A recent visit to Stonehenge to carry on the megalithic research work. Lance and Mike join the extensive international cast of tourists to take photo and video references. What a glorious day to enjoy this megalithic creation.
The purpose was also to get a feel for the monument in its landscape, like when visiting Preselli Hills, to see if there were clues about the mystery of its building and the amazing world of our ancestors. We were not disappointed, and it helped develop our ideas about our work and the story we are creating of neolithic characters Lan and Deek.
After standing near the stones for a while we began to notice that they had an energy, perhaps not as strong as at the bluestone quarry at Preseli, but a strong gradual building of peace in the gut. Energy workers might identify this as sacral energy. It did grow and on reflection disappeared when we were away from the stones, now we think back.
We also enjoyed the rather easily underestimated parts of the experience, back at the Visitors Centre. The experimental archaeology huts, and associated experts there to answer questions, were more fascinating than we realised at first. Very clearly the feasibility for moving smaller bluestones to Preseli was quite doable if still a huge commitment to the people involved.
Even the discussion with the experts about the fire in one of the huts opened up again for us the sophisticated thinking of the neolithic people. Chimneys in thatched roofs are actually dangerous, whereas oddly not when just a closed roof. The hut experience really showed how limited a modern perspective can be on the past and how incredibly well neolithic people thought through living. One of the huts just had a delightful design although it was probably a store hut, not a main home, but we liked to think how our characters Lan and Deek would have slept and been intimate in this hut. Of course, the bigger family huts were more practical, but we expect it was a case of just building what you need as you like it. No mortgage, no huge costs, planning permissions for extensions, nor long disruptive waits for contracts and the weather, and the risk of nightmare cowboy builders.
And then perhaps Lan and Deek coming back home and outside their shadows on the hut.
Lunch was nice food if you picked carefully; we would recommend the Stonehenge hot pot. Fast food but slow service, followed by a proper look at the Visitors Centre. Some great projections of being in the stones themselves over time, day, years, millennia. Good models you could touch too. There was a great projection of the whole of the World Heritage site showing the huge Cursus which was our next stop over the fields. Walking round the whole site soon takes you away from other people and an afternoon spent relaxing in this vast iconic landscape was wonderful. Stonehenge is less about gob smacking architecture and more about place and landscape. This was built by people who were completely part of the land and landscape psychologically which is something we have lost in the modern world. Oddly, Mike reflected that he was glad you could drive past and see Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain as part of your normal modern travels; seeing Stonehenge from a distance made you feel part of the landscape and it doesn’t actually affect the energy when you are at the stones. It is after all a fascination to so many people from around the world attending the historic site. And as with all things too many people on Earth impact our history one way or another so not a bad compromise for an iconic ancient monument.
