Sacred Places: Stonehenge

Stonehenge, October 2004, Nancy Charak, photograph

Need a job? Qualifications: you must adore megaliths, tolerate neo-Druids, understand the "loony" neolithic, make note of the summer solstice, deal with British weather on Salisbury Plain, be good with PowerPoint, and be super people friendly.

English Heritage at Stonehenge is looking for a General Manager.

Via [TheAtlantic dot com]

"Then English Heritage may have just the job for you. The firm, which manages 420 historic properties across Britain, is looking for "an exceptional senior manager" to oversee the "visitor experience" at one of the world's most famous historic monuments: Stonehenge. (Yep, that Stonehenge.) The ring of standing stones, erected perhaps as early as 3000 BC, has been one of the world's most popular tourist destinations -- and, come December 2013, the site will offer a revamped visitors' center and exhibition galleries. The General Manager will oversee that center."

Sacred Spaces: Stonehenge Rave Spot

Stonehenge, Nancy Charak photo

Stonehenge, Nancy Charak photo

Avebury, Nancy Charak photo

Avebury Circle, Google Earth capture

Via [Discovery News]

"". . .analysis of cattle teeth from 80,000 animal bones excavated from the site also suggest that around 2500 BC, Stonehenge was the site of vast communal feasts.

These would have been attended by up to one tenth of the British population at one time in what. . . resembled "Glastonbury festival and a motorway building scheme at the same time."

It seemed that ancient people traveled to celebrate the winter and summer solstices but also to build the monument, he said.

"Stonehenge was a monument that brought ancient Britain together,". . .

"What we?ve found is that people came with their animals to feast at Stonehenge from all corners of Britain -- as far afield as Scotland.""

It is nice to be able to speculate on what uses the ancients had for Stonehenge or for the even larger circle at Avebury, whose outer circle has a diameter of 331.6 metres (1,088 ft), and is Britain's largest stone circle.

Access to Stonehenge is carefully monitored, there are guardrails and the ever present CCTV, whereas Avebury is wondrous accessible even for the sheep and to the church, the pub and the gift shop.

Sacred Spaces, ctd.

In October 2004 I went to Bath, England and took a tour to Stonehenge and Avebury Circle. The mysticism and legends belong to Stonehenge, but I found Avebury to be much more interesting and much more human, largely because it encircles a living village, a place where humans live and sheep graze. Immediate close up access to Stonehenge is roped off by the society for the preservation of this and that.

What made Avebury interesting to me was that it was so much more accessible, one could not only see, but touch the stones, even though a number had been removed and replaced with markers, nonetheless the spaces had been preserved. Additionally, the tour bus came from the south, along West Kennet Avenue which runs one and a half miles to Overton Hills, originally consisting of 100 pairs of stones. The road to Avebury runs through part of this avenue, giving the feel of a grand exalted entrance. At Stonehenge, the visitors' cars and tour buses park at the entrance across the road and entry is gained via a tunnel under the busy highway, for a less hallowed feel at the onset. Additionally, at Stonehenge there was the constant assault of highway noise, where Avebury gives off the aura of quiet little English village.

Stonehenge, Nancy Charak photograph, October 2004

Stonehenge, Nancy Charak photograph, October 2004

Avebury, Nancy Charak photograph, October 2004

Avebury, Nancy Charak photograph, October 2004

Avebury Avenue, Nancy Charak photograph, October 2004