STONEHENGE and Others

STONEHENGE  can be found on the Salisbury Plain in southern England, and was constructed in three different phases which cover almost 1,000 years of prehistoric time. The earliest phase dates from about 2750 BC. Since it is 1,000 years older than the Druids, Stonehenge could not have been built by those Celtic priests of Britain and Gaul. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, a 12th-century chronicler, the stones were brought over from Ireland and set in place 'not by force but by Merlin's art'. This explanation is truly the work of a Camelotian idealist. The mystery of Stonehenge has continued to elude us but the theory of its use as an observatory or a temple seems plausible. For whatever reason Stonehenge was built, its use to the Druid priest was significant. The British revered Stonehenge as its religious center where these teachings are represented in symbolic form by stones and columns.

AVEBURY   is the largest stone circle in the world at 1401 feet in diameter. It covers an area of some 28 acres. Although it is not as impressive as Stonehenge, it's site is formed by a huge a mile round circular bank , a massive ditch now only a half of its original depth and a great ring of 98 sarsen slabs enclosing two smaller circles of 30 stones each and other settings and arrangements of stones.
The stones, each weighing about 40 tons or more, were left rough and not outfitted as the Stonehenge blocks. The Avebury blocks were obtained from the same place as the Stonehenge blocks at the nearby Marlborough Downs.
At this time, there are only 27 in place because a few hundred years ago many of the stones were broken up by lighting fires beneath them and pouring cold water over them. They were also used to construct the present nearby village.
In the 14th century some of the stones were buried.

STANTON DREW   is a huge megalithic complex consisting of three stone circles, two stone avenues, a cove of stones and an outlier. The Great Circle, the second largest English stone ring after the outer circle at Avebury is 368 feet in diameter and it is composed by 27 stones. In recent geophysical research of the site a discovery was made that within the Great Circle are the remains of a highly elaborate pattern of buried pits, that once held massive posts. They are arranged in nine rings concentric with the stone circle at the centre of which are further pits. A survey by the English Heritage's Ancient Monuments Laboratory scientists revealed that the Great Circle is itself contained within a very large ditch 443 feet in diameter--twice as large as Stonehenge. This prehistoric cerimonial site has been described as the biggest in Britain.

LONG MEG AND HER DAUGHTERS   is the third largest English stone circle. The other two are the outer circle at Avebury, in Wiltshire and Stanton Drew, in Avon.
Long Meg and Her Daughters dates from the Bronze Age and it consists in a huge ring (the Daughters) of almost 60 local porphyritic stones and in a tall outlier (Long Meg). The circle measures 359 x 305 feet, and it lies on a slight slope. On its north-east face there are some ring and spiral carvings, possibly reflecting its astronomical alignement. The decorated side of Long Meg doesn't face the circle, so the outlier and the ring maybe are not contemporary. Aerial photographs of the site have revealed that the circle is enclosed in a bank, not visible from the ground.
In the 18th century there was an attempt to destroy the stones, but a tremendous thunderstorm and superstitions stopped the project. The local tradition explains that Long Meg and her daughters were a coven of witches turned into stones by a wizard during their sabbath. These stones are said to be uncountable, but if anyone can count the stones twice, the spell will be broken.
Another story says that Long Meg would bleed if broken down.

THE MERRY MAIDENS  is the best known and one of the most well preserved circle in England--specifically in Cornwall. It is believed to be complete. It has nineteen granite stones that form a perfect circle. The stones are regularly spaced and exactly at the east there is a gap, possibly an entrance or the site of a missing stone. The Merry Maidens are also called Dawn's Men which is a corruption of Dans Maen, or Stone Dance in Cornish. The story is of nineteen maidens dancing on a Sunday who were transformed into stones. The pipers that had played for them were petrified too. Those two standing stones are in a field to the north-east of the circle. This legend probably came by the early Christian Church to stop the pagan Cornish peasantry continuing old habits.

Back to:
Historical Ways
Mystical Madness