Stonehenge Phase I: An Openpit Coalfield Model; The First Geologic Mining School

Round about 5,000 years ago ancient South Wales coal miners transported approximately 800,000 pounds (241 cubic-metres; 8,510 cubic-feet) of South Wales "Carboniferous Limestone" (see Map below, No. 22 therein) to a South sloping hill on Salisbury Plain for the purpose of constructing an Openpit Coalfield Model of their roughly circular 'sacred boundary' South Wales Carboniferous Limestone outcrop (modeled Counterscarp Bank at Stonehenge), their roughly circular South Wales "Millstone Grit" outcrop (see Map below, No. 20 therein), and their roughly circular (centre basin) South Wales "Coal Measures" outcrop (see Map below, No. 19 therein), coating the bottom of their 56 "Coal Measures" firepits (modeled 56 Aubrey Holes at Stonehenge) with the perimetre 'sacred boundary' Carboniferous Limestone. (Note the ancient South Wales coal miners had no arial photographs 5,000 years ago believing the white stone circled their South Wales Coalfield home)

http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/jpg/South-Wales-map-1300.jpg

Today the South Wales Coalfield is mapped and well known. It is a very large basin which measures some 90 miles on its east-west axis and about 16 miles wide. The rocks of this basin belong to the Carboniferous System. This can readily be divided into three main formations; Carboniferous Limestone, the Millstone Grit, and the Coal Measures. Because of the round basin-like shape, the Carboniferous Limestone, being the oldest of the formations, forms a thin outer rim. Inside this is the Millstone Grit, with the Coal Measures being the youngest formation filling the centre of the basin. The lower coal seams rise to the surface towards the edges of the basin. Because the inclination towards the centre is much steeper on the south and east boundaries, the working of coal in more recent times was confined to the north and west edge of the coalfield. As a result, the South Wales Coalfield was later developed on an extensive scale by the Iron Masters of North Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.

In the Stone Age, Before the wheel, Coalfire was king...

The remains of an ancient African barbecue suggest our ancestors had learned to control fire nearly 1.5 million years ago. Using a new method to analyse heated bone, researchers from the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria, South Africa, and Williams College in Williamstown, Pennsylvania, have pushed back the first instance of controlled fire use by a million years. The researchers analysed burned bones collected in South Africa's Swartkrans region in 1998. Some bones appeared to have been heated to higher temperatures than others. Hearth fires can attain temperatures nearly 300 degrees Celsius higher than brush fires. For this reason, scientists suspected the bones were evidence of early fire use. Now, a technique called electron spin resonance analysis proves that the bones must have been heated to intense campfire temperatures in order to reduce so much of the material to pure carbon. One of two pre-human species living in the area at that time, Australopithecus robustus and Homo erectus, likely cooked the bones. The next-oldest evidence of fire use, in Zhoukoudian, China, is 400,000 to 250,000 years old. In comparison, Stonehenge Phase I, is 5,000 years old.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3557077.stm

1) Denke, G.W. 1973. Stonehenge Phase I: An Openpit Coalfield Model; The First Geologic Mining School (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) GDG, 73: 1-56.
2) Denke, G.W. 1975. Invertibrate Paleontology of the High Tor Limestone (Lower Carboniferous) and the Upper Senonian Chalk (Late Cretaceous) of Stonehenge. (Arizona State University) GDG, 75: 1-7.
3) Denke, G.W. 1977. Possible Source Areas of the High Tor Limestone (Early Mississippian) Fill of the Aubrey Holes and Heel Stone Ditch in Europe. (Arizona State University) GDG, 77: 1-24.
4) Beus, S.S. 1984. Fossil Associations in the High Tor Limestone (Lower Carboniferous) of South Wales. (Northern Arizona University) Journal of Paleontology, 58: 3; 651-667.
5) Denke, G.W. 1984. Mid-Dinantian (Waulsortian Facies) High Tor Limestone: The First Stones Transported to Stonehenge from the South Wales Coast. (Arizona State University) GDG, 84: 1-4.
6) Denke, G. 1984. Magnetic and Electromagnetic Surveys at Heelstone, Stonehenge, United Kingdom. (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) GDG, 84: 5-42.
7) Lees, A. and Miller, J. 1985. Facies variatian in Waulsortian buildups, Part 2; Mid-Dinantian buildups from Europe and North America. (Revised) Geological Journal, 20: 159-180.
8) Geologist, Denke, G. 1986. The Paleontology of Stonehenge, England. (Arizona State University) GDG, 86: 1-3. (State of Texas, County of Stonewall, Deed Records, Volume 393, Page 851-853)

