back to article Stonehenge's HUMAN ABATTOIR was just a prehistoric Burning Man hippyfest site

Comment of the Week: In which Vulture Central's very own backroom gremlins award you, dear readers, the Golden Vulture Dropping of Hilarity and the Wooden Twig of Fail for your inane witterings scintillating nuggets of wisdom. In reverse order this week, we'll be going through those comments which made both us and you laugh, …

  1. John 156

    Archaeologists need to stop making stuff up; they also need to accept that they may never get into the mindsets of those of whose beliefs they have no knowledge.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Headmaster

      Now now...

      "Archaeologists need to stop making stuff up;"

      Let's not be too harsh with archaeologists. Their job consists of digging mouldy crap out of the ground (if they're lucky) and then analyzing that crap to figure out exactly what people were doing thousands of years ago. This task is almost hopeless and all they can really show is a bunch of crap, so they should be forgiven for becoming a bit fanciful with their theories.

      Besides, it's entertaining and not very harmful, and there are plenty of rivals who will gladly jump all over them the minute they get out of line.

      1. phil dude
        Pint

        Re: Now now...

        Exactly, and they can use all the help from scientific analysis they can. For example, don't know the dates of the artifacts? Typically, you open up a tomb after 2000 years and things are laying where they were left. Except, maybe tomb raiders moved stuff by accident 500 years after it was sealed?

        Enter isotope analysis. Turns out that in the case of the Mediterranean there are quite a few active volcanoes, and there is sufficient historical notice when a volcano goes "boom". You can tell which artifact was where, when. At least relatively, and sometimes quite accurately.

        Yes, I've been drinking with the odd archaeologist...

        P.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Now now...

          "Yes, I've been drinking with the odd archaeologist..."

          Which one is the odd one?

          1. Will Godfrey Silver badge
            Happy

            Re: Now now...

            ... and how many were even archaeologists?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      U2

      It was probably the stage of the first concert U2 performed, they're old enough to be have been around then.

      1. Woza
        Joke

        Re: U2

        Did they give away free apples at that concert?

      2. Frumious Bandersnatch

        Re: U2

        More like Spinal Tap. With realistic (if not life-sized) henge replicas.

    3. dogged

      http://youtu.be/U6y-jn6jGbM

    4. JeffyPoooh
      Pint

      Archaeologists need to stop making stuff up

      What would they do then, if they can't just make up stories? They certainly are the 'D' students of Science. Paleoanthropologists are the utterly worst of the worst.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Holmes

    Not bad enough...

    ...to have to scroll past Trevor Pott's meth-fueled diatribes once a week. CoTW has to regurgitate them???

    1. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

      Re: Not bad enough...

      While I probably could get a prescription for amphetamines of one flavour or another as a treatment for my rather intense ADHD, both Ritalin and Dexedrine have disagreed with me in the past. I felt that they had too much of an emotional deadening effect - a common enough complaint, I understand - and so discontinued use of them somewhere around the third grade.

      So for the record, my drug of choice is caffeine. This is supplemented by meditation and couple different CBT techniques I've been taught that allow to me to be mostly functional.

      I don't mind if you mock me in the comments, sir...but accuracy, please! My diatribes are not fueled by something so gauche as meth! They are the distillation of this world's most magnanimous of deity's gifts to our race: the sacred coffee.

      Oh, and before you go suggesting it's something I put in my coffee, I'll have you know that I hold anyone who pollutes their coffee with additives in nothing but the highest of contempt. Coffee, black, strong enough to kill a horse.

      There now; accuracy has been served. Please, continue with your regularly scheduled vitriol and character assassination.

    2. Corinne
      FAIL

      Re: Not bad enough...

      While you may be irritated by Trevor Potts in general, at least you could rant about him:

      A) in the proper approved Rant of the Week style (vast amounts of capitals, exclamation marks etc). Though you do score points for the triple question mark

      B) in the comments section for an article that has anything whatsoever to do with Trevor, e.g. comments for Trevor's own article or for the CoTW you are referring to. NOT in the comments for an article about Stonehenge where Trevor hadn't even commented.

      1. gazthejourno

        Re: Not bad enough...

        This IS CoTW ...

        Sigh. Clearly my work here is unappreciated.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not bad enough...

      He's a Pott-ymouth Pott-head.

  3. swampdog

    Hurrah for the rule of law, we say.

    Failing that, feather lined underpants. Or possibly feather lined underpants or even .. at a push.. feather lined underpants.

    1. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

      Re: Hurrah for the rule of law, we say.

      My google-fu is weak, sir I am unable to recall - or uncover - a meme or trope based upon the concept of "feather lined underpants". I imagine they'd be very itchy. Is these some sociocultural reference I am unaware of?

      1. Will Godfrey Silver badge
        Happy

        Re: Hurrah for the rule of law, we say.

        Shouldn't that be 'underware of' ?

  4. tony2heads
    Flame

    Burning man

    If I remember correctly the Romans reported that the locals did burn men in wicker cages, shaped like men.

    Icon: - well obviously

    1. Dave Bell

      Re: Burning man

      That story is attributed to Posidonius. There is evidence for human sacrifice, not just by the Celts, but not of this method.

      But it made a great film.

      1. John 110

        Re: Burning man

        ...but the wicker man in the (classic - Edward Woodward) film was a makey-up* religious practise invented by some upper-class nutter to ensure a good harvest.

        *A bit like the scottish accent affected by Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee (and most of the rest of the cast...)

        (NB I have also heard the the Roman writers bigged-up these Human Sacrifce stories to justify their mass subjugation of the barbarians. Although why they felt they had to, I don't know)

        1. Steven Raith
          Flame

          Re: Burning man

          It's not entirely made up.

          Went to school here.

          As such, I'm a Wicker, man.

          Steven "only smells slightly of burning outsiders" Raith.

          PS: Zoom out for scary northern-ness.

          PPS: That genuinely is my old high school.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Example of the tinfoil hattery

    And the really scary thing about that commentard is he'll probably not only have a gun but a whole cupboard full of them.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I just read the comments on an article which was commenting on the weeks best comments on articles.

    After my brain finished melting I felt the need to post a comment.

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