoamerican. Chapter 6, ‘Ritual and the Heavens’ summarises
the questions of lunar, solar and stellar alignments, including discussion of
circular rituals amongst native Americans and Alfred Watkins’ ‘ley lines’.
The book represents a clear acceptance of the view that archaeological studies
of Stonehenge should be linked to the history of the monument’s changing
interpretations, and its contemporary significance.