Comments on: Avebury

By: CherryPie

CherryPie — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 22:12:42 +0000

I think perhaps a bit of research reading back to the people who wrote about it before the stones had fallen may help you to enjoy it more

Yes the whole concept of Avebury, Stonehenge and the other surrounding features are intriguing and fascinating.

By: Andrew MacLaren-Scott

Andrew MacLaren-Scott — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 22:09:01 +0000

Agreed, but as I understand it so much reconstruction has been done on Avebury it just feels a bit fake to me. But as you know, I am a contrary creature. I still enjoyed visiting it, and it is still utterly fascinating.

By: CherryPie

CherryPie — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 22:00:40 +0000

If it had been left as it was, most of the stones would not be visible due to the toppling and burying of them. It was excavations by Alexander Keiller in the 1930s that revealed the buried stones. Alexander re-erected these stones and also the ones that had fallen over. There are only 36 stones standing out of the many that would have formed the circles.

Parts of Stonehenge also fell and were re-erected in much the same way.

By: Andrew MacLaren-Scott

Andrew MacLaren-Scott — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 21:32:45 +0000

The problem with Avebury (for me) is that it is reconstructed. I’d prefer it to be just as it was, personally, regardless of whether or not the reconstruction was accurate. A reconstructed Stonehenge would not appeal half as much as what is there now.

By: CherryPie

CherryPie — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 16:58:51 +0000

The people in the foreground were congregating in front of the stone with the seat/platform. Shortly afterward a group of Germans started performing some sort of ritual in front of it. We left them to it and came back to that stone later when it was quieter.

By: CherryPie

CherryPie — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 16:56:32 +0000

Hopefully you will get a chance one day. The one in Cumbria is called Castlerigg, it is one I have so far not been to.

By: CherryPie

CherryPie — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 16:53:29 +0000

I expect some men had the responsibility of placing/building the stones whilst others did the hunting. I expect the women did the cooking and gathering of food. Then there were all those ceremonies… It would be great to know what they actually did and how they so skillfully aligned the stones.

By: Sackerson

Sackerson — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 15:51:00 +0000

Like the first pic especially, looks like some kind of agricultural fair!

By: Natalie

Natalie — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 12:00:44 +0000

I’d love to see more of England’s stone circles. My hubby brought me back a book about them after visiting Scotland years back. I’ve seen Stonehenge of course, and one other one that I’ve now forgotten the name of (it was in 1988!) Somewhere in Cumbria maybe?

By: Amfortas

Amfortas — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 03:56:31 +0000

Ir raises an issue of the ‘lot’ of the common chap in those days. One imagines that with no supermarkets or motor vehicles they had to spend every waking moment growing food and harvesting it, as well as making fires to cook it on and fetching water from a stream three miles away to cook it in.

Two possibilities then occur: a) they moved all those stones in their sleep, or b) they had to food bizzo down pat and really had far too much time on their hands.

Idle hands lead to politics and bludging. It is likely then that the local bigwigs had a version of work for the dole, organising and directing the shifting of stones to keep the disaffected off hedge corners.