Stonehenge has a SERIOUS Problem
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.พ. 2025
- Deciphering Stonehenge AS IT STOOD. For decades - no centuries - Stonehenge has been used as an archetype, from which all prehistoric or megalithic sites are to be judged. In this video essay (rant), you will learn why that is a bad thing. British prehistory deserves real answers!
Yes, I know the Bluestones were moved, and about the Aubrey Holes. In fact, I know it all. I just didn't mention it, okay? There's a lot more interesting info to learn about Stonehenge, without obfuscating around little tidbits. What is it? - for a start.
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Sources:
Darvill T. Mythical rings? Waun Mawn and Stonehenge Stage 1. Antiquity. 2022;96(390):1515-1529. doi:10.15184/aqy.2022.82
John, B. (2024). The Stonehenge bluestones did not come from Waun Mawn in West Wales. The Holocene, 34(7), 895-907. doi.org/10.117...
Pearson MP, Pollard J, Richards C, et al. The original Stonehenge? A dismantled stone circle in the Preseli Hills of west Wales. Antiquity. 2021;95(379):85-103. doi:10.15184/aqy.2020.239
And, Historic England's Stonehenge guidebook. I reduced the info down on Stonehenge, so I expect a lot of "why did you not mention..." - I explain why over explaining Stonehenge is not worth my time.
Hi everyone, hope you enjoy the video!
A few quick notes:
1. YES, I know the Romans didn't conquer all of Britain - it is written from the point of view of a Roman general, at that time!
2. if you're wondering why the description of Stonehenge is a bit simplistic, glossing over important archaeology - that is quite how it feels to be a UK prehistorian studying sites other than Stonehenge! 😅
great post sir, well done. but could you please clarify one point for me ? i watched a show were mike parker pearson, carbon dated the outer blue stones, then found the exact match in wales. i think alice roberts might have hosted it, im not 100% sure of her involvement, i'd be shocked if she would be involved in this. but mike proved it with carbon dating. to be clear, are you saying they were telling lies ? because wierdly ,when i watched it all those years ago, i got the impression something was a miss.
@@PhilLewis-xg7ivCarbon dating is used on Organic materials (Things that grew, wood, plant materials, etc) and not stone. Slight confusion here.
@ I’m not saying they lied. But I think Parker Pearson is lax when using the words “possibly” and “maybe”… he’s a fantastic archaeologist otherwise. They have done geological work to understand the Waun Mawn site, and found little evidence of a link. Many doubt the stone circle there even exists at all, or was instead a ‘ring cairn’.
Also, carbon dates can only prove the stones date to a similar age. Nothing more!
Randall Carlson explains Stonehenge extremely well compared to this, apologies but it's simply fact
@ Randall Carlson is a moron.
Stonehenge is a bunch of rocks, rocks don't have problems. People have problems with Stonehenge.
Yeah,but I had a Pet Rock in the seventies that had a real bad attitude. He'd pee on the floor and run away at every opportunity. Now HE was a problem 🫤🪨
Well said
Exactly, it could probably do with less "intellectuals" trampling all over it. The JSO lot didn't do anything good either.
I beg to differ and cite the esteemed Terry Pratchett as a key witness: th-cam.com/video/V7v_TdLviUE/w-d-xo.html
Rocks have feelings too! 😥
"rocks don't have problems" would be a great t-shirt logo...or cat poster
Also Don't pay £40 a head to go there the footpath runs right alongside the National Trust path, and now it's guarded you can't even get near the stones, or out into the wider site. Also the cafe is pretty basic and the museum is just OK. Call me old and daft but I preferred it before when it was like Avebury i.e. Open to human interaction. In the 70's I remember having a sunrise picnic in the middle of the circle at Stone Henge and it was magical. Now it's just somewhere you pay to walk around.
Get yourself to Tullie House Museum in Cumbria, or the British Museum if you want to see some great artrefacts of the Neolithic / Bronze Age.
