Stonehenge; it has so much mystery surrounding it: why was it built? Who built it? Why did they stop? When will they release a new song about it? Yes, there is a song written about Stonehenge. From the duo Ylvis, quite catchy too. And, it contains a lot of accurate facts. Well," when in Rome" as they say, or in this case, Salisbury Plain. If you're interested, its called "Stonehenge", but I digress.
I was lucky when I visited, it was in February of 2013.......or was it 2014? Definitely either 2013 or 2014, I do remember it snowed though. Oh, what snow! Real, thick snow! At Stonehenge! Any who, I was lucky. I was able to visit when it was snowing and also enter the stone circle. Yep, I, a lowly Cornish man, travelled to the mighty(ish) stone circle and was allowed entry to the inner sanctum! And touch them! Erm, not actually touch the stones as it turned out. A security guard constantly followed me around repeating his mantra of "YOU CANT TOUCH THE STONES!". Excuse me, my good man, but these stones have been around for 5,000 years. People have been touching them for that amount of time. Hell, the Doctor even fought all of his most deadly enemies there and won! It was where the Pandorica was kept! (okay, that's not strictly true. Turned out Amy Pond was put in the Pandorica). Me touching them now wont suddenly cause them to combust into flames. Though that would be shocking. Hells bells, most of the stones were torn down and buried during the Medieval period. Why? Because they were pagan. Pagan is bad. So they were torn down and buried. That was until a few people were crushed by the falling stones. A very interesting grave and burial marker they received.
But Stonehenge is not the only structure located on Salisbury Plain. The entire place is littered with ancient monuments. Long Barrows, Round Barrows, Ditches, Avenues, Cursus, Banks; you name it, its there (even the Pandorica, I'm sure of it!). Its also got the military training grounds for the British Army and their tanks. Join the Army and see the heritage that you are tasked with protecting from the barrel of a Challenger Mk II battle tank, I love it! The monuments all over are absolutely incredible to behold, but most go unnoticed; which is a shame. People are too busy clicking their cameras to see the ritualistic environment. Not to sound off like a phenomenologist, but there is much more there. Hell, Chris Tilly is alright, but truth be told, most of his work sounds like diary of his LSD/acid trips. Though, I'm sure he doesn't consume anything of that sort.
The investigations that took place at Salisbury plain are amazing, Mike Parker Pearson and his team really do wonders on exploring the entire of the location. The book he published, "Stonehenge: A new understanding", looks to explain the entire sites of the area, and their incredible interwoven history. Its not just the sites that are explored, but it also touches on the people, also more importantly, the organisation and communications. I mean, it is absolutely mind boggling with the distances involved! Salisbury Plain, that would have required an entire mobilisation of a community. Then the fact that, forty-two miles away, they were quarrying the stones, transporting them, then raising them up. Set this to the time of over 5,000 years, and in my own humble opinion, you've got an amazing achievement. If you tried that today, it would collapse at the planning stage. Why? Planning permission, work hours, health and safety, pressure groups, greenbelt and brownfield sites, and the fact that it would all be wrapped up by red tape. There is, (albeit, an idea that I find absolutely hysterical, and only a complete raving porridge brained eejit would latch onto), aliens built it as a landing site. Just like they built every other ancient monument. Eejits.
Now, I best summarise I reckon. Stonehenge is amazing, the entire landscape needs to be taken into account. Otherwise, as Parker Pearson says:
"context is everything. If the piece is taken out of context, i.e. people as well, its going to be a flawed interpretation."
There are so many well hidden gems that are worth seeing, that are off the beaten track. That's where the new Stonehenge Information Centre comes to the fore, it actively involves the visitor to see the rest of the sites that occupy the land. So, have a gander and ponder, and enjoy making conclusions about the place. Even now, we don't know the truth, but its going to be one hell of a ride to find out.
Written by Corey A. H. Koppelow
Bibliography
Parker Pearson M. (2012) Stonehenge, a New Understanding: Solving the Mysteries of the Greatest Stone Age Monument, Simon & Schuster, United Kingdom.
Picture from
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/things-to-do/#Section1