I have long suspected that man occcupied the earth with intelligence long before previous science stated.

I'm still waiting for man to occupy the earth "with intelligence" :)

Dear All Intelligent,

The Neolithic discovery of 'magic rocks which burn' in circular South Wales Coalfield gave rise not only to Stonehenge being built, but to the Neolithic stone circles and henges built throughout Western Europe.

Neolithic News Flash... Rocks Burn In Circles...

http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/photos/GowerSWcoalfield.JPG

Dr. Garry Denke's Claim Markers*** Circling/Over Artifacts

North Western Europe Neolithic stone circles, henges, barrows, and causewayed camps' first purpose were coal exploration sites, being the remains of diggings that yielded no coal. Stones were placed in the smaller test holes, the 'stone circles', because they would silt in much faster than the deeper coal test trenches, the 'henges, barrows and causewayed camps, having no need of markers, due to their larger size. This is how the Stone Age miners recorded where not to dig in exploration for coal again, at such depths where none was previously found. No maps or coordinates were available to them in comparison to the tools used by explorationists today to record dug and abandoned sites. Given the greater quantity of 'stone circles' on the landscape, in relation to the other methods, the 'stone circling' mining exploration technique was the most popular, for it required much less digging work, and time, to evaluate potential coal bearing sites. The different patterns observable today are the result of various Neolithic coal mining exploration techniques, being the four general types mentioned. However, at some of the coal 'stone circles' exploration sites, such as Avebury, ancient miners did actually go back to retest their coal prospects sometimes, digging again in different places and depths, being convinced that a second try would yield the much needed coal, in spite of past failure. At Avebury, for instance, evidence suggests the ancient miners went back using a different technique on another go around, resulting in a 'henge' with two 'stone circles'. But alas, no coal at the populated, energy poor, Avebury. Centuries later many of these prehistoric mining exploration sites were utilized for various purposes that are well known, which anthropologists and archaeologists study in great detail, however no one has developed a comprehensive and conclusive underlying reason for these coal exploration sites in North Western Europe. This is partly because no anthropologist or archaeologist suggested, knew of, or presented any evidence of coal stone being used for any purpose in the Neolithic, and coal's actual first usage as simple campfire fuel remained hidden. Lack of evidence resulted in limiting its primary use to smelting metals, which prehistorically is untrue. The "Stone Age Coal Mining Theory" is based on the color difference of a black rock (coal) and a white rock (limestone), which currently Stonehenge anthropologists and archaeologists maintain are the same, the Theory chalking in the missing record, in black and white, of the exploration, production, and earliest usage of coal in North Western Europe. First evidence of black coal and white limestone being known in Neolithic time was discovered by the German historian, antiquarian, and Doctor Garry Denke (1622-1699), inventor of the core barrel, who cored the circular Stonehenge Mound Ditch located 100 meters (109 yards, 328 feet) E-SE of Heelstone. Roughly 58,967 kilograms (130,000 pounds) 42 cubic-meters (1,476 cubic-feet) of black Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) Westphalian Crosskeys Coal and pale-yellow Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) Namurian Millstone Grit rammed in a 113 meters (~369 feet) circumference ditch in white Late Cretaceous (Santonian) Seaford Chalk outcrop around a high mound pile of white Early Carboniferous (Arundian) High Tor (Birnbeck) Limestone had been found. Because Crosskeys black coal does not outcrop naturally at Stonehenge, its presence with pale-yellow Millstone Grit in the bottom-half of this man-made ditch around a white High Tor (Birnbeck) Limestone reef-like mound situated on a seaward sloping hill suggests Stonehenge was a geologic mining school built during that ancient quest for campfire fuel in energy poor North Western Europe's cold climate unforested areas. The main problem with the generally accepted first cause 'sun worship' theories of anthropologists and archaeologists is this: sun-filled winter days were, and still are, freezing cold during the day time; their so-called 'sun god' had let them down. The Stone Age Coal Mining Theory adheres to the fact that "Coal is a Stone" claiming that it was their hottest 'fire god' that never let the Neolithic people down, especially on sun-filled freezing cold winter days in the Stone Age.