You sound pretty bitter for having the opportunity to go there before fences went up.
It would be damaging for people to continue getting access without some preservation measures.
@@nancy.dave.williamshave you not seen the photos of the extensive renovations they did? It sat outside for like what 3-5 THOUSAND years with people walking around them
Years ago there was a "multi pass" (Heritage Pass"?) you could get that gave access to a lot of heritage sites. From memory it was cheaper than the entry to Stonehenge at the time.
You likely were respectful and cleaned up after yourselves and didn’t chip off a piece of stone. How many people are like that now?
This time last week while out walking on Arron me and my wife came accross a marvelous stone circle. They are all over the place in Scotland. Very few have had any meaningful research or been documented.
Sadly true. What else is in that landscape? Destroyed and forgotten like Bluestonehenge - but never to be found…
Absolutely true. Clava Cairns in Inverness & Cairnpapple in Linlithgow are just 2 smaller monuments that are little known locally, never mind nationally.
long may it remain thus!
In the 1950s my father was a driver for Pickfords hauliers. He was one of the workers who removed all of the stones from Stonehenge. The site was completely stripped then dug over by architects. The stones were then replaced and set into concrete there is plenty of film of the restoration and archive evidence. I have around 22 black and white pictures of the work.
Sounds like the only real evidence to be relied upon.
Yup, it was messed about with circa 1908/1909 , there is very little if anything left of the original structure.
@@peterstudley1804 However, check the page "File:Stonehenge_Lucas_de_Heere.jpg" on Wikiledia Commons. It shows that by ~1550 the site did not look substantially more complete and in-shape than it does today. There are noticeable differences, but it is hard to tell whether they are real or just mistakes by the artist.
So people in the far future may come to the conclusion that it is a 20th century construction if they investigate the site?
It seems archaeologists are more interested in reading and writing papers than actually going into the field and doing research there… I hope these archaeologists are well funded as they require the ability to purchase the most comfortable of chairs or risk early retirement due to extremely irritated hemorrhoids.
Personally, seeing the absolute mess they've made of Stone Henge, I say, long may that singular obsession continue in the hope that the ticket booths, pea-gravel, fences, roads, hi-vis jacket wearing busy-bodies and busloads of selfie-stick carrying tourists that make that site utterly degraded in any way as an authentically wondrous place remain there and do not venture to those places that are still quiet and untouched, awaiting the genuinely enquiring explorer and his imagination.
So, looking at the big picture, though of course you are correct, I would say, regarding this video: 'careful what you wish for'.
I don't want more tourists! God forbid. I simply want to warn people about putting Stonehenge on a pedestal when trying to understand our prehistory!
@@AdamMorganIbbotsonI know, good fellow, but remember, the road to ruin is paved with good intensions.
I visited on a mid week June day in the seventies there were five cars in the car park and about a dozen people wandering about the stones, no fences, fees or gift shop. Perfect. I've driven past countless times since and never had the urge to stop.
@@alanwakefield2453 Aye, I drove past a decade or so ago, before I had grown a deep interest in such things, saw the ticket booth etc. and thought then "On whose authority are you charging entry to this monument?" ...So I hopped over the fence and was immediately escorted out by a couple of wardens... I've never been back. I've spent much of the last three years travelling Britain and Ireland exploring Dolmens mainly and I've learned not to even bother going to those that have become famous as it's always a depressing experience to see the travesty of contemporary civic construction and management alongside these works, Stone Henge, Newgrange and Brownshill Dolman are best avoided - I didn't actually visit Newgrange after reading the reviews of people who had been there and the reluctance of the staff to even show them the thing - it's by guides tour only - stick to those that have sheep shit around them, I say.
The pseudo intellectual speaks
This channel deserves a lot more than just under 5000 subscribers. Very thought provoking.
Paul whitewick's use of the quote was a tip of the hat to the prehistory guys.
The fact he is a patreon member of the prehistory guys is awesome!
