National Geographic had a new documentary last week called “Stonehenge Decoded”, a curious title since that was the name of a book published over 40 years ago. One that I read at the time. Stonehenge has always been of interest to me so I watched the show eagerly. An archeologist has a new theory that Stonehenge was a monument to the ancestors and therefore celebrated death, while Woodhenge and the nearby Durington Walls celebrated life. Perhaps. It seemed like another elaborate explanation based on very little evidence or one explanation out of thousands that could be constructed from the puzzle pieces found so far.
Anyway, it made me think of when we were there. It was August 5th, 1971. Lance wasn’t 2 years old yet. We had the run of the place. I don’t think you can walk into the monument itself anymore. Here is our day at the site.
To give you a sense of scale, here is Karen standing by one of the trilothons.
This shows we were actually there.
Lance on the Alter Stone, also in the picture are Karen and Judy Thorpe, Michael Bellamy, and Paddy Thorpe
You can see the indentations on the top of the stone. These were filled with stagnant water. Lance had to stamp his foot in them and it stunk for a long, long time.
From this point you would see the midsummer sun rise directly over the heelstone.
Lance at Stonehenge
The Heelstone is also bigger than you think.
Butch,
Great to see the pics of Stonehenge. Even more wonderful to see the pics of you, Karen, Lance and Judy. Takes me back to our late-night discussions long ago.
All the Best.
Ray
Intriquing theory forwarded by the archeologist in this program and his teams are finding a lot of artifacts in digs away from the actual site. The National Geographic special is worth a look if you have any interest in Stonehenge or Stone-Age Europe.
Awesome beyond words! Great pictures.
Wow, what babies you all were. Great to see the old pics.
I saw it too. Shows you how out of it I’ve been. I always thought it was a burial ground. i REMEMBER HOW EXCITED YOU GUYS WERE ABOUT THAT TRIP. dON’T SUPPOSE lANCE REMEMBERS MUCH, THO.
i remember how disappointed i was when we came over the hill to the henge, and we didn’t hear “also spracht thurasista”
in the background. i know, i know, i can’t spell.