Scenes of Stonehenge in the snow in England
Showing posts with label Stonehenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stonehenge. Show all posts
Friday, January 29, 2010
Monday, June 22, 2009
King Arthur at Stonehenge, England - 2009
King Arthur refuses to leave Stonehenge
Let me introduce you to King Arthur Pendragon, a druid formerly known as John Rothwell, who set up camp on the edge of the site believing that people should be allowed to walk around and touch the stones, which have been roped off since 1977.
Pendragon, 57, who changed his name by deed poll in 1976, has been living in a small camper on the A344 road near Stonehenge since last June.
He says "Stonehenge was presented to the Nation after the Great War in 1918. Sixty years later in 1978 a fence was erected around it. I have spent the best part of twenty years in negotiations with said agencies. It is now my intention to celebrate Solstices and Equinoxes in the environs of Stonehenge but I will not enter the Temple until their promise is realized and the fence removed."
King Arthur made a declaration notice ‘to quit’ which ended with the following words:
That they and other Government Departments, Eleven years & thirty seven million pounds later, have expressed a wish to squander yet more of our monies is a further demonstration of their Gross Incompetence
I therefore give "NOTICE TO QUIT" to English Heretics & H.M. Government
"Pick up thy fence & Walk"
King Arthur Pendragon, walks close to Stonehenge, after a judge tried to evict him from his live-in protest site there. Wiltshire County Council objected, on the grounds of trespassing, and launched legal proceedings. Now he has to remain behind this wire fencing since he has been banned from entering the site.
Stonehenge has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries. Modern day pagans and druids have been holding ceremonies there since at least 1905.
Thousands of people gather at Stonehenge to celebrate the Solstice and make worship in the manner of olden times. They argue, that’s why the sacred space is there and that is what it should be used for.
Mr. Pendragon wants visitors to be able to walk around and touch the stones, rather than remain in a visitor centre and stuck to marked-out trails.
In 2007, the government scrapped the plans to remove fences around Stonehenge, and build an underpass and grass over the A344 roadway.
He is hoping his protests will encourage the Government to resume those plans of removing the fences around the monument, and building a tunnel over the A303 and grass over the A344. He said: “That’s what they promised to do but the Government said they
couldn't afford the tunnel."
Mr. Pendragon has vowed to maintain his vigil, with the full support of the Council of British Druid Orders.
He continues to picket the staff and tourists daily. He said he had no intention to leave. "We opened a bottle of mead and drank to Stonehenge. I have done a short ritual and spell of protection, calling on the kings of old. I am not going to go, I am continuing my lawful right to protest and my equal right to religious practice."
Some people stop and read his signs and others just walk by. I chatted with him for quite a while as he explained his situation and what he was trying to do. He sleeps outside in his small camper during all weather conditions and he is certainly dedicated to his cause. I have always admired people who are able to go above and beyond in order to stand up for something that they strongly believe in and he does have a point, don't you think?
Before we left he gave me a copy of a book that he has written "The Trials of Arthur - the Life and times of a Modern-Day King" by Arthur Pendragon and Christopher James Stone.
He hopes to run as an independent parliamentary candidate. Why not? He is no more colorful than some other Members of Parliament that I can think of :-)
It was a pleasure meeting King Arthur and reading his petition gave me plenty to think about.
All in all, a wonderful day with my cousins at a place that we love so much.
I do hope that there will come a time when children can, once again, have memories of climbing on the stones placed there by our ancestors.
*****
A final thought on Stonehenge:
“I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery
than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.”
Sage words by Harry Emerson.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England
When I recently returned to England one of the first places that I wanted to visit was Stonehenge. My cousins live about 30 miles from the area and we usually make the sojourn together. I am always filled with wonder at the mystery of this place.
STONEHENGE
The image above depicts the archaeological version of what Stonehenge
looked like two thousand years ago.
Stonehenge is a powerful reminder of the once-great peoples of the late Stone and Bronze Ages. Erected between 3,000 BC and 1,600 BC, a number of the stones were carried hundreds of miles over land and sea, while antlers and bones were used to dig the pits that hold the stones their ultimate purpose remains a fascinating and enduring mystery.
Here we have an ariel view, by National Geographic,
of Stonehenge today.
Mystery surrounds this 5,000 year old monument in the centre of the World Heritage Site. When you visit this prehistoric site it is hard to decide whether Stonehenge was a place of sun worship, a healing sanctuary, a sacred burial site, or something different altogether!
Stonehenge stands as an enduring testimony to the people who built it, in several phases between 3,000 and 1,600 BC. An amazing feat of engineering and arguably the most sophisticated stone circle in the world.
They provide a complimentary audio tour which tells you all about the history of the site.
Every time I visit I learn a little more than the time before. This is one of the most intriguing sites in the British Isles.
The surrounding landscape is also fascinating. It contains huge prehistoric monuments, stretching over several miles. Many of the earthen monuments have been eroded away and often, only traces remain above ground.
The stones were built by three different cultures, Windmill, First Wessex and the Beakers - so named because when they buried their dead they had their pots interred with them.
The Bluestones are the smaller inner stones, which originate from Preselli mountains in Wales, and when they become wet they turn blue.
Stonehenge is not the largest stone circle in the world but it is the only one that has lintels around the top, making this unique.
There is no explanation as to why this site was chosen. Various theories have been put forward but no conclusive evidence has been found to support them.
A common complaint is that there are now ropes erected around the stones to prevent people climbing on them. They were put in place in 1978 to help protect the stones from further damage.
A lot of the original stones have been taken by our ancestors to build their houses and roads. Also, a lot of stones have been chipped away by visitors and taken away as souvenirs over the past couple of hundred years, therefor there has to be some protection in place to preserve the site.
*****
I never fail to enjoy this visit. I have written about the history here, but there is another aspect of this place that is easier to experience than to accurately write about. I am referring to the feeling that comes over myself and most visitors as we are standing looking at the sacred circle.
It is hard to imagine the ancient people who mapped the course of the sun and moon to build this monument. To view the burial mounds where they buried their leaders. This place is the center of one of the world's earliest cultures. They actually continued to build this for over two thousand years. They didn't give up until it was finished.
They dragged the larger stones, 30 Sarsens (sandstone uprights), from the Marlborough Downs , 19 miles away. Each one weighing over 25 tons. The smaller stones, known as the Bluestones, are from the mystical Preseli Mountains in Wales, 240 miles away.
What was their technology? How did they do that? What was their motivation to keep at it for so many years? As the tour guides say "It still remains a mystery today."
While we were there we met some colorful people.
More about this site soon..................
*****
photos (unless indicated) by peacesojourner
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