Ley Lines: The Greatest Landscape Mystery

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A statistical analysis of lines concluded: "the density of archaeological sites in the British landscape is so great that a line drawn through virtually anywhere will 'clip' a number of sites.

It also contains an illustrated directory of over 50 ley lines from the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe and tells you how you can find ley lines for yourself. Watkins believed that the Long Man of Wilmington in Sussex depicted a prehistoric " dodman" with his equipment for determining a ley line. Ley lines ( / l eɪ/) are straight alignments drawn between various historic structures, prehistoric sites and prominent landmarks. Following sustained archaeological criticism, the ley hunter community dissipated in the 1990s, with several of its key proponents abandoning the idea and moving into the study of landscape archaeology and folkloristics.Part of archaeologists' objections was their belief that prehistoric Britons would not have been sophisticated enough to produce such accurate measurements across the landscape. Remembering [ley lines] exist is a way for us to find stillness and quiet, and to see the earth as animated. The term ley derived from the Old English term for a cleared space, with Watkins adopting it for his lines because he found it to be part of the place-names of various settlements that were along the lines he traced. It gives a detailed history of the subject from its Edwardian roots, through the hippy revival of the 1960s and 70s, to the rational and multidisciplinary approach of the late 1990s.

However, as most authors know, books can take on a life of their own and the arc of their journeys can shift in unpredictable ways. The combination of architectural structures engineered to cross specific paths in geometric patterns and all of it linked to ancient customs and cultures. One ley lines enthusiast, Philip Heselton, established the Ley Hunter magazine, [23] which launched in 1965.

Very comprehensive book, easy to read, full of information, full coverage on all main aspects of the phenomena, best book for a full introduction on the subject who also displays plenty of examples on the subject.

Whether your interest is simply to walk and enjoy the gloriou s countryside of the region, with its high sweeping skies, or whe ther you enjoy tracing its archaeology and history, this book wil l be both useful and enriching. By the 1990s, British archaeology had become more open to ideas about language and cognition, topics that Earth Mysteries enthusiasts had long been interested in.

It was only in the 1980s that professional archaeologists in Britain began to engage with the ley hunting movement. Walking those lines of energy [feels] like a way of intentional healing, of showing gratitude and awareness to those places. Contrary to this, the modern western world pivots towards individualism, capitalism's bed fellow, leaving many feeling lonely and lacking connection to place and community. During the 1960s, Watkins' ideas were revived in altered form by British proponents of the countercultural Earth Mysteries movement.