50 Years Ago

Much excellent archaeological work has been done on Stonehenge ... It has been established that there was building activity from approximately 2,000 B.C. until 1,500 B.C. At the beginning of this period the 56 Aubrey holes were dug at equal spacings around a circle with errors of less than 0.5°. At the final phase the giant trilithon archways were in position, surrounded by the sarsen circle ... Positions of all stones, holes and midpoints were measured ... The machine programme called for the positions of stones, stone holes etc., in selected pairs, and the azimuths and horizontal declinations were computed. These alignments were then compared with the positions of the celestial bodies, and the errors of alignment computed. Stars and planets yielded no detectable correlation ... The Sun yielded 10 correlations; to a mean accuracy of 1.5° the Moon gave 14.

From Nature 26 October 1963

100 Years Ago

The Gypsy Lore Journal is largely devoted to an account by Mr. E. O. Windstedt of “The Gypsy Coppersmiths' Invasion of 1911–1913.” Owing to the reticence displayed by these people, the origin of the party which visited England is uncertain. ... They appear to be genuine Gypsies, their skin colour being practically identical with that of the Russian peasantry. In their metal work there are remarkable coincidences with Indian art products. This monograph contains a very complete account of their religious beliefs, organisation, dress, manners, and customs. The excellent work being carried out, with very limited resources, by the Gypsy Lore Society ... should invite support from all who are interested in this remarkable race and from students of anthropology.

From Nature 23 October 1913