Stonehenge
Today I visited Stonehenge, about an hour away from Bath.
Really, it's quite amazing.
Archaeologists say that the site itself was used as far back as 2,000 BC, when the ditch surrounding the area was dug and posts put in place. Surrounding it are mounds and hills and ridges called barrows, which is where the Neolithic peoples buried their dead. There are hundreds of them from different time periods and in different styles. For those of you who read The Lord of the Rings, this is where Tolkien got the inspiration for the Barrow-Downs that Frodo and Co. walk through. (Also in the movie the sort of burial that the King of Rohan gives his son is what is thought to have been performed and the kid is buried in a barrow.)
It was cold and rainy and windy, so fortunately there weren't too many people there. The visitor's center is set a ways back from the site, to control tourist flow and preserve the area. You can wander around and explore the barrows if you so choose (I didn't, I only had an hour and a half to see everything and I didn't want an ancient hand grabbing at my ankle).
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love the English countryside. Rolling green hills, clouds, farm land and sheeps and trees.
That's a good shot, eh?
Not bad. It's a staggering place, the thought that humans have been standing on this very spot for millenia. In the United States, anything 100 years old is considered ancient. Over here, 100 years is a tiny spot on the timeline. 100 years is nothing. Nearly 4 millenia people have been standing and walking and doing weird stuff on this ground. Ancient peoples lived and fought and died on these grounds. It's mind boggling.
Tomorrow I head to London. I have a feeling that there's going to be a lot to see and not enough time to see it in. Oh well. Always next time.
Til then,
Nita
Really, it's quite amazing.
Archaeologists say that the site itself was used as far back as 2,000 BC, when the ditch surrounding the area was dug and posts put in place. Surrounding it are mounds and hills and ridges called barrows, which is where the Neolithic peoples buried their dead. There are hundreds of them from different time periods and in different styles. For those of you who read The Lord of the Rings, this is where Tolkien got the inspiration for the Barrow-Downs that Frodo and Co. walk through. (Also in the movie the sort of burial that the King of Rohan gives his son is what is thought to have been performed and the kid is buried in a barrow.)
It was cold and rainy and windy, so fortunately there weren't too many people there. The visitor's center is set a ways back from the site, to control tourist flow and preserve the area. You can wander around and explore the barrows if you so choose (I didn't, I only had an hour and a half to see everything and I didn't want an ancient hand grabbing at my ankle).
Tomorrow I head to London. I have a feeling that there's going to be a lot to see and not enough time to see it in. Oh well. Always next time.
Til then,
Nita
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