Layout and Location - The Stones and the Stars: Building Scotland's Newest Megalith - page 130

F IG . 5.9 Knappers central plan, from “The Druid Temple Explained”
“activated” under an open sky, not within the gloom of a building
more than 120 ft across.
If we stick to the hypothesis of off-center viewpoints, how-
ever, we seem to be on the right track. If the inner sanctum was
solar and the inside of the horseshoe was for major lunar stand-
stills, then it seems indisputable that the next ring out was for
minor standstill events (Fig. 5.9 ) . There may even be support for
this interpretation in folklore. Earth mazes, known as “Nine Men's
Morris” or “Troy Town,” were used in rural summer solstice ritu-
als until Elizabethan times, at least [ 11 ].
Mann believed that the posts projected about 18 in. above
the ground. Their bases were firmly packed with clay and small
stones. At least 3,300 pieces of dressed timber were used on