Posted on 09/18/2017 6:36:00 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Sadly, the truth is that the monument we see today was rebuilt as far back as 1901 when restoration process caused great outrage but was rarely referred to in official guidebooks.
William Gowland oversaw the first major restoration of the monument which involved the straightening and concrete setting of sarsen stone number 56 which was in danger of falling. In straightening the stone he moved it about half a meter from its original position.
During the 1920 restoration William Hawley, who had excavated nearby Old Sarum, excavated the base of six stones and the outer ditch. Richard Atkinson, Stuart Piggott and John F. S. Stone re-excavated much of Hawley’s work in the 1940s and 1950s and discovered the carved axes and daggers on the Sarsen Stones.
In 1958 the stones were restored again when three of the standing sarsens were re-erected and set in concrete bases. The last restoration was carried out in 1963 after stone 23 of the Sarsen Circle fell over.
Cambridge University archeological archivist and leading Stonehenge author Christopher Chippindale admitted: ‘Not much of what we see at Stonehenge hasn’t been touched in some way’. And historical research student Brian Edwards, who recently revealed that the nearby Avebury Monument had been totally rebuilt, has found rare pictures of Stonehenge being restored. He said: ‘It has been as if Stonehenge had been historically cleansed’. ‘For too long people have been kept in the dark over the Stonehenge restoration work. I am astonished by how few people know about it. It is wonderful the guide book is going to tell the full story in the future.’
(Excerpt) Read more at ancient-code.com ...
An awesome sight even with all the fencing around it.
Very cool to know.
At 64 I’d never heard of these recent reconstructions.
Monty Python: Archaeology Today http://youtu.be/Ww06W9N8prc
Aside ...
If tall men prefer short women and short men prefer short women then what do tall women get?
Cats, mostly...
Ancient Erector Set?
Maybe! Although I personally think Merlin did it, lol.
Does that mean the Druids will have to find some other place to go to celebrate the Solistice?
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. Maryhill, Washington
That was a funny scene.
Some of the ancients were incredibly smart humans. Others? Headshake.
Craftsmanship is partially a genetic trait, some expansions on that of course are acquired.
Men and Women generally have strong inherited traits. Some skills are very rare between both groups. Men are men, women are women. Some things don’t change.
Life experience is a teacher for those who are observant.
bump
“An awesome sight even with all the fencing around it”
Saw it as a kid back in 1977, no fences then. you could walk right up to them. I think they added the rope fence later that same year. Good idea, I did see some graffiti on some stones.
Ping.
Yes, I know. I first visited it in 1996 and, of course, the fencing was up.
bkmk
So the mystery of how the stones were placed and when, isn’t such a mystery after all...
What if all along this place was just a big toilet?
When my husband ws\as young, in the late 50’s-early 60’s, he said you could go right up to the stones. When I first visited in 1983, they were roped off but, you could get quite close. Haven’t gone there in years.
Everyone knows Stonehenge was a landing pad for space aliens to dock their space ship man.
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