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Postcards to friends of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site
About now the jackdaws should be busily raising their families in nests built in crevices in Stonehenge. One favoured spot is a “chimney” within Stone 60 which they have to patiently drop sticks though until one becomes wedged and they can start building their nest. How long jackdaws have been living at Stonehenge is anyone’s guess but it’s quite possible they have been there far longer than there have been ravens at the Tower of London. It certainly suits them very well. As 18th century English poet William Cowper wrote of the jackdaw….
A great frequenter of the church,
Where, bishoplike, he finds a perch,
And dormitory too
At around the same time the early ecologist, Gilbert White, noted that ….
“Another very unlikely spot is made use of by daws as a place to breed in, and that is Stonehenge. These birds deposit their nests in the interstices between the upright and the impost stones of that amazing work of antiquity: which circumstance alone speaks the prodigious height of the upright stones, that they should be tall enough to secure those nests from the annoyance of shepherd-boys, who are always idling round that place”.
NRS
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This is part of a series of short “postcards” that anyone with something to share is welcome to submit, whether that is a digital snap and a “wish you were here” or something more involved. Please do join in by sending your postcards to theheritagejournal@gmail.com
For others in the series put postcards in the search box.
It seems that a 2006 survey of summer solstice attendees revealed that …
• 50% of those questioned were first time attendees…..
• Only 15% mentioned a spiritual or religious reason for visiting, and …
• 80% weren’t members of organisations that see Stonehenge as significant!
That’s a real shock. Everyone knows that too many people are allowed into the stone circle, creating risks of possible harm to both the public and the stones – and that £200,000 has to be spent every year to combat those two risks. And for why? Because some say they have a spiritual right to have unfettered access. Maybe they do, but it seems that for the past seven years there’s been compelling evidence that only about 3,000 out of 20,000 come for spiritual reasons, only half of those who turn up have done so before and only 4,000 out of 20,000 are even in organisations that see the place as significant!
In other words, the overcrowding, risk and expense aren’t helping anyone achieve their spiritual needs, they’re simply giving a load of non-spiritual people a bit of a laugh! Five weeks from today it will happen again. Time to re-think the whole thing maybe?
As English Heritage publishes this year’s Conditions of Entry for solstice at Stonehenge and looks around for the £200,000 it is going to cost to stage it, a couple of other recent events are noteworthy:
• Here’s a different Stonehenge gathering by Amesbury Museum: “If you are a parishioner of Amesbury, we would love you to join us at Stonehenge at 10am on 4th May and help us celebrate around a May Pole near the Heal Stone”…..
• And here’s the recent May Day / Beltane celebration service being conducted by Arch Druid Rollo Maughfling on Glastonbury Tor.
In each case, no problems, no issues, no complaints, no £200,000 – in fact tuppence would probably be closer. In addition, over in Kent they’ve only raised £2,622 so far towards the £20,000 they need by June to ensure the replica of the Dover Bronze Age boat can go to sea. That’s £20,000, not £200,000. Time to re-think the Stonehenge solstice arrangements?
It’s inevitable that major changes to the physical environment of Stonehenge will also involve a radical re-think of how it’s managed. Not that you’d realise that from the recent headlines – those seem to suggest managing the place involves only one thing …
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Those headlines must be irksome for EH. The new Stonehenge General Manager will have massive responsibilities. (Although if the world thinks a small minority of people are the dominant stakeholders in Britain’s national icon EH have no-one to blame but themselves!). We should stress we’re not anti-Druid though – if they wish to celebrate solstice at Stonehenge good luck to them. But the trouble is the Druids say there are often only a dozen or two actual Druids there together with tens of thousands of others comprising pagans, pagans-of-convenience and party-goers in proportions unknown (but suspected). Again, we’re not anti-solstice-celebrations, but we’re anti-overcrowding, clambering on the stones and treating the place disrespectfully. So we’re pleased to note some clues below the headlines that suggest EH agree:
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None of that can be achieved without changes. It will be fascinating to see what EH has in mind. Our own idea is this: http://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/time-to-rethink-the-annual-free-bash-at-stonehenge/ . It costs only £2 per participant (the cost of a bit of food) so it’s economical as well as respectful and maybe even authentic – what’s not to like?
