I went to Stonehenge

[TheLonelySquire]

Just got back a few days ago from a trip to the UK for work. Drove right by a collection of rocks and remembered they were quite famous.

It was pretty cool. I'm sure some of you guys have been there. What did you think?

 

[TGTheodore]

So you were there for the summer solstice?

--Ted

 

[judge alba]

we went up thier last october, i remember thinking there wont be much to see, but i have to admit i was plesently surprised only stayed for two and a half hours but could stayed all day just looking at them. but the other half was wondering what the fuss was about.(she still dosent quite understand them)

 

[DonIago]

As an American who doesn't know whether he'll ever get the chance to go to England again, I thought it was pretty darn cool.

I went with an English friend who had (apparently) confused feet with meters and was dubious about the whole excursion as he was worried I'd be disappointed to see a bunch of rocks that were only 6' tall.

Anyway, we saw Stonehenge as part of a day-trip to Bath, which is also very worth seeing.

 

[Canadave]

^ Could have been worse. At least no one confused feet with inches.

 

[Deckerd]

You mean like the infamous Spinal Tap stage set?

It never stops being funny

 

[iguana_tonante]

So you were there for the summer solstice?

--Ted

TheLonelySquire is a renowned pagan sun-worshiper.

 

[Deckerd]

I went when you could still walk up and touch the stones. What's always amazed me is why they weren't all robbed out, like half of the circle was.

 

[Jadzia]

I think we should restore the site to its original glory, but without using modern day machinery, just man power with ropes and traditional hand tools. And that includes the cutting and transportation of new stones if necessary. I think part of the allure is that the site was erected without modern technology.

 

[Deckerd]

Did you see the documentary a few years ago when some enthusiasts made the two giant sarsen stones and their capstone from reinforced concrete and then got a bunch of volunteers to work out how the stones were put in position? It was fascinating and involved a lot of trial and error. And the heart-in-mouth moment for a Jack Russell when the capstone was finally dropped into position.

 

[Jadzia]

With stonehenge, we've inherited something of great cultural significance, and I don't think it's particularly respectful to our ancestors to leave their creation lying in perpetual neglect and ruin.

If nothing else, the act of maintaining it would give us a profound sense of continuity. This is something our 1000s of years old ancestors worked on, and so shall we. It's almost communication with our ancient past and our distant future, because we know what we're supposed to do in the spirit of maintaining this ancient legacy for as long as we exist.

Our future generations 1000s of years ahead of us will do the same.

 

[Deckerd]

I'm sure many people have felt the way you do over the millennia but meddling with it would only cause more trouble than it's worth.

 

[TheLonelySquire]

So you were there for the summer solstice?

--Ted

Missed it by one day. I arrived there about 11am local time on the 22nd! Ton of people there and they only let you get to within 100 yards or so of the stones now.

 

[Kestra]

I've never been, but I'd love to one day. I think it would be especially interesting during the solstice.

 

[TheLonelySquire]

So you were there for the summer solstice?

--Ted

TheLonelySquire is a renowned pagan sun-worshiper.

 

[Pingfah]

So you were there for the summer solstice?

--Ted

Missed it by one day. I arrived there about 11am local time on the 22nd! Ton of people there and they only let you get to within 100 yards or so of the stones now.

That's because large groups of hippies used to gather there and play guitar, which obviously is extremely damaging to a big bunch of rocks.

 

[Shatmandu]

Never seen what the draw was.

Like all religious monuments, it's just a bunch of cut rock. They were smart enough to move it and arrange it in a way they found important.

Big whoop.

Joe, real

 

[Pingfah]

It's entirely unclear if it was a religious monument, it is prehistoric, methods of construction and function unknown, date of construction unknown. It's a complete mystery historically speaking.

 

[SmoothieX]

I was surprised that it was just out in the middle of a traffic circle along a busy road. I always thought it was just out in a field somewhere.

It was super awesome to see though.

 

[Sovay]

I'm from england so I've been there a few times. Honestly I don't think that much of it, it's interesting to ponder what incentives people could have had for dragging a bunch of rocks into a circle but that's about the most I get from it. It's kinda like the Eiffel tower in that you see it, admire it for 10 minutes and then get bored and wander off to find a cafe. Only difference is you can go up the Eiffel tower... you just look at SH through a fence (is that fence still there? Was every time I went to it, really detracts from the experience!)