There is so much support in prehistory.
They do sooooo much good work for the Community.... and when they do make a film. My goodness its worth the wait.
The experts will probably disagree with me, but my own theory is that whoever built Stonehenge probably thought they had a really good reason for doing it.
Probably to impress a girl
Nah. They just had a lot of spare time. Which means of course, they were stinking rich compared to people today.
Well said! Stonehenge almost seems to be the archeological version of Beatlemania! What about the many intriguing neolithic landscapes in the north?
You said it! What about those Northern sites??!! Read about them in the upcoming 2nd edition of my book 'Cumbria's Prehistoric Monuments'!!
Which ones in particular I am northern and would love to see some
@@FootballAndSuch the Thornborough henges, the Penrith henges, the Long Meg area, the Millom henges, Shap, endless examples! Have a look at my channel for lots of videos on them.
Have a looks at my books ‘Yorkshire’s Prehistoric Monuments’ and ‘Cumbria’s Prehistoric Monuments’
Or in the Midlands. Breedon Hill fort in Leicestershire, Arbor Low and the Nine Ladies in Derbyshire, or Arthur’s stone over in Hereford. All modest but fascinating Neolithic sites
@ Arthur’s Stone is a lovely one!
Having watched this, I'm feeling the urge to go and watch another highly relevant documentary: 'This is Spinal Tap'.
You can hear Adam taking great care to pronounce the H in "henge." Still, all I can hear is David St. Hubbins asking what happened to the little children of Stonn'enge.
Was waiting for the problem to be with the scale and that it is only 18 inches not 18 feet high.
@@stevedenis8292 Can I ask a practical question at this point?
@@host_theghost507 You have the floor.
@@stevedenis8292 Are we doing Stonehenge tonight?
Bravo! This is truly excellent and important information. Thank you for explaining just why Stonehenge has garnered so much attention which has always seemed to me disproportionate. As you say, there are so many other, perhaps more wonderful, sites I've always had trouble finding information on. I'm so glad I just stumbled upon your channel, and I look forward to reading your book on Cumbrian monuments. Cheers!
I think we have forgotten how incredibly common circles +/or henges were in prehistoric Britain.
Assuming we know of >1300 stone circles in UK. (Aubrey Burl), and; Fewer places would have had the availibility of stone, so many more would be built of wood. If we multiply by say just 3, (for all the wooden ones and the lost ones) that is one circle every 5 miles or so on average.- That's probably every village.
I actually count them differently (though I believe Burl was estimating lost stone circles). There are a LOT of circles of stone, but very few ‘stone circles’ or ‘Cumbrian Circles’, as Burl called them.
Sites like Stonehenge, big uncluttered enclosures aligned to the solstices - even rarer. Swinside is a great example, as are some of the recumbant stone circles of Scotland!
There are also stone circles in mainland Europe, like at Carnac in France.
@@AdamMorganIbbotson I liked the alignment of "Kits Coty" and the Coldrum Stones, the other side of the valley, how did they align them, with torches, beacons?
Not been to Stonehenge since it was turned into a moneymaking site,
Plenty of other ancient monuments you can go to, that are pretty much left alone by the business people.
Interesting insight here thanks for posting, take care
🥰😇😊
I’m all for pursuing our understanding of as many archaeological sites as we can cram in. But I think Stonehenge plays an important role in keeping the public engaged, intrigued and supportive of archaeology. To be crass about it, archaeology needs its superstars to keep the funding rolling in!
Absolutely agree, and never argued against its use in public engagement or the press. Instead, I’m talking about ‘research bias’, where certain figures have skewed the narrative to be totally Stonehenge-centric.
Another well researched, measured, and well presented documentary. Thanks Adam, I look forward to the next one !!
@@stephenasmith49 really appreciate that - thanks mate!
