Archive for May, 2008
Yesterday, on the anniversary of the hole appearing at the top of Silbury Hill, there was a deluge of very interesting press releases concerning Stonehenge, ahead of the National Geographic’s 2 hour docu-drama on the monument. Of them all, perhaps the most interesting is this link from the New Scientist, where the evidence for the early burials at Stonehenge is presented, then Professor Timothy Darvill offers his opinion, while anyone who’s seen the recent news about Stonehenge will be aware that Professors Darvill and Wainwright are convinced that it was once a place of healing.
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Vandalism at Stonehenge
8:48 pm
VANDALS used a hammer and screwdriver to damage the Hele Stone at Stonehenge between 9pm and 10pm last Thursday.
Police are appealing for witnesses after two men climbed over the fence surrounding the area and caused the damage, before driving off in a red Rover 400.
The suspects were caught on CCTV going to the stones on another day but were chased off.
Anyone who saw the red Rover or two males acting suspiciously are asked to contact PC William Marks at Amesbury Police Station or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Temple of Coelus?
12:06 am
At the end of the piece entitled “Merlin has risen from the Grave”, I suggested that the original Stonehenge, including the sarsen circle and trilithons, may once have stood elsewhere. As I explained, I based this idea on the writings of Geoffrey of Monmouth, who specifically wrote that the Stonehenge we recognise today was moved from a mountaintop to Salisbury Plain; as he’s so accurate about all the other aspects of Stonehenge’s construction, I don’t see any good reason to disbelieve him on this score.
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Anette Viberg
12:27 pm
Those of you who’ve read today’s Express and Echo from Exeter might understandably have been baffled by the enigmatic reference to Anette Viberg. Well, going on the principle that a picture’s worth a thousand words, here she is, and might I add what an honour, a privilege and a pleasure it was to be photographed with this truly wonderful lady from Sweden.
As for the story behind “The Screaming Skull of Sowton”, it’ll just have to wait until we’ve written a little more about King Zil, now safely sealed away inside Silbury Hill, and long may he remain there.
Silbury Hill Solved?
4:02 pm
Those of you with a general interest in what’s generally going on at Stonehenge and at Silbury Hill will doubtless be very pleased indeed at the extensive coverage both sites have received recently – indeed, there’s been such a deluge of “information” that I’ve found it impossible to keep up, although you can rest assured that I’ll get around to covering each and every piece that’s come out over the last month or so.
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Barbarians at the Gate
12:07 am
A little while ago, Jonathan Jones wrote a superb piece in the Guardian, bemoaning the abysmal state that Stonehenge is in and he concluded by saying “it’s the very people whose job it is to describe the unique nature of Stonehenge who make it sound as if it’s nothing more exciting than all the earthworks they dig up in bogs with a couple of wooden posts stuck in the peat. Stonehenge has been talked down by the experts. And now the philistines have an excuse to treat it as if it was nothing special.”
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