The Realm of the Ancestors...

[endlessrarities]

Today's the Winter Solstice.  The Day of the Dead - or rather, the Ancestors. 

I'm stuck at home, gazing at the fog,  when I should be sitting in the shadow of the Langdale Ancestors raising a glass in their honour.  Ah well, can't be helped.  I'll just post my very own eulegy to the Ancestors instead.  And the choice for today's topic is an obvious one.

Here we are:-

 

It's Stonehenge, looking suitably gloomy and atmospheric.  I thought I'd dispense with the obvious general site views, because I'm sure you all know perfectly well what Stonehenge looks like.

For generations, archaeologists and lay folk have waxed lyrical about the mystery of Stonehenge.  That it functions as a calendar is clear, but the elaborate theories proposed for how this particular calendar functioned probably over-egg the pudding.  This monument is a highly complex structure which was continually modified and adapted by generations, resulting in the familiar form we see today.

 

 In the foreground, we see one of the famous Prescelly bluestones, brought to Salisbury Plain from the Prescelly Mountains in West Wales - an extraordinary logistical feat for a prehistoric population....

Each generation of archaeologists has developed its own pet theories about how Stonehenge functioned, but it's only now that it looks like we're getting close to understanding this monument.  To get to grips with Stonehenge, it's necessary not to focus on the monument itself, but to consider how it fits in with its wider landscape setting. 

Over the last few years, Sheffield University Archaeology Department has been spearheading the Stonehenge Riverside Project, which has done exactly that, and the results have been breathtaking.

The importance of the midsummer solstice in the way in which Stonehenge operates is well known.  But it's only by considering this monument in relation to others that the important role of the midwinter sunrise becomes apparent.  The monument is approached along a specific route, by formal avenues, along which, it must be assumed, the local communities processed at particular times of year - the midwinter and midsummer solstices.

I've taken the liberty of quoting a section from the 2005 Summary Interim report, just so you can get a flavour of the current thinking:-  


'Wood to stone downstream - to the realm of the ancestors
Southern Circle to Road Facing midwinter sunrise
Avenue to Stonehenge Facing midwinter sunset

Stone to wood upstream - fertility from the ancestors
Stonehenge to Avenue Facing midsummer sunrise
Road to Souther Circle Facing midsummer sunset

This juxtaposition now suggests that midwinter and midsummer were both important solsticial moments in the annual calendar. There is also a switch in directionality, from the timber monuments of Durrington Walls downstream to Stonehenge at the midwinter solstice and upstream from Stonehenge to Durrington Walls on midsummer's day. Whilst the midwinter route has been recognised and discussed within the project, the reversed midsummer route has only been recognised by Mike Pitts  (2000).  Whilst the former route can be interpreted as leading from the living into the realms of the ancestors, the opposite leads from the ancestors to the living.  The ultimate gift that ancestors provide is fertility and this may be the significance of the midsummer directionality.  It would siggest a preference for human birth in the spring, with sex and death symbolised at the two solstices of the annual round'   (Parker Pearson, et. al. 2005).


Have they cracked it?  The argument is certainly a compelling one.  If you want to read it for yourself, just click on the link below.  It's a site report, but it's not too dry and tedious:-

http://www.shef.ac.uk/content/1/c6/02/21/27/PDF-Interim-Report-2005-summary.pdf

The Time Team did a Stonehenge special a few years back, and though I'm not a big fan of the Time Team, this particular programme was brilliant.  And for those of you who want to find out more about the Stonehenge Riverside Project in general, try the following link:-

http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/research/stonehenge

I'll leave the last word to the monument itself.  I've explored a lot of wonderful places throughout the British Isles and western Europe, but Stonehenge remains one of my firm favourites.  And you know what?  The closer we get to understanding how it functioned, the more I appreciate it.  It's as magnificent an embodiment of the spiritual beliefs of its time as the medieval cathedrals built c. 3000 years later.

Enjoy. 
 

 

Comments

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

How did you get these close-up photos?! I was under the impression that no one was allowed in this close anymore.

The moon over Stonehenge in the nighttime photo is wonderful.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

I haven't been doing any clandestine sneaking into monuments,if that's what you think!

When we visited in 2008, English Heritage had a scheme where limited numbers of visitors were allowed access into the actual monument at dawn. You have to pay a hefty sum for the privilige, of course, but oh boy, was it worth it.