Stonehenge Mound circled by Millstone Grit and Westphalian Coal
http://homepages.enterprise.net/sisman/PHOTOs/StoneH1.jpg
(Foreground E-SE Stonehenge Mound and Background is Stonehenge)

The Mound Ditch Coal is from South Wales Coalfield's Crosskeys
http://www.xkeys.freeserve.co.uk/geology/coalfield.gif
(Stonehenge Altar Stone from Red, Stonehenge Mound from Blue, Stonehenge
Grit from Pale-Yellow at Rim, and Stonehenge Coalstone from Black at Rim)

Neolithic Coalfield Quest for Campfire Coal in North Western Europe
http://www.anima.demon.co.uk/img/megalithdist.gif
(Non-Productive Coal Stone Sites in Blue)
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ross.cuthbertson/geol_sw/map%20uk%20coal.jpg
(Productive Coal Stone Sites in Black)

Today Explorationists Just use Maps to Record Non-Productive Sites
http://www.geo.wvu.edu/~jtoro/Petroleum/petroleum_figs/game/fig3.jpg
(Clear Circles having Quarter-circle Pegs are Non-Productive Sites)

The Stone Age Coal Mining Theory first exposed South Wales Coalfield rim as the hot play for Neolithic coal stone open-pit miners who gathered coal for campfire fuel. There are no pre-Neolithic or Neolithic stone circles, henges, barrows, or causewayed camps on or along the sides of this basin's outer rims. Why is that? The answer is there was no need to explore the rim because bituminous coal is along an easy to see narrow 'road' between black coal and white limestone. This area could quite possibly be the original discovery area of 'old black magic' itself, the first coal ignited with a wood fuel campfire built on a coal seam by chance. There has to be some reason the white Mississippian Limestone, Old Red Sandstone, black Carboniferous Coal, and pale-yellow Pennsylvanian Grit were brought to Stonehenge from this area in South Wales, don't you think? According to the Doctor, who examined the Old Red Sandstone Altar Stone and gathered samples by pale and horse, at Stonehenge, and from along South Wales' pale-yellow Millstone Grit circular rim road, counterclockwise in 1656, with black Coal to his left, and white Lime to his right; "To find coal here," he said, "Just follow the pale 'Grit' road, follow the pale 'Grit' road, follow the pale 'Grit' road..."****

South Wales Coalfield Limestone to Stonehenge tonnage/date Estimates
~400 tons from South Wales Coalfield to Stonehenge Counterscarp in ~31st century BC
~300 tons from Stonehenge Counterscarp to Stonehenge Mound in ~27th century BC
~19 tons from Stonehenge Mound (Counterscarp) to Heelstone Ditch in ~21st century BC
a) 1/4 of Counterscarp Limestone (~100 tons) still in place (see labeled "Counterscarp" in photo).
b) 3/4 of Counterscarp Limestone cored remnants (~tstm) still in place under the rebuilt topsoil.
c) 56 Coal Fire Pits (the 56 Aubrey Holes) of coated bottom cored remnants (~tstm) still in place.
d) *Stonehenge Mound is 3/4 of relocated Counterscarp Limestone (~281 tons) (to left of "Drainage Trench").
e) **Heelstone Ditch bottom-half rammed fill (~19 tons) is Counterscarp Limestone from Stonehenge Mound.

