Ley Lines

LEY LINES

(reprinted with the kind permission of Tim Carrington.)

History

Towards the end of 1921, Alfred Watkins first made public his theory about ley lines. His first major work on the subject was published in 1925, and the book which led to my fascination with the subject, "The Ley Hunter's Manual', was first published in 1927.

Up until reading that book, my knowledge of ley lines was vague. I thought that basically they were lines on which places of importance had been built in ancient times, and my own theory was that they probably followed lines of magnetic strength In the earth's surface.

Whilst researching places in Shropshire, I kept turning up references to ley lines. Buildwas Abbey was on a ley line, Much Wenlock Priory was on a ley line, and Bitterley Church had a cross in its churchyard with a hole for a ley line. Each of these references were found in different books, although there is the possibility that their respective author's source was common. The intriguing point is that if you place a ruler on a map of Shropshire those three points are on a single line!

Coincidence? Proof? I honestly did not know. But sitting and staring at the map, I wondered which way the hole ran through the shaft of that cross in Bitterley churchyard. Now if that hole lay on the same line or bearing as Much Wenlock and Buildwas which lie some twenty miles away, could it still be passed off as coincidence? I resolved to go to Bitterley and check, but first I wanted to know more about these mysterious lines.

The Theory

Regular routes are believed to have been first laid down or used in the Neolithic period of the Stone Age. Before that, man had been a hunter and his movements were governed by the movements of his prey. These might even have followed migratory patterns as animals moved from summer to winter grazing or hunting grounds and back again. But now man's life-style was becoming comparatively more sophisticated as he became more self-reliant, choosing to farm rather than hunt, and this brought about more permanent settlements and a more settled way of life. Travel was now for a different purpose. To trade for salt or flint, to fight, to expand his territory or knowledge of his area.

His travelling would now be done in a more logical manner and might even have had a religious or superstitious basis. What is important to remember is that Neolithic man did not have a road system to follow. The traveller in those times had to ensure he had made mental notes of the distance travelled, the direction and the salient features of his route. After all, he had to find his way back again.

We are taught at school that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. The theory of straight line travel is interesting. Most people with average balance can walk a straight line with their eyes closed. There is also a theory that there is a virtually redundant part of the human brain that acts as a compass by detecting the earth's magnetic field, and that such a part is still very much active in some species such as migrating birds and large aquatic mammals.

I doubt whether prehistoric man or pigeon ever knew which direction they were travelling in relation to a compass, but I am sure that they both knew when they were straying from their initial line, such as deviation being sensed by balance, which is necessary when turning left or right, and by the brain's magnetic sensor when deviating from from a given line at a slower rate.

If one can imagine being the first person to go into a specific area with no previous knowledge of that area, one can imagine how ley lines might have been formed. A man in that position would automatically head from high ground to high ground so as to get the maximum views of the countryside for the simple reason it gave him fore-knowledge of what might be in his path, such as lakes, rivers or other natural features which might hinder or help his progress.

As he became more familiar with the territory, he might have supplemented his surveying with signs of his own, such as mounds of earth or stones, earthen walls he might build for his own security or shelter, clearings where he might make a temporary home and, as an area became more populated, so the number of places of importance would increase and, subsequently, the number of ley lines.

Later civilisations, who built first of wood and then of stone, would still tend to use those existing lines of communication. In many cases, when the Romans first paved roads, they were simply widening and paving existing paths for use by their wheeled transport.

The Ley Line Signs

Let us first list the possible marks that prehistoric man might have used and see what could remain of them today. According to Alfred Watkins, to survey a ley line prehistoric man would have needed two staves, strangely similar to the modern surveyor who, in effect, uses two sticks, one of them being a little more sophisticated in that it is capable of measuring angle, azimuth and even distance. The reason that two sticks are needed is that if two are placed vertically in line with a distant object, one can then survey in either direction.

