[Stones] Anglo-Saxon apartheid

[littlestone]

ric wrote -

"can we, and with all due respect, get back to Stones now - please?"

ric, I may be wrong but I think the wider remit of this List is to also look at ancient historical influences on the peoples and cultures of these islands. We may be predominately interested in megalithic structures but it might also be worthwhile looking for any signs of continuity from the time of the megalithic builders up to relatively recent times.

One of my interests, for example, is the presence of 'Stones under Churches' - that is the deliberate placing of stones (probably from existing stone circles) in the foundations or under the floors of certain churches (eg those at Pewsey and Alton Priors in Wiltshire). That subject has been discussed at length both here and on the Modern Antiquarian so I won't go into it again. My point is that in placing stones under churches there does seem to have been some sort of legacy/interaction between the native peoples (and their beliefs) of these islands on the first Anglo-Saxon settlers and possibly that influence continued on through the Norman period and perhaps even into much later periods.

None of this has anything to do with 'genetic dominance' (which seems to be the point that is worrying you) but if Mark Thomas says, "The native Britons were genetically and culturally absorbed by the Anglo-Saxons over a period of as little as a few hundred years..." I immediately ask myself how the native Britains were absorbed, how much of their culture was absorbed with them and how much influence did they have on those who were absorbing them? We know from other parts of the world (the Mongol invasions of China for example) that the invading Mongols fell rapidly under the cultural dominance of the 'conquered' Chinese. Though tests may show that sectors of the Chinese people have a genetic link to their Mongolian ancestors, culturally they are far closer to the Chinese.

My interest is not how closely the modern English can demonstrate a link with their Anglo-Saxon ancestors but how much influence our 'British' ancestors had on the Anglo-Saxons :-)
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