Identical fossils of the South Wales Coalfield's periphery limestone at Stonehenge

01) Aclisina
02) Aviculopecten
03) Bellerophon
04) Caninia cornucopiae
05) Chondrites
06) Cleiothyridina roissyi
07) Composita
08) Conocardium
09) Delepinea (Daviesiella) destinezi
10) Euphemites
11) Girvanella
12) Hapsiphyllum (Zaphrentis) konincki
13) Linoproductus
14) Megachonetes papilionaceous
15) Michelina grandis
16) Mourlonia
17) Murchisonia
18) Palaeosmilia
19) Plicochonetes
20) Rhipidomella michelini
21) Schellwienella cf. S. crenistria
22) Straparollus
23) Syringopora
24) Zoophycos

South Wales Coalfield Grit/Coal to Stonehenge tonnage/date Estimates
Stonehenge Mound Ditch ~113 m (~369 feet) circle circumference length ~21st century BC
Stonehenge Mound Ditch ~42 m^3 (~1,476 cubic-feet) Grit/Coal volume ~21st century BC
Stonehenge Mound Ditch ~58,967 kg (~130,000 pounds) Grit/Coal weight ~21st century BC
a) Crosskeys Coal circling Stonehenge Mound is Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) Westphalian coal.
b) Millstone Grit circling Stonehenge Mound is Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) Namurian sandstone.
c) *Stonehenge Mound itself is Early Carboniferous (Mississippian) Arundian limestone and the artifacts.

3/4's of once full circled Counterscarp used as Claim Markers
http://www.orionbeadling.net/CSCARPelev.jpg
*Gold, Silver, Brass, Iron, Wood, Stone artifacts in Stonehenge Mound.
**Gold, Iron, Wood, Stone artifacts under Heelstone wings carving.
***Discovered by Dr. Garry Denke, inventor of the core barrel.
****Grit was his horse's name, his pale hung from Grit's bridle.
http://www.freewebs.com/garrydenke

Iron (ferromagnetic) was first detected at Stonehenge Mound and under Heelstone wings by Denoco Inc.'s Schonstedt Model GA-22 Magnetic Locator in 1984, confirmed again by Denoco Inc.'s Schonstedt Model GA-52C Magnetic Locator in 1994, not by Ancient Monuments Laboratory in 1994 (unpublished). The claim markers*** for the gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, stone, artifacts, were discovered by Dr. Garry Denke using a coring tool, his core barrel invention of 1656. They are Carboniferous rocks, Upper and Lower: Stonehenge Whitestones, Gritstones, and Coalstones; in the quantities and locations listed above.

Gold, Silver, Brass, Iron, Wood, Stone, Artifacts

Anthropologists and archaeologists claim that Dr. Garry Denke discovered neither the ark of the covenant nor its 4 iron wheels at Stonehenge, such gold ark and iron wheels buried directly below Heelstone's flying eagle wings carving facing southwest (SW) at Stonehenge. Anthropologists and archaeologists also claim that he discovered neither Upper Carboniferous rocks nor Lower Carboniferous rocks at Stonehenge whose geological names and descriptions are shown below. His claim markers*** circling/over artifacts following***

The Seven (7) Rock Types at Stonehenge (3 'New'***)

