All this excitement about a collection of battered old rocks and mounds of earth must be puzzling to those who have yet had no direct experience of Megalithomania
John Michell, Megalithomania! (1982)

Glastonbury's Megalithomania conference, now in its third year, will gather together distinguished researchers and authors to discuss "battered old rocks and mounds of earth" around the world, from local sites near Glastonbury to the stones of Brittany and the jungles of Peru.

The keynote speaker this year is David Hatcher Childress, well known for his groundbreaking research into ancient civilisations. He will be discussing his travels in South America and the Pacific. Geomancer Hamish Miller will be presenting his research on The Stone People of New Zealand and Nicholas Mann & Philippa Glasson will be presenting their breakthroughs on the astro-archaeological alignments of Avalon and how the ancients understood precession of the equinoxes. Other speakers include Tom Graves, who will be re-launching his classic work Needles of Stone, David Furlong will be walking in the footsteps of the ‘dod-man’ and examine how the megalith builders surveyed, measured and studied the landscape. Special guests from Holland and America, Reinoud Du Jonge & Jay Wakefield have followed clues of a Neolithic maritime civilisation who left maps encoded within rock-art around the world. Author of Europe’s Lost Civilisation Peter Marshall, who travelled over 4,000 miles of Europe’s megalithic coastlines, will be pinpointing his favourite stories from his epic journey. See the website and poster for the full line-up.

There will also be a Megalithic art gallery during the event, an exclusive preview of the new Standing with Stones film and book launches and signings. On the Friday (16th) before the event, local sites Stanton Drew and Stoney Littleton will be visited on a guided tour with local author Gordon Strong and archaeo-botanist Gordon Hillman, co-star of the Ray Mears Wild Food TV show on BBC2. On the following Monday, a private tour to Stonehenge will be led by David Furlong and John Michell (tbc)

The conference takes place at the Assembly Rooms in Glastonbury on 17th & 18th May 2008. Field trips to Stanton Drew, Stoney Littleton, Stonehenge and Avebury will take place on the Friday and Monday. Tickets are £68 for the first 50 sold, then £80. Field trips are not included in the price. Call 01458 831800 for tickets or visit www.megalithomania.co.uk.

To read FT's report on Megalithomania 2006 click here