Sighthill Stone Circle

[stargazer]

A campaign is underway to preserve the Sighthill Stone Circle, built in 1979, dedicated to four outstanding researchers in the field of ancient astronomy: the late Professor Alexander Thom and Dr. Archie Thom, Prof. Archie Roy and Dr. Euan MacKie
More information can be found here: http://www.sighthillstonecircle.net/index.asp

Below are a few letters printed in The Herald over the past few days..
It would be a tragedy to destroy Sighthill stone circle December 28 2012
I am writing to add my voice to those who are petitioning Glasgow City Council that the modern stone circle at Sighthill – erected in the late 1970s under the guidance of Duncan Lunan – be preserved from destruction.
The idea of the circle was to remind people that new research, mainly by Alexander Thom, was then suggesting that in the third millennium BC our Neolithic forefathers possessed many more esoteric skills than orthodox archaeological research had suspected up until then.
In particular, the new circle was aligned on the midsummer sunrise and, in the opposite direction, the midwinter sunset, to commemorate the numerous astronomical alignments which Mr Thom has discovered in prehistoric standing stones and stone circles.
The circle was dedicated to four researchers with connections to Glasgow: Mr Thom (of the University of Oxford but then living in retirement in Dunlop, Ayrshire), his son Archie Thom (department of engineering, University of Glasgow), Dr Archie Roy (department of astronomy, University of Glasgow) and myself.
I was the only professional archaeologist of the four, and am the only one still active in research. I was then at the Hunterian Museum in the university. A time capsule was buried during construction containing books and articles by the four of us.
Partly because they implied a fundamental re-think about the nature of British Neolithic society, Mr Thom's ideas were always controversial among archaeologists, but it did then seem possible that some of them might be accepted.
Unfortunately since then my profession, which does tend towards conservatism, has turned its collective back on those controversies and (with the occasional exception) no longer discusses Mr Thom's ideas or searches for evidence to test them.
This attitude is well represented by the words of an ex-colleague at the Hunterian who not long ago said about a lecture I was to deliver on the subject: "I don't believe any of that."
However, over the past 15 or so years there has been a steady accumulation of a diversity of new evidence suggesting Mr Thom was essentially right in many, if not most, of his main deductions.
It would, I think, be a tragedy if the Sighthill circle – this far-sighted memorial to his work – was destroyed just as the tide was beginning to turn in archaeology, and when our view of our prehistoric ancestors was starting to change fundamentally.
Euan MacKie

Preserving Sighthill stones is imperative December 29 2012
As the custodian of the research by my great grandfather Alexander Thom and my grandfather Archie Thom, I am writing to add my family's support for the maintenance and completion of the Sighthill stone circle.
Alexander was an engineer and has a building named after him in the campus of Oxford University. The monument in Glasgow is recognition of his massive efforts in the study of our megalithic ancestors.
It seems a remarkable opportunity in building for a potential sports event to have this work incorporated and celebrated in a newly invigorated part of the city: regeneration with heritage built in. Surely when the city takes on wonderful events it should be respectful of and harmonious with the culture and fabric of that city.
As a visual artist I am aware of the invaluable power generated when art links with other subjects to create a dialogue for people to interact with. The Sighthill stones are an exemplar of this. The stones have been meticulously placed to align precisely in two directions to the celestial bodies, according to the theories of the Thoms. The four great minds that are honoured were all associated with the city of Glasgow and Scotland.
When Duncan Lunan and his team began the project, it was in advance of its time as an artwork that talks to the stars and the people of Sighthill, placing both in their universal place. It cuts across heritage, astronomy, geography, community and space in a wonderful way. Ironically, there was an inflatable Stonehenge entitled Sacrilege parachuted into the city in the summer. It provided a lot of fun and chat but let us please not lose sight of the power and depth in the Sighthill stones in the days where other civic sites are being pulled down.
The Sighthill stones should not be removed, they should be completed, celebrated and cherished for future generations to learn about our ancient past in their own city.
Eoghann MacColl

Now is an appropriate time for a vow to let stone circle stand 31 December 2012
Dr Euan MacKie's letter (December 28) gains added poignancy from the near-simultaneous announcement of the death of Professor Archie Roy.
I first learned of the astronomy of ancient Britain when I studied under Dr Roy (as he then was) in 1963-65, and he proposed me for manager of the Glasgow Parks Astronomy Project, which built the first astronomically aligned stone circle for more than 3000 years, in Sighthill Park in 1978-79. The original brief was to build a copy of an ancient site in modern materials, but once I had shown the need to design a new monument according to ancient principles, I urged that we build it in stone and dedicate it to Professor Alexander Thom, Dr Archie Thom, Dr MacKie and Dr Roy, all experts in ancient astronomy and all connected with Glasgow University and the city.
With Prof Roy's death, Dr MacKie is the only remaining dedicatee, and this comes at a time when the future of the stone circle is under threat. At a meeting with Glasgow City Council's Development and Regeneration Services (DRS) in November I was told the circle had to be demolished at an early date, to check the ground for chemical contamination, in order to show Glasgow is serious about bidding for the Youth Olympics in 2018. However those checks had to be made in 1978 before planning approval for the circle's foundations was granted, and the trenches dug for the foundations proved the ground was clean. I was shown plans for a "green pedestrian street" to run from Springburn to the M8, but putting a bend in it would bypass the stone circle and make it an attraction instead of an obstacle.
At the meeting with DRS I was challenged to give numbers of people who visit and use the circle. I couldn't do so then, but the hundreds of people who have now signed the petition – http://www.sighthillstonecircle.net, Save Our Stones – with added comments, make clear that it means a great deal, to many people. Despite what I was told in November, there have been five statements from the council saying no decision on the circle's future has been taken, and this would be a good time for a promise to let the circle stand.
Duncan Lunan

[stargazer]

West Kintyre Stargazers are pleased to announce that Duncan Lunan will be the guest speaker at our next meeting held at The Putechan, Sunday 10th February from 5pm. All welcome. Buffet available. To book your place please visit our website:
http://www.westkintyrestargazers.weebly.com