1) Stonehenge White Chalk - The outcrop sedimentary rocks at Stonehenge are the Late Cretaceous Period, Santonian Age, calcium carbonates. The Late Cretaceous Period outcrop sedimentary rocks comprise the first (1st) local in situ construction material used by the Stonehenge builders. This material is approximately 85 million years old. These stones are called Seaford Chalk Formation rocks.
2) Stonehenge Whitestones*** - The oldest limestone sedimentary rocks at Stonehenge are the Early Carboniferous (Mississippian) Period, Arundian Age, calcium carbonates. The Early Carboniferous (Mississippian) Period limestone sedimentary rocks comprise the first (1st) foreign construction material used by the Stonehenge builders. This material is approximately 340 million years old. These stones are called High Tor (Birnbeck) Limestone Formation rocks.
3) Stonehenge Bluestones - The volcanic rocks (oldest geologically) at Stonehenge are the Ordovician Period intrusive igneous diabases (dolerites), and extrusive igneous felsites (rhyolites) and tuffs (basic). The Ordovician Period igneous rocks comprise the second (2nd) foreign construction material used by the Stonehenge builders. This material is approximately 470 million years old. These stones are called Ordovician Volcanic rocks.
4) Stonehenge Coshestons - The oldest sandstone sedimentary rocks at Stonehenge are the Silurian-Devonian Period micaceous sandstones. The Silurian-Devonian Period sandstone sedimentary rocks comprise the third (3rd) foreign construction material used by the Stonehenge builders. This material is approximately 417 million years old. These stones are called Old Red Sandstone Formation rocks.
5) Stonehenge Sarsens - The youngest sandstone sedimentary rocks at Stonehenge are the Oligocene-Miocene (Tertiary) Period silicates. The Oligocene-Miocene Period sandstone sedimentary rocks comprise the fourth (4th) foreign construction material used by the Stonehenge builders. This material is approximately 24 million years old. These stones are called Reading Formation rocks.
6) Stonehenge Gritstones*** - The sandstone grit, conglomerate, limestone, shale, and coal sedimentary rocks at Stonehenge are the Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian), Namurian Age, silicates, calcium carbonates, and carbons. The Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) Period sandstone grit, conglomerate, limestone, shale, and coal sedimentary rocks comprise the fifth (5th) foreign construction material used by the Stonehenge builders. This material is approximately 320 million years old. These stones are called Millstone Grit Formation rocks.
7) Stonehenge Coalstones*** - The bituminous coal sedimentary rocks at Stonehenge are the Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) Period, Westphalian Age, carbons. The Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) Period bituminous coal sedimentary rocks comprise the sixth (6th) foreign construction material used by the Stonehenge builders. This material is approximately 310 million years old. These stones are called Crosskeys Coal Measures rocks.

And finally anthroplogists and archaeologists claim that Dr. Garry Denke discovered neither the gold table of Moses nor the gold altar of Aaron located with the balance of remaining artifacts inside Stonehenge Mound, at 100 meters (109 yards, 328 feet) east-southeast (E-SE) of such Heelstone flying eagle wings carving facing southwest (SW) at Stonehenge. No one is sure why anthropologists and archaeologists make such claims with no evidence to back them up. Perhaps they will someday. "Until then... G'day."****

Further Reading (see first post)

Garry, where did the Egyptians mine those huge bolders for the pyramids? How do you think they transported them?
Wooden rollers under their great weight would have been ground to sawdust before making one pass under.

I don't think so, maybe one roller would crack and break, but with many it could easily work.
Keep in mind that you can stand on a flat brittle twig without it breaking if you keep your weight even.

