Sunday 10 May 2009

Stonehenge

Today we made the 3 hour drive (which turned into a little bit more since we got turned around...lol), to Stonehenge!!!


I wasnt really sure what to expect, I mean, lets face it, its just a bunch of rocks in the ground, right? Wrong. It was really awesome! We went in past the gate that's up (people were spray painting the stones and they had to put a fence up), and when you go through you can get these little recorded tour things so you can hear all about the stones and their history, so that made it worth while.
There are a lot of arguments as to when Stonehenge was erected, it can be traced back to as early as 2200 BC. The monument is actually made up of two circles, an outer circle made up of Sarcen stones and the inner circle made up of bluestones, which are actually cooler to the touch than the Sarcen stones...they also are blue when cracked open.
Its also argued that the inner, Blue Stones were placed there before the outer stones, and they might date back to 3000 BC. Its also not just the stones, there are specifically and purposely dug ditches surrounding the stones themselves. We also learned that 1/3 of the actual stones are buried underground. And although they can guestimate when Stonehenge was formed, historians and scientists have no way of knowing how the stones got there or how they were stood up.
Its been shown that Stonehenge served as a burial ground in its earliest time, and its one of the first sites where single burials took place, instead of communal graves. Now Stonehenge is a place of pilgrimage for neo-druids, pagans, and even people of other beliefs. The monument started gaining more religious attention in the late 1800's and early 1900's as they began doing enactments of ancient Druid ceremonies. Between 1972 and 1984 Stonehenge was the site for a free festival during the Summer Solctice on June 21st, it was basically a rally of hippies who would dance and sing in the ritual space.

Even Angus got to visit Stonehenge (he wasnt allowed past the fence though, so he and Christopher walked around while Mom and I went through


Mom laughing...

And because we're so awesome, Mom and I tried to "jump" Stonehenge...lol

1 comment:

  1. HAHHA I LOVE the last two pictures. I literally laughed out loud when I saw them. How fun!

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