In the Welsh tongue there survives a possible sign of these ancient surveyors. It is the word dodi, meaning to lay, place, set or to plant. The word dod also exists in the North of England and means a small rounded hill, usually on the shoulder of a larger one and, also, a staff. Then the word is also found in place names such as Dodford, Dodlee and Dodman's Point. Even more curious is an old English name for the common snail, which is "dodman", for he carries the two staves on his head. And what about a doddering old man with his two sticks? And so, with his two sticks or staves, the prehistoric traveller would set out on his travels. I suppose they could even be used for carrying things in the form of a travois (as seen in in use by Red Indians in all good Westerns); a form of sledge formerly used by North American Indians to carry goods, consisting of two joined poles pulled for a horse.

Alfred Watkins coined the term "ley lines" to indicate these ancient tracks and his choice was probably a wise one. It is possible that the Welsh "Llan", a prefix now indicating the site of a church is from the same root as the Saxon word "ley", as inAstley, Bitterley, Minsterley etc. The word "ley" or "lea" originally meant a clearing or a pasture which would imply a settlement. This, again, wouldbe easily spotted from vantage points. Alfred Watkins maintains that often a ley line passed through the centre of a pond or lake which had an island in it and that the old English name for such an island is "leye". He also goes on to include beacons showing that these were originally a guiding light. Judging by the charcoal remains found in barrows, it is fairly conclusive that that beacons were lit on barrows. Strangely, "leye" is an obsolete word for flame and beacon and beckon are the same in Anglo-Saxon. Alfred Watkins goes further in his book in tracing place names and surnames and bringing them, logically, into his theory. But that is enough theory for the moment. Let us now apply the theory and see what happens.

The Applied Theory

I took a ten kilometer square as my initial research ground, using the right-hand half of an Ordnance Survey Map SJ 20/30. My choice of this was simply based on the fact that it included my village of residence in Worthen and would make any actual field trips that much easier. I then circled all forts, mottes, castles, earthworks, rings and a standing stone; finding a total of fifteen in that ten- kilometre square. I found eight different combinations where three or more such sites fell into line and those eight combinations covered all but three of the total.

So? I can hear you ask. The law of averages means that some will fall into line. Well, I agree and, so to check the law of averages, I drew fifteen crosses at random on the back of the map but could only find three combinations where three of those crosses lay in a single line. I then returned to my eight combinations and studied them in detail. I found that each one had either footpaths, bridges or road junctions on those lines, or that the lines could be projected to take in other sites outside my research area.

The most interesting was the line from Castle Ring on Rorrington Hill through the motte at Village Farm to Caus Castle. This line also intersects a bridge over a stream, follows existing footpaths and roads and also intersects Worthen Church and my garden shed! So what does it all prove? The answer to that is it proves whatever the individual wants to prove. But there is far too much logic behind Alfred Watkins' theories for it to be merely the work of an imaginative mind.

Review

l. There used to be prehistoric man in Shropshire.

2. They travelled from site to site to trade and explored.

3. Without transport they must have walked, carrying whatever load they had.

Consequently, they would have chosen the shortest route as they were not hampered by hedges, fences or rights of way. Accepting these facts and, assuming that the volume of traffic was such that a footpath would be worn, can we trace the footpath today?

I think we can, but I have left the most important aspect until last. Whether one believes in ley lines or not is, in fact, immaterial. But the study of ley lines, whether to prove or disprove the theory does introduce a new way to discover our beautiful country. Most of the initial work, using an Ordnance Survey map can be done in an evening or when it is too wet for ducks. The field research can be left to when the weather is fine.

Ley Line Hunting

Try the area to the south and east of the Longmynd and remember that the Romans often paved earlier routes. Try the road through Wistanstow (the old Roman Road and see what you can find along the line.

Another method is to take two hill forts, for example, the ones on Caer Caradoc, near Church Stretton, and the one on the Wrekin. Then draw a line between the two and see what else it goes through. Good Hunting!

Footnote

Of course, there is the question about the hole in the cross at Bitterley, which I still haven't examined. Then there is the question of my garden shed. It is believed that Worthen Church, with its 12th-century origins, is on the site of a much earlier building. Could my garden shed have been part of that site; perhaps the stable? My daughter, when about 4 years old, maintained that there were four horses living in there and, one of them she claimed, was a faery horse. Just a child's imagination, you say? Perhaps, but maybe she knows about ley lines. After all, her name is Leyla!

Tim Carrington

Shopping Basket

items 0

Price £0.00

Checkout

Ley Lines

Modal Dialog Title