Originally posted by Dan Fussell
Garry, where did the Egyptians mine those huge boulders for the pyramids? How do you think they transported them? Wooden rollers under their great weight would have been ground to sawdust before making one pass under. There is no way of knowing exactly how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids, in a time of only primitive tools, and at best only simple machinery. There are many theories of how the Egyptians gained their knowledge of math and science to build these amazing structures. The blocks used to build the pyramids are composed of granite and or limestone; each single block has an estimated weight of approximately two and a half tons. Each block would to have been quarried or cut, and then hauled to the work site, and eventually placed in the correct position. The Egyptians had an amazing understanding of math, which helped them plan the erection of the pyramid, but the only driving force behind them was manpower. The actual people who built the pyramids were all voluntary workers; they were not slaves contrary to popular belief. New archaeological evidence shows that those who dragged and laid these two and a half ton granite slabs were condemned to an early grave, and they died with deformed bones and broken limbs. An Egyptian excavation recently uncovered the burial ground of hundreds of workers who helped to build the great pyramid for King Cheops 4500 years ago. Originally over one hundred and forty six meters high, it is the tallest of the three famous pyramids at Giza near the Nile delta. The workers burial ground is one kilometer west of the pyramid, close to their living quarters. Zahi Hawass, the Egyptian archaeologist leading the excavation says that most of the workers skeletons have abnormal outgrowths known as osteophytes, which are caused by chronic heavy labor. The joints of numerous bones show wear and tear and many bodies have damaged spines. Six skeletons have severed limbs or splintered feet. Workers died on average between the ages of thirty and thirty-five, compared to between fifty and sixty for members of nobility. “They literally worked themselves to death,” says Hawass. This evidence shows they did in fact use human power in the construction of pyramids but it does not explain how a group of men were able to lift a two and a half ton piece of rock. It also does not explain how these rocks were carried from the quarry, or how it was lifted up the pyramid, as it became taller. If one was to build a pyramid today assuming the slabs were already cut and ready to put together the fastest and easiest way to move them would be a crane. In order to get an exact placement of the slab it would take the crane nearly one day to position itself and drop the block in place. The pyramid Khufu has about two million three hundred thousand stone blocks; its dimensions are four hundred eighty one feet in height, seven hundred fifty six feet in length and its base covering a little over thirteen acres. The pyramid is a geometrical wonder it is absolutely level and perfectly square, the mathematical skills of the people are not at all contested, but there are many theories on how they were able to carry out this magnificent feat without a crane. It is not known how the Egyptians got the stones from the quarry to the work site. They must have been dragged, for there was not enough surface area for even a team of reasonably strong men to pick up the two and a half-ton slab. The most likely method of getting the blocks to the top of the structure was through massive construction ramps. Exactly how the ramps were laid out is unknown, but they may have been straight or in a spiral pattern around the pyramid. The ramps may have been topped with a surface of clay called tafla. Tafla, when wet, becomes very slippery and may have allowed the Egyptian builders to use shorter, steeper ramps than might have otherwise been possible. By wetting the ground in front of the block a slick path would be created allowing the stone to be dragged by rope as it sat on sledges. A man by the name of Joseph Davidvovits began to contest this classical theory of pyramid construction in 1979. His ideas and research may force even Egyptologists to revise their thinking about how the pyramids were built. Davidovits suggests that the Egyptians actually used man-made stone that was cast at the pyramid site, where it was needed. The process, he says involved pouring slurry of crushed limestone and special mineral binder into wooden molds. Within a few hours the mixture would harden into material almost indistinguishable from rock. Such a construction method would have taken less time, and required far fewer workers. In 1984 Davidovits presented his conclusions from a analysis of rock samples from three of the pyramids and two limestone quarries at Turah and Mokhatam, traditionally associated with pyramid building. He found that the pyramids samples contained traces of minerals that were not found in the quarry. Instead, they contained as much as 13 percent of what Davidovits calls a “geopolymeric” binder. In addition, microscope examination of the samples showed that the quarried limestone consisted almost entirely of lightly packed calcite crystals that gave it a uniform density. In contrast, the casting stone was less dense and contained numerous air bubbles. Consequently if the casting stones were natural limestone, and did not match that of the quarries than where did the Egyptians get there stone? There are other clues that suggest that the Egyptians poured the pyramids. The ingredients deeded for the mineral binder- sodium carbonate, various phosphates, quartz, and Nile silt, were all readily available to the Egyptians. In addition the casting stones had a millimeter thick surface coating that appears to consist entirely of this binder. Davidovits suggests that during setting some of the binder came to the surface to form a “skin”, it was the presence of this obviously man made coating that originally prompted him to look for traces of this material within the rock itself. This idea of manufactured stone helps to explain how the sides of the casting stone were so smooth and straight, maybe to straight for a man to quarry, cut, and shape the stone. This could also explain how the Egyptians were able to get the blocks to fit so well together that a postcard cannot even be inserted in between them. The sides of the previously molded blocks could be used as the walls for making the stone in between them. With this system, and a primitive form of concrete, the Egyptians may have completed pyramid construction within a relatively fast and effortless period of time. A virtual assembly line could have been created with workers each carrying small amount of water, silt and rock to the work area with another team preparing molds and binders. This theory presented by Davidovits was developed nearly twenty years ago; it still remains only a theory. Egyptologists are torn between the two conflicting ideas of how the pyramids were constructed. Either way the building of these marvel tombs is an amazing feat to be done over four thousand years ago.

Best wishes,

Garry