Stonehenge and Avebury

On Friday, Garrett got off work a little early and we drove out to Stonehenge. We figured since it wasn't too far away we could visit it in the evening and have more time on Saturday and Sunday for other things. Stonehenge was pretty cool. There's nothing around it at all, just fields. We've all seen pictures of it, but it's pretty awesome to see it in person. They don't allow you to get close to them or go in the circle at all. I guess when they did allow that, people vandalized them and tried to chisel off pieces of the stones as souveneirs. Of course whoever owns it didn't want them ruined or to fall over, so they are roped off. You can walk all around them and they offer an audio guide to listen to as you walk. It's pretty amazing to think about how long they've been around. Experts think since around 3000 BC. It's just amazing to me that they could find the stones and move them from--experts say at least 20 miles and up to 240 miles away (from Wales) depending on the stone. In this book we bought about Stonehenge, it says,

"Studies in recent times have established that to move these stones up the steepest hill on the route would have needed about 500 people, plus another 100 to lay the rollers and keep the stone on course. It has also been estimated that if all 600 people had been continuously employed over the whole route, it would have taken more than a year to complete the journey."

And then to somehow erect them and make them stay. The audioguide said that 1/3 of each stone is underground. Each stone (that is standing) weighs approximately 25 tons. Then they had to get the topstones (called lintels--which are approximately 7 tons each) to lay across the tops of the standing ones. They actually carved out a little notch in the tops of the standing stones and a hole in the lintels to secure them even more.

It must have taken thousands of years to complete Stonehenge. They think it was used for large gatherings such as weddings and funeral rites and other ceremonies. They also think it was used as a calendar of sorts. In our guidebook it says,

"Stonehenge still functions as a remarkably accurate celestial calendar. As the sun rises on the summer solstice (June 21), the "heel stone"--the one set apart from the rest, near the road-- lines up with the sun and the altar at the center of the stone circle. A recent study of more than 300 similar circles in Britain foudn that each was designed to calculate the movement of the sun, moon, and stars and to predict eclipses in order to help early societies know when to plant, harvest and party."

It was really neat to see and think about the awesome magnitude of a project such as this. One more quote from our book that I found interesting:

"Though their means were limited compared with ours today, their resolve in achieving what was clearly of utmost importance to them stands in stark contrast to our impatient generation. We should not make the mistake of calling them primitive. These were a people whose view of life was so different from ours. For them, earthly life only represented one stage in the totality of their existence. The idea that the end of this life led inevitably to the next seems to have been as natural as breathing."

Little Facts:

* 5,000 years: Lifetime of Stonehenge

* 1,500 years: Length of time it was in use

* 164: approx. total number of stones used in final phase

* 1,874 tons: approx. total weight of stones

* 240 miles: the distance to Bluestones were transported to reach Stonehenge

* 200: the number of people needed to pull one stone upright

Man hours required to build Stonehenge: Incalculable!

This is what they think Stonehenge looked like in all its glory!

Avebury

I always thought that Stonehenge was the only thing of its kind, but after coming here, I've learned there are a lot more things like it around this countryside. (When I write about Ireland, you'll hear more!)

Just a little ways away from Stonehenge is another place with stone circles called Avebury. We went there when we were done with Stonehenge. This one isn't as well known. The stone circle is bigger (16 times the size) and less touristy, plus free! In fact, it's in a couple of pastures with a bunch of sheep. It's a bunch of large stones that are erect, almost in a circular path. There wasn't anything there to educate you about them--you just walked through the pasture--avoiding the sheep poop--and marveling at the stones--wondering why they are there and what they're supposed to mean. It's crazy to think that people did this for a particular reason.

I have a funny video of us walking through the field with Lydia and Maggie just giggling about trying not to step in sheep poop. I thought it was quite cute. On a side note--Lydia loves to chase birds. Everywhere we go--in parking lots, at the park, walking around London--whenever she sees them, she loves to chase them and make them fly away. When we were in this field, what did she do? She started chasing the sheep. I started to get video of her doing it, but I think Garrett made her stop. I think he was afraid the sheep would start to chase her!

Anyways, after Avebury we were going to try to eat at a local pub right across the street, but when we walked over there, it was closed for some reason. So far, we have yet to eat at a local pub. I guess that's something we'll have to do before we leave.