1942

I don't know about you, but when I run across some highly unusual phenomenon like, for instance, Stonehenge (a group of humongous and very ancient monoliths laid out in a pattern of circles), I become a little annoyed. "How in the world did they do that?!" I ask myself. Then, because I haven't a clue, I usually stop thinking about it. Fortunately, Chuck Herberger is made of sterner stuff. Though an English professor by trade, a few decades ago he became interested in "archaeoastronomy" and ancient lunisolar calendars. No mere flirtation, apparently, since his interest resulted in two books and 17 articles.

Betty and I happened to sit at the same table with Chuck and Melvina at the mini-reunion dinner last fall, and at my request he later shared with me his article on the geometry of Stonehenge published in Epigraphic Society Occasional Papers in 1992. It's not the kind of thing one might run across in the dentist's waiting room, but it goes a long way toward answering the "How in the world did they do that?" question.

Without going into detail I can say that in his very ingenious analysis Chuck departs from the assumption that the Stonehenge planners began with some base unit of measurement and then derived from it the rather complex geometry of the entire monument. Rather, he suggests, those ancient architects could have begun with fundamental geometric ideas known to priests in Egypt and Babylonia and from them derived a unit of measurement. Chuck neatly demonstrates that one of these early concepts—the so-called "sacred cut," involving the swinging of an arc inside a square—can be shown to "explain" with great precision the large array of relationships among the various circles of stones that make up the monument.

Those among you who are mysteriousmonument aficionados, craving more detail than the above elementary (and unauthorized) condensation, may wish to get in touch with Chuck directly (445 Main St., Centerville, MA 02632).

Jim and Joyce Idema report spending three exciting days as guests of Dick Higgins in San Francisco recently, where they had the pleasure of dining at the acclaimed restaurant of Dick's son, Bill. Dick and jim were not only old Navy V-5 buddies but also close friends from the time of Dick's residence in the Chicago area. Jim reports that he and Joyce have moved to the house on Lake Michigan they built four years ago. (New address: Box 211, Glenn, MI 49416. Lippman, please note.)

56 Cityside Drive, Montpelier, VT 05602