We arrived before anyone else, so we quite literally had the monument to ourselves for ten precious minutes, with only one very bored monument warden posted there to ensure we didn't perform any acts of desecration. The peace and quiet was soon ruined - there were a couple of families and a television film crew.

But in that magical stretch of peace & tranquility, the only thing that crossed our path was a hare. I took that as a good omen and was inspired to write my current novel soon after...

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I didn't think you'd snuck in--well, I thought that was the least likely hypothesis :D I thought maybe you had a special dispensation, or that I'd been wrong in my understanding. I'm glad you got to go! The photos are gorgeous.

[rowangolightly.livejournal.com]

OH, how neat! ::iz jealous:: Thank you for sharing; I was wondering about the close up shots too.

When I was there in '98 and '99, I was wishing I could get shots like that. What a wonderful place; so inspiring!

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

My colleagues laughed when they heard I'd splashed out so much cash on the entry fee - I think it was about £18 a head, or something ridiculous like that, and we had to get there for 5am or thereabouts. But it was definitely worth it!

[rowangolightly.livejournal.com]

Oh, I think that's definitely worth it! They're perhaps somewhat immune to such old relics, spending so much time around them? StoneHenge is rather special. I really love the night-time shots; you're right, it doesn't have the same impact seen in sunshine.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

I don't think they were doing it back then. I think it's a fairly recent development.

[rowangolightly.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I didn't think they were. Hopefully someday I can afford to come back over and visit my friends in Hampshire and maybe even come up and drop in on you. I've never been to Scotland but have always wanted to.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

You'd be most welcome. I could take you around some of the sites - though Edinburgh Castle would NOT be on my preferred list...

[rowangolightly.livejournal.com]

That would be absolutely wonderful. I'd really love for you to show me what most people *do* go see; Edinburgh Castle would be something I could do, well, that anybody could do.

Nice to dream...

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

I'd put Stirling & Linlithgow on the itinerary as 'Must See' places - way above Edinburgh Castle, which is a pretty much a Hanoveriam garrison with some medieval survivals. I'd also devote a day to the Kilmartin Glen - it's a must for anyone who wants to learn about Scotland's prehistoric and early historic archaeology and experience it for themselves.

Just don't come visiting when the weather's like this, huh??

[rowangolightly.livejournal.com]

Definitely!

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I don't think it's the moon. The most haunted crew would call it an 'orb': I'd call it rain on the camera lens.

The spirits of the ancestors coming to visit us? Perhaps:-))

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

It's a very atmospheric drop of rain!

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

They probably had some clause stating that we weren't allow to publish any photos or something. Ooops....

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I much prefer Avebury myself- but that's got a lot to do with the lamentable way Stonehenge is managed.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

The cathedral to Stonehenge's parish church?

I'd have agreed with you, before I got a chance to visit Stonehenge 'up close and personal'. I hold them both in equally high esteem now - we had a ten mile walk from Amesbury, past the barrow cemetery, and on past Stonehenge to Durrington Walls, and however bad you think the presentation and the management is of Stonehenge itself, when you travel through the landscape like that, it makes a real impact. We did the same at Avebury, and again, it really brought the place to life. The Avenue at Avebury is something else...

There's a handy pub at Avebury, mind. Stonehenge can't boast that.

[faerie-writer.livejournal.com]

*Perfect* pictures for today! :D

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

I thought so, too. We always get the happy sunny Stonehenge pictures. I almost prefer it when it's glowering at the world like this - hard to believe that these pictures were actually taken in the month of August!

[writeonq.livejournal.com]

It is a perfect day for Stonehenge photos! I am especially smitten with the second one down. I had an opportunity to play among the stones during a visit there as well, and there's a photo of that here.

Happy Winter Solstice to you!

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing! That was a lovely photo.

I have raised my glass to the ancestors - Neolithic, Bronze Age, recently departed, feline, equine, avian, whatever. They're all included - I wouldn't be who I am without them!!

[paulie123.livejournal.com]

What beautiful pictures. Yes, it certainly looks like summer in Wiltshire.

[xjenavivex.livejournal.com]

Wow thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Pleased to be of service!!

[red-trillium.livejournal.com]

Beautiful and inspirational. Thank you for sharing the close views of this majestic and mysterious place.