I went to Stonehenge

[An Officer]

I thought the recorded guide was wonderfully read, and added to the atmosphere and magic of the experience (how they dragged those massive monolithic rocks such a long distance is magical even by today's standards)... perhaps the in-ear guide is what can make or break the visit?

It was a clear pretty day when I went, and you could see views from miles around - it seems to be on a gently ascending hill. The mystery and magnificence of the place really fired my imagination, especially the nature of the particular rocks used... they seem to have qualities which allow the stone to remain warmer than others... they also turn red when exposed to water. Lots of interesting little facts hidden there.

I personally found Stonehenge to be one of the most profound tourist experiences I've had. I too hung around for a couple of hours, peering at it from all angles... there seemed to be a hush and reverence about everyone as they circumnavigated it. Not the usual at all for big tourist attractions. The place just invited that feeling. We only left because we wanted to be in time to have lunch in Bath. I cannot recommend Stonehenge highly enough to anyone who is interested in ancient mysteries and monolithic sites.

 

[Scout101]

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.

That's always disappointing when you actually visit places like this in person. The Alamo (San Antonio, Texas), for example, is always shown in pictures as a lone outpost sitting in the desert. They must REALLY zoom in on that bastard, because it's dead-center in the middle of the city...

 

[StolenThunder]

^ The same is true for the Pyramids at Giza I suppose, though I've never been there. ^

I do like how much 'old stuff' is just lying about in this country. Bill Bryson wrote an interesting and informative article about it.

 

[ITL]

I used to live in Wiltshire, not that far from Stonehenge. I only went there once, but it was a grey, overcast day and at the time the public was kept well away from the stones, so it wasn't as great an experience as I thought it might be. I am fascinated by that period in history, though.

There's quite a lot of ancient historical sites in that area - I lived just a few miles away from Avebury - which is a village inside a stone circle, Silbury Hill, the ancient earthworks, and West Kennet Longbarrow, a burial mound.

The area of Wiltshire that they're all in:

I lived in Calne, just down the road from the Avebury complex, which I embiggened here:

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

My sister and her husband went to Stonehenge a few years back. All I got was a t-shirt. Really, honest.

 

[Shatmandu]

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.

Which makes it not compelling to me. Whatever it was, it didn't work.

We know what the pyramids were for, what the sphinx was for, etc. But this just sits there.

I'm guessing the big reveal was disappointing: there had to be at least one Druid who said, "I busted my hump helping you assholes drag those friggin' rocks over here, and now you're telling me we're just going to put them in a circle? We coulda done that with hay, you jagoffs."

I do find it interesting that, knowing so little about it factually, people read so much into the place.

Joe, realist

 

[Mike Farley]

It was built to telepathically communicate with reptilian, alien, angels from another dimension. And the people who built it now reside on Regulus.

I think that if I ever visited I would be rather annoyed if I could only view it from 100 yards away.

 

[Docbrown777]

It's ok but wasn't the stone portion build about the same time as the great pyramids? Now those are pretty amazing. These are just a few stones stacked on each other. They aren't even as well shaped as the pyramid's stones.

 

[Jadzia]

The ancient egyptians were a rich culture, who had good agriculture to support such projects, and plenty of man power at hand to do it. In England at that time, whole families would live in very rustic one room huts that were also home to umpteen cows and sheep on a night. Life didn't stretch far beyond that.

 

[TGTheodore]

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.

Which makes it not compelling to me. Whatever it was, it didn't work.

Crack open an astronomy book.

--Ted

 

[Deckerd]

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.

Which makes it not compelling to me. Whatever it was, it didn't work.

Crack open an astronomy book.

--Ted

Well quite. Joe's quite funny but this time he seems to have completely failed to grasp the word 'solstice'.

 

[RJDiogenes]

There was a great show on History Channel a few months ago about new discoveries and theories related to Stonehenge. Apparently it was part of a much larger complex, which included seasonal housing and a complementary "Woodhenge" a few miles away. The theory is the entire complex was used for religious rituals and that Woodhenge represented life, while Stonehenge represented death.

 

[Deckerd]

I saw that. I think the conclusions were that it was used for funeral processions, which seems more reasonable than some of the more flaky conjectures. The idea that it was more secular than religious seems to be holding sway now.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Yup, that was it. Here is a summary of the idea.

 

[ITL]

The Stonehenge Riverside Project seems to be at the forefront of such discoveries and theories.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Excellent. Looks like there's a lot of info about the settlement and the burials.

 

[Goliath]

I used to live in Wiltshire, not that far from Stonehenge.

I published an article recently about the British military manouevres of 1898--the first large-scale manouevres to be held on Salisbury Plain.

The papers referred to the events of one day as "the Battle of Stonehenge." The defending force was falling back eastward, toward the Avon, but delayed the invading force by holding a rearguard position at Yarnbury Castle.

I even found a picture in the London Illustrated News of cavalry scouts occupying Stonehenge itself. It was pretty cool.

 

[ITL]

^ Excellent!

When I visited Stonehenge, I do recall hearing some low frequency artillery type noises in the background, coming from the north...

 

[Shatmandu]

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.

Which makes it not compelling to me. Whatever it was, it didn't work.

Crack open an astronomy book.

--Ted

So, when Pingfah tells me the function of the thing is unknown, she's wrong?

The exact purpose and working function of Stonehenge is common knowledge?

Joe, loverly

 

[An Officer]

Pingfah is male. Unless I've been making a terrible mistake all these years. And yes, it is common knowledge Stonehenge accurately marks the equinoxes and solstices. It seems to have served other multiple functions as well, which are all unclear now. Most monolithic sites seem to have multiple functions.