Thornborough Henges aligned to Orion's Belt before the Pyramids at Giza

The Thornborough Henges are thought to be a religious site that is 5,000 years old; it comprises the world's only triple henge complex with 2 cursus joining the henges. They are in an area near Ripon, North Yorkshire noted for its barrows and henges that lead in a South East direction to the 3 monoliths at Boroughbridge known as the "Devils Arrows"

The scale is massive, the diameter of each henge is 240 metres and the whole length of the henge is approximately a mile. The size of this ancient monument is best seen on Google Earth (below) - with the yellow line shown as exactly 1 mile. The most northerly henge being best preserved by the small circular wood .

The scale of each henge can be seen in the picture below as it gets turned into a car park on the festival of Beltaine 2013: .

Here is where the henges get interesting, the lines joining the henges do not form a straight line but actually is shaped as a dog leg reflecting precisely the stars on the belt of Orion. Even the BBC notes the alignment:

"It (Thornborough) may have been the first monument in the world aligned to Orion, predating the pyramids by 1,000 years."

As well as bringing this place to the attention of the people of ATS (this very important place is not even signposted nor marked with a plaque), I think the interesting point is seeing another mention of Orions Belt amongst the ancient civilisations.

Very interesting find...I remember gazing at an aerial view of pyramids in Giza, wondering why the 3 weren't aligned in a straight line--it was years later when I read that they were aligned according to the stars in Orion's belt. As soon as I read it, knew this must be the answer....Now I wonder how many other ancient constructs feature this same alignment...and what's up with Orion?

originally posted by: Zoyd23
Very interesting find...I remember gazing at an aerial view of pyramids in Giza, wondering why the 3 weren't aligned in a straight line--it was years later when I read that they were aligned according to the stars in Orion's belt. As soon as I read it, knew this must be the answer....Now I wonder how many other ancient constructs feature this same alignment...and what's up with Orion?

A line from Orion's belt to Sirius will point to where the Sun will rise on the Winter Solstice

farmersalmanac.com...

Cool thread thanks for the info.

I'd be interested to know what we're the weather conditions like back then and what was the social structure and events?

a reply to: stormcell

A line from Orion's belt to Sirius will point to where the Sun will rise on the Winter Solstice

The stars of Orion's belt always "line up" with Sirius. Not perfectly, but the approximate line up is always exactly the same. I suppose that if you happen to look at them at exactly the right time of night they will be pointing to where the Sun will rise on the solstice. Or any number of other days of the year for that matter because they "point" to a whole lot of places on the horizon as they move across the sky. In other words, that claim makes no sense.

But it's not surprising that Orion's belt would catch peoples' eye, then and now. It's probably the most striking asterism in the sky.

originally posted by: stormcell


A line from Orion's belt to Sirius will point to where the Sun will rise on the Winter Solstice

farmersalmanac.com...

Ok thats pretty awesome, thanks for sharing that little tidbit.

Just curious, is there a gov't agency that tends to these kind of sites or do the land owners whose property they are on take care of them? Or is the property owned by the state? They look mowed and well maintained.

originally posted by: Phage
... it's not surprising that Orion's belt would catch peoples' eye, then and now. It's probably the most striking asterism in the sky.

The sword also contains the Orion Nebula, which make it kinda singular. There...the extent of my knowledge of astronomy.

This site is only about 30 miles south of where I live.

Shamefully I've never been there and don't really know much about the place.

It certainly doesn't receive much exposure or publicity.

Tarmac owns the site and the surrounding area. They have conducted mining nearby for quite a few years and some of the relics surrounding the henges may have been damaged.
I can recall recent plans to extend their quarrying even closer to the monument site but to be honest I'm not sure if permission has been granted or if work has begun.

en.wikipedia.org...

Think I'll have to try and educate myself about this site and its history etc.....think I'll also have a drive down to the site some time soon.

a reply to: Freeborn
Thanks for the info. So, if I read all that right, Tarmac should just suck it up that they bought property with a significant site and be proud stewards of this treasure instead of trying to dig closer to it.

Am I correct in thinking that under the Valletta Treaty the EU Committee of Ministers could get involved if needed? Has that ever happened with any of the archaeological sites in the UK or is pretty much in the hands of the locals?

a reply to: quercusrex

I agree with the point you made about Tarmac - unfortunately we live in times where the obsessive desire for profit far outweighs preserving local or world cultural heritage.

To be honest I don't know much about the Valletta Treaty but upon first reading I'd guess your assessment is correct.

I'll post updates if or when I have any.