Prof Colin Richards fears that we may never know why the bluestones of Preseli warranted such reverence as to be transported from south-west Wales to Stonehenge (Report, 20 February). In fact the answer may well be staring us in the face. Stonehenge itself was clearly intended to connect with the heavens: the sun, the moon and perhaps particularly the stars. Maybe the ancients saw a parallel between the firmament and the bluestones? The bluestones comprise a range of igneous rocks, metamorphosed spotted dolerite being among the principal ones. This dolerite comprises a dark blue/green mass of small crystals in which are set larger, white and broadly round, but jagged-edged crystals of pyroxene – uncannily not dissimilar to stars, set in a fiery firmament. Heaven on Earth?
Neil Hornsby
Inverness
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