Just one quick comment. I bought the hardback (released on 17 February) but the Kindle version isn’t available— even for preorder. Please encourage Mile to also have a Kindle version as it is so much easier to carry around. 🤔
I live by a place in Salem, New Hampshire, USA called “Americas Stonehenge”. It’s some sort of early settler cave dwellings maybe. There’s a sacrificial stone with a blood channel, which is pretty cool. But mostly rocks arranged for views of the sun.
Jan 31, 2022·edited Jan 31, 2022Liked by Dan Jones
I will be sure to visit the exhibition as the BM is round the corner from work and when I get the chance and I am in London I visit it on my lunch breaks. Perfect chance for a bit of me time.
I loved reading Rutherfurd's "Sarum" and the creation story of Stonehenge in that. Whenever I hear about Stonehenge it reminds me of short men with long toes.
So Dan, will you give us one of your poddish-type casts in front of the museum after visiting the exhibition???
I also read Sarum and had to visit Stonehenge. Took the train from London, got the first taxi in line to take us to our hotel. The driver asks, why did you come here...because I read Sarum... and he proceeds to tell us how great the book was, how great the area is, etc and he became our driver/tour guide for the next two days, showing us the sights including Sting's house...although he called him Gordon...and what a great guy he was. I think it was March and it was SOOOO windy and cold, but an incredible place.
Very interesting. There was a tv programme a couple of years back that showed archaeologists digging the Welsh hillsides to find the origin of the Stonehenge columns. Amazing how we look at these times at being primitive, yet to move such stones across country and erect them is far from it.
Hi Dan, I live in Wiltshire and if you drive past Stonehenge (try not to, the delays on that road are horrendous), the stone circle looks quite small. The landscape however is vast and with all the discoveries made there over the years there it’s hard to understand why this area and all the way to Durrington Walls was so important to our ancestors and why they chose it.. In fact Wiltshire has retained a prehistoric aura more so than any other of the geographical counties surrounding Wiltshire.
To me, Kent and Sussex will always be Saxon, Northumbria and Yorkshire and Lancashire Viking and the Midlands and Home Counties Medieval!
Dan, how do you feel about the restoration works mentioned in fact 3? And I sense some criticism in fact number 2 about returning stolen heritage, which predictably leads to the question how you feel about returning the Elgin marbles :-)
The story about Stonehenge being on the map reminds me of something I read about Windsor Castle: a tourist (I won't mention a nationality) was annoyed by planes flying noisily on to Heathrow and asked the guide why the castle was built under the Heathrow flight path :-)
When they built Windsor castle they did take that into consideration, but the convenience of being so close to the M4/M25/M40 intersections made the noise pollution of the flights worth it. There is a writ dating back to the C11th which proves this
We know that the Stonehenge site is close to the Woodhenge site at nearby Durrington Walls. Is there any indication in Mike Pitts' book about the relationship between the two sites and how they might have been used for religious purposes?
Pitts sets out his stall at the start of the book: to ask 'how' not 'why'. Although of course the questions are linked... the camp nearby at Durrington seems to have been for c4000 workers during the second stage of building (the sarsens)- which Pitts argues could have taken just two building seasons- Woodhenge is Norfolk I think? Apparently there's a walk you can do from one to the other... a long walk obvs
The logistics of getting those stones from Wales to Stonehenge is fascinating. How were they transported? How many people were involved? How long did it take? Was it Welsh people moving and bringing the stones with them or was it locals from Stonehenge who went to Wales for the stones? I have so many more questions. I hope you aren't planning anything for today 🤣
Thanks Dan,
I'll buy his book now based on your recommendation. 👍😃
Just one quick comment. I bought the hardback (released on 17 February) but the Kindle version isn’t available— even for preorder. Please encourage Mile to also have a Kindle version as it is so much easier to carry around. 🤔
I live by a place in Salem, New Hampshire, USA called “Americas Stonehenge”. It’s some sort of early settler cave dwellings maybe. There’s a sacrificial stone with a blood channel, which is pretty cool. But mostly rocks arranged for views of the sun.
I will be sure to visit the exhibition as the BM is round the corner from work and when I get the chance and I am in London I visit it on my lunch breaks. Perfect chance for a bit of me time.
I loved reading Rutherfurd's "Sarum" and the creation story of Stonehenge in that. Whenever I hear about Stonehenge it reminds me of short men with long toes.
So Dan, will you give us one of your poddish-type casts in front of the museum after visiting the exhibition???
I'd love to know about spooky or supernatural events that occurred in/near Stonehenge.
So would I. When we visited several years ago, I felt a very eerie sense. I’m sure that’s not uncommon.
You light up my life with your brilliant writing. Another favorote place of minece
I also read Sarum and had to visit Stonehenge. Took the train from London, got the first taxi in line to take us to our hotel. The driver asks, why did you come here...because I read Sarum... and he proceeds to tell us how great the book was, how great the area is, etc and he became our driver/tour guide for the next two days, showing us the sights including Sting's house...although he called him Gordon...and what a great guy he was. I think it was March and it was SOOOO windy and cold, but an incredible place.
Very interesting. There was a tv programme a couple of years back that showed archaeologists digging the Welsh hillsides to find the origin of the Stonehenge columns. Amazing how we look at these times at being primitive, yet to move such stones across country and erect them is far from it.
Thanks Dan, interesting.
Awesome
I should see Stonehenge the same day as Salisbury and the Magna Carta in March
Hi Dan, I live in Wiltshire and if you drive past Stonehenge (try not to, the delays on that road are horrendous), the stone circle looks quite small. The landscape however is vast and with all the discoveries made there over the years there it’s hard to understand why this area and all the way to Durrington Walls was so important to our ancestors and why they chose it.. In fact Wiltshire has retained a prehistoric aura more so than any other of the geographical counties surrounding Wiltshire.
To me, Kent and Sussex will always be Saxon, Northumbria and Yorkshire and Lancashire Viking and the Midlands and Home Counties Medieval!
Am I alone in thinking like this?
Dan, how do you feel about the restoration works mentioned in fact 3? And I sense some criticism in fact number 2 about returning stolen heritage, which predictably leads to the question how you feel about returning the Elgin marbles :-)
The story about Stonehenge being on the map reminds me of something I read about Windsor Castle: a tourist (I won't mention a nationality) was annoyed by planes flying noisily on to Heathrow and asked the guide why the castle was built under the Heathrow flight path :-)
When they built Windsor castle they did take that into consideration, but the convenience of being so close to the M4/M25/M40 intersections made the noise pollution of the flights worth it. There is a writ dating back to the C11th which proves this
LOL this is why the world needs more historians ;-)
We know that the Stonehenge site is close to the Woodhenge site at nearby Durrington Walls. Is there any indication in Mike Pitts' book about the relationship between the two sites and how they might have been used for religious purposes?
Pitts sets out his stall at the start of the book: to ask 'how' not 'why'. Although of course the questions are linked... the camp nearby at Durrington seems to have been for c4000 workers during the second stage of building (the sarsens)- which Pitts argues could have taken just two building seasons- Woodhenge is Norfolk I think? Apparently there's a walk you can do from one to the other... a long walk obvs
The logistics of getting those stones from Wales to Stonehenge is fascinating. How were they transported? How many people were involved? How long did it take? Was it Welsh people moving and bringing the stones with them or was it locals from Stonehenge who went to Wales for the stones? I have so many more questions. I hope you aren't planning anything for today 🤣
You need to order Pitts' book! The comparative stuff with C20th Indonesian megalithic burial sites is super illuminating
I got a sneak preview on Amazon. I am intrigued so I ordered it. Plus I like the cover.