Postcards to friends of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site
I was reminded recently of a moment, as a child, returning from a week away with my school, when the coach I was on drove past Stonehenge.
The only time I’d previously seen Stonehenge was in a book or on the television. Of course I was impressed! Surprised – strangely – at how small it seemed in relation to how my rather overactive imagination had protrayed it, but impressed nevertheless.
At the exact moment that we drove past, Concorde flew over a short distance away, posing above the stones in a photogenic way. If this were today, everybody would have had a camera with them, most likely on their phones, but this was the 70s, so nobody was prepared for this unique photo opportunity.
At the time, and at the age I was, it almost felt like Concorde was from the future. Like a rocket. Or a spaceship.
Roll on 30 years, and fantasy has been replaced by reality. A spaceship has been photographed flying over Stonehenge!
Photo credit: Tim Burgess (http://www.flickr.com/photos/perfexeon/)
And here’s a photo from space taken by Commander Hadfield (Commander of the International Space Station) himself!
https://twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/status/318070469339279360
G.O.
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This is part of a series of short “postcards” that anyone with something to share is welcome to submit, whether that is a digital snap and a “wish you were here” or something more involved. Please do join in by sending your postcards to theheritagejournal@gmail.com
For others in the series put postcards in the search box.
Postcards to friends of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site
Sir John Lubbock is remembered in passing today as a nineteenth century archaeologist and politician who championed the 1882 Ancient Monuments Act and saved Avebury from development.
“Darwin’s Apprentice” is a unique book that looks beyond these headlines to reveal an important yet forgotten Darwinist through the eyes of his prehistoric archaeological and ethnographic collection. Both man and collection are witnesses to an extraordinary moment in the history of science and archaeology – the emotive scientific, religious and philosophical debate on human antiquity triggered by the publication of Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” in 1859.
It will be published by Pen & Sword Archaeology in April 2013 to mark the centenary anniversary of John Lubbock’s death. Further details can be found here
Janet Owen
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This is part of a series of short “postcards” that anyone with something to share is welcome to submit, whether that is a digital snap and a “wish you were here” or something more involved. Please do join in by sending your postcards to theheritagejournal@gmail.com
For others in the series put postcards in the search box.
Postcards to friends of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site
“Had no one announced his presence, those who are acquainted with the portraits of his uncle, the Great Napoleon, would at once have recognised him.” Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte had raised local eyebrows when visiting Wiltshire in October 1860, even though predictably “a more peaceful visit than his uncle’s might have been had he succeeded in crossing the channel”. The Prince had brought with him a letter of introduction to Edward Kite, a grocer and historian, employed as Assistant Secretary and Curator by the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society. Kite would act as the Prince’s guide to Devizes as well as Silbury Hill and Avebury, “at which place his royal highness spent some time” having previously visited Stonehenge.
The Prince, who had been born in England due to his family being intercepted at sea when making their way to America, was a renowned philologist and his approach to Kite concerned a translation of the Song of Solomon in the Wiltshire dialect. The translation would appear in print the following year.
Edward Kite, The Song of Solomon in the Wiltshire Dialect, as it is Spoken in the Northern Division. From the Authorised English Version, by Edward Kite, for Louis Lucien Bonaparte (Strangeways & Walden, 1861).
B.E.
________________________________________________
This is part of a series of short “postcards” that anyone with something to share is welcome to submit, whether that is a digital snap and a “wish you were here” or something more involved. Please do join in by sending your postcards to theheritagejournal@gmail.com
For others in the series put postcards in the search box.
Postcards to friends of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site
From the collection of the Wiltshire Museum: William Tatton Winter (1855-1928), Stonehenge, signed etching, 350 x 270 mm, dating from just two years before the artist’s death.
