The,Mystery,Stonehenge,5000,ye travel,insurance The Mystery of Stonehenge
Torres del Paine is among the biggest of Chiles national parks, occupying almost 600,000 acres (242,000 ha) of land in the south on the border with Argentina. It is also among the most important, receiving a significant proportion of domes Like any American, traveling occasionally is just what I love doing and I bet you share the same stuff with me. But traveling does not mean that you would be safe. Escaping from our job and other stressful activities is just something that w
5000 years ago at a site near Amesbury, Wiltshire in England,someone decided to dig a serious of circular holes. Each of these holes wasaround a metre deep, a metre wide, and formed a part of a circle of 284 feet indiameter. Although human remains havebeen found, it is thought that the holes, known as Aubrey Holes, whereoriginally excavated for some kind of religious ceremony. For whatever reason, thesite was abandoned soon after its conception, and remained untouched foranother 1000 years. Then another Bright-Spark had the brilliant idea ofbuilding a stone henge. Now, some of the rocks weighed around 4 tons, and justto make things a little more interesting, it was decided to bring in bluestonesfrom the Preseli Mountainsin Wales,some 240 miles away. Bear in mind, 4000 years ago a low-loader was out of thequestion. How they were moved, no-one knows for sure, but it is generallybelieved that the huge rocks were first inched along the coast of South Wales onrollers. That in itself is astonishing, but when you hear that the rocks werethen loaded on to rafts and sailed up the rivers Avonand Frome, it becomes an almost superhuman effort. Back to the rollers again tomove them overland to a place near modern day Warminster, then once more ontorafts to transport them on the River Wylye to Salisbury, and if that wasntenough, they then dragged them overland to where they are today. Lets face it,no-one is going to move them again in a hurry. Imagine that journey, thenmultiply it by 82. Yes 82, thats how many bluestones were moved from Wales,not counting any that may lie on the seabed through mishaps. Anyway, after everyone had a nice cup of tea, the rocks werearranged in an incomplete double circle. The Avenue was formed which alignedwith the midsummer sunrise, and a pair of Heel Stones were erected. Some ofthe stones were used as lintels, and if youve ever seen pictures of Stonehenge, it defies belief how these were ever liftedinto position. Why did they do it? Why did they go to all that trouble tocreate whatever Stonehenge is? I doubt verymuch that well ever know with complete certainty, although the idea of a placeof worship seems the most likely. There are other theories of course, such asthe huge calendar idea. One of the problems is that Stonehengewas built by a culture with no written language, so there are no rock carvingsto decipher. Over the years, the mystery of Stonehengehas been the focus of many books and debates, which have spawned someinteresting theories. Its not difficult to find someone who honestly believesthat the rocks were placed in position by some extraterrestrial intelligence,or by time travellers who have yet to be born, but let me give you my theory;theyre nutters, and as for Stonehenge, Imnot even going to hazard a guess. A more palatable theory was proposed by Mike Parker Pearson,the head of the Stonehenge Riverside Project. He suggests that Stonehenge was joined to Durrington Walls which lies twomiles to the east. Durrington was the land of the living whilst Stonehenge was reserved for the dead, the journey betweenthe two being the transition from life to death. Geoffrey Wainwright, of theSociety of Antiquaries of London, and Timothy Darvill believe that Stonehenge was a place of healing. Its difficult to see how anyone can own such a place asStonehenge, so lets say that it has been looked after by some notable people,none more so than Henry V111, who having acquired Amesbury Abbey, gaveStonehenge and the surrounding land to the Earl of Hertford in 1540. It thenpassed to Lord Carleton and then to the Marquis of Queensbury. In 1824, theAntrobus family purchased the estate, but when in 1915, their last heir waskilled during World War 1 they sold it by auction to one Cecil Chubb for£6,600, who subsequently handed it on to the nation. 1920 saw a nationwide appeal aimed at saving Stonehenge from being swallowed up by modern buildings,which were springing up in the vicinity. An aerodrome had been built during thewar, and a road junction had appeared perilously close to the stones. In 1928,the land around Stonehenge was given to theNational Trust in order to preserve the integrity of the landscape. Stonehenge was voted one of the Seven Wonders of Britainin 2002.
The,Mystery,Stonehenge,5000,ye