Sentinels From Prehistory

Hazaribagh's prehistoric megaliths are finally receiving the academic and popular attention they deserve. Subhashis Das has been working tirelessly to preserve them and started the Megalithic Utsav at Punkhri- Barwadih two years ago to generate awareness about these sentinels from the remote past. The Utsav is held on the morning of the two equinoxes each year, when the sun can be seen rising through the V-shaped gap between a pair of tall megaliths. This beautiful astronomical sight can be seen only on equinox mornings here. It?s a rare, spectacular phenomenon, says Das, who quit his job to research and popularise the megaliths full-time. These ancient stones were actually superb astronomical-astrological observatories, says Das, who has discovered three megalithic observatories in Jharkhand.

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Keenlyside heads Museum and Heritage Foundation

A permanent executive director has been hired to head the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation. Dr. David L. Keenlyside, curator of Atlantic Archaeology at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, will be assuming the duties in March.
"This appointment is a crucial step in strategic planning for the museum," says Dr. Dasgupta, chair of the board of governors. "We look forward to Dr. Keenlyside's arrival." Elmer MacFadyen, P.E.I.'s minister of community and cultural affairs, says Dr. Keenlyside's colleagues at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa highly recommend him and praise him for his interpersonal, organizational and project management skills, his work ethic, and his ability to foster a good working re lationship with crews, volunteers and exhibition teams.
This is the first permanent appointment to the position since the retirement of Chris Severance, who served as executive director from 1992 to 2004.

Stonehenge most likely didn't stand alone

The world famous Stonehenge in the plains of Salisbury in southern England that has intrigued anthropologists and archaeologists for centuries did not stand in isolation, but was juxtaposed between two more world famous prehistoric stone formations.




One of the megalithic finds is a sandstone formation that marked a ritual burial mound. The other is a group of stones at the site of an ancient timber circle.

Colin Richards of Manchester University and Joshua Pollard of Bristol University who made the discoveries have suggested that many similar monuments might have been erected in the shadow of Stonehenge, possibly forming part of a much larger complex.

The first monument, a 9.2-foot-long (2.8-meter-long) sarsen stone was found lying in a field next to the River Avon, two miles (3.2 kilometres) east of Stonehenge, which is located near the modern-day city of Salisbury.

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