It would not be obvious from the etching that the year 1926 was the year a pig farm was established on the adjacent former military aerodrome, where the redundant buildings and water tower still dominated the landscape. The recent past had seen other changes too with a traditional route that crossed the bank and ditch having been diverted. Timber props in evidence for years had also disappeared with a number of stones ‘restored’ and set in concrete, and seven years of archaeological excavation lately described as ‘disastrous’ being suspended.Recently erected fences were also torn down that year when Druids clashed with officialdom over access and burial issues that we perhaps think of as more recent history.
These were changing times at ‘timeless’ Stonehenge and to this background William Tatton Winter revives Christian infused imagery that had petered out in the previous century to portray a somewhat distracted shepherd with his flock amidst the symbolic ruin of a pagan temple.
B.E.
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This is part of a series of short “postcards” that anyone with something to share is welcome to submit, whether that is a digital snap and a “wish you were here” or something more involved. Please do join in by sending your postcards to theheritagejournal@gmail.com
For others in the series put postcards in the search box.
The new Stonehenge Visitors’ Centre will contain a 32 ft landscape wall designed to give people an impression of what it’s like to stand inside the circle. Some have opposed the idea saying only the real thing is acceptable. It’s tempting to say “please explain exactly how you would deliver that ideal, given the huge numbers involved” as there seem to be only two ways it could be done …
1. Tell most visitors to go away. That way, the numbers arriving at the stones would be reduced to a trickle and the few who go in would be free to wander amongst the stones or have picnics there and enjoy a truly relaxed and tranquil experience, just like in the good old days. Or …
2. Write down (in triplicate, with detailed costings appended) how one million people** a year (20,000 a day some days) can be safely and efficiently accommodated inside the stones. (For guidance, the cost of doing it for a single day at summer solstice is astronomical).
Isn’t it time though to accept that “Free and Open Access for All” is completely unachievable? The interior of Stonehenge isn’t like the Tardis, it’s about the size covered by the dome of St Paul’s and some days two thousand people an hour might arrive. There just isn’t room to fit them into 600 square feet of available space (and even if there was the “experience” would be pretty dire, a bit like like a permanent solstice). Truth is, demand has come to vastly exceed supply so the only answer is some form of rationing. Maybe a new and more realistic slogan is needed for the new, crowded Stonehenge: “fair rations for all”?
The good old days: five people (not 2,500) enjoying a quiet hour at the stones!
** Update 4 April 2013:
It seems that one million visitors a year is out of date. According to EH attendance is “expected to rise to 1.25m by 2016/17“, increasing whatever validity the above article has by 25%!
Postcards to friends of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site
Stonehenge by Henry Mark Anthony, 1817-1886
So far as I can recall I managed to live more than fifty years without really hearing of Avebury. Well, apart from a small black-and-white photo I saw of it when I was about eight in the tattered volume of “1001 Wonderful Things” that served as our version of television in those days – and for some reason I assumed the stones were only about a foot tall so I instantly dismissed them from my thoughts. As for Silbury, I definitely hadn’t heard of that.
Wind forward to the first day of the twenty first century and I’m driving west on the A4 from Marlborough with a friend, exploring. We go round a bend and up pops Silbury right in front of us. “What the hell is that?” were my very first words on the subject of British prehistory. If you’re going to start, you might as well start like that. I was amazed – like all who first travel along that route, including the Romans no doubt.
Later we drove on for our very first visit to Stonehenge. We were shocked rigid by the adjacent squalid visitor centre – so much so (and it was maybe a bit childish and out of character for a couple of otherwise respectable fifty somethings) that we went away and returned with two large placards asking people to write to their MP or Congressman about the state of things! We were chucked out of the car park and had to risk all by standing in the busy road but everyone seemed to agree with us.
But now, thirteen years later things are about to change. The road we were told to stand in will soon be gone and much else will change for the better. Restoring Stonehenge to something closer to “splendid isolation” has to be one of the best things ever achieved in the name of heritage. I’m so glad it’s happening in “my” time.
NRS
________________________________________________
This is part of a series of short “postcards” that anyone with something to share is welcome to submit, whether that is a digital snap and a “wish you were here” or something more involved. Please do join in by sending your postcards to theheritagejournal@gmail.com
For others in the series put postcards in the search box.
