Canada's Stonehenge: Astounding Archaeological Discoveries in Canada, England, and Wales

In this comprehensive text, Gordon Freeman relates his thirty-year foray into amateur archaeology, complemented by stories, anecdotes and detailed histories of related topics, such as the Christian Calendar. He provides an account of his fascination with the assemblage that archaeologists have denoted as the Majorville Medicine Wheel, a catch-all term applied to numerous sites in North America wherein stones of various types and sizes have been intentionally arranged into a circle, beginning in the summer of 1980 and continuing to the time of publication. He also writes of his travels to England and Wales to apply the same methodology to Stonehenge and other cairns to establish whether or not similar calendrical measurements can be derived there (Spoiler: They can!).

The main thesis of the book is that the Majorville Medicine Wheel served as a place of astronomical worship with stones placed to precisely mark, among other dates, the location of sunrise and sunset on solstice days. Freeman is currently a professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Alberta and his discipline, attention to detail and transparent methodology translate very effectively into his “casual” endeavor, generating a work of amateur archaeology that is highly insightful and accurate. The book contains numerous photographs of observations that are carefully marked, as well as all dates and times, down to the second. Freeman also makes note of patterns in relation to a number of Medicine Wheel s in Southern Alberta, such as groups of tipi rings (indications of settlements) to the north and water sources to the east. In this, it is amply demonstrated that the Medicine Wheel was a highly complex and meaningful sacred calendar.

In general, the quality of the actual writing is casual, and sometimes reads like a travel memoir in its digressions and loosely-related stories, but Freeman’s affinity for the individuals involved is palpable and emphasizes the personal interest that drove his research for so long. Personally, I appreciated his deep respect of the Aboriginal cultures that established the Medicine Wheel sites and his inclusion of stories, interactions with local elders, and the importance of observing the sacredness that these sites have to modern First Nation groups.

Canada’s Stonehenge provides a highly intricate and personalized account of one man’s determination to reveal some of the limitations and short-sightedness of the North American Archaeological tradition, and to demonstrate some of the intellectual traits and sacred beliefs of the early occupants of the Canadian Prairies. Although I will provide the caveat that this is not an exciting read, it will prove rewarding to anyone interested in the archaeology of the Great Plains, amateur or otherwise.