Fantastic production as always. I had wondered where this was going when you started discussing THE Letter! Yup, completely agree with the main theme. When we made the Avebury video a few months back, at least two more stones circled cropped up within a few miles of Avebury that are no longer. Stonehenge has a part to play, but as you suggested, just one part in the monumental jigsaw.
@@pwhitewick It has been the obsession of travellers since at least the Medieval period. Possibly even the Roman era. We’re all pretty obsessed ourselves!
No doubt this obsession has done more for the study of megalithic sites worldwide than anything, or anyone, else.
@@AdamMorganIbbotson Also..... don't watch this Sundays video......😳
@@pwhitewick Ha! I'll be watching anything you put out Paul - you're the best in town! And, this was more of a thought experiment than any real strong opinion I hold...
I just want to promote the archaeology of my local area, more than anything.
I preferred Stonehenge when you didn't have to pay to see the stones. You could just walk right up to them, sit down and eat your sandwiches and drink your can of beer. A great place to take your lunch break.
The first time I came to England I made a point of visiting Stonehenge, I had wanted to see it since I was about 8 years old. I was terribly disappointed, it was so small.
I had grown up visiting Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth, Knocknaree, Loughcrew, Carrowmore and Carrowkeel. In comparison it had better shaped stones but was unimpressive.
The worst aspect of Stonehenge marketing came many years later when I took my Father to see it. The official tour guide started off by claiming 'Stonehenge is the oldest and most important prehistoric monument in the world'.
I share your experience; I even saw Stonehenge on a perfect Autumn sunrise - still unimpressed. Anyone who has seen Castlerigg or Mayburgh on a perfect winter's day, would never claim Stonehenge to be the most impressive in the UK.
Also, it's a far, far smaller landscape than those at Thornborough.
I didn't know that Jeremy Clarkson was a tour guide at Stone Henge...
@@AdamMorganIbbotson I have visited Castle Rigg a couple of times, i met a dude there who was writing a book that was as an interpretation of an earlier book on the wealth of alignments the circle had, sometimes using nearby peaks as pointers...far more complex than Stonehenge... he claimed the earlier book was too mathematical for most people so he was attempting to make a more layman's version.... Also, although it was a damp and windy day, when sitting for a while quietly, i noticed 'bubbles' of energy flow between two stones, then between the next two... i asked my girlfriend if she could see them and which way the energy was travelling, i had seen it going anticlockwise... she looked and could see it and announced that it was flowing both ways... So energetic principles seem to be at play there and still intact, i personally prefer if these sites are not excavated, it is likely to interfere with the energy dynamics when we start digging round them and possibly even under them.... I also was give a glimpse of the original construct of Stonehenge by a very talented healer and out of body experienced friend, It isn't as basic and primitive as many speculate, it had both energetics and communication qualities and is tapping a structure underground which is why i am sure they keep wishing to tunnel under it to find out.... again, better left alone as it still has potential to be restored in function when we comprehend geoenergetics better... I dislike the tendency to dissect and dismantle due to lack of our ability to tap into the past which some sensitives and remote viewers do have.... we should employ them instead....
Another curious fact about Rigg is that everyone enters by the same 'door' which is not unusual in that it face the path from the road, but i watched a woman in high heel boots appear from the other side, from far away and even she walked around the circle to the entrance that everyone else used... when she could easily have used the entrance facing her... also people walked out of the door opposite the inner sanctum rectangle... as though these paths were laid out many years ago when in use and the memory is in the land itself which people subconsciously follow... worth observing if you go again... i love Castle Rigg, a favourite circle... when i get my shed of a van sorted i plan to tour as many as possible in Britain... seen a few, but there are so many that are not general knowledge, even right beside motorways...
@ I have an article out on Castlerigg. My favourite, and most local site. Been there 100+ times!
Nobody thought much about it until relatively recently
The land it is on has been bought and sold over the years, the bit the stones are on was donated to the crown in 1918, and so English Heritage, but the land around it was only donated to the National Trust in the 1930's, then it because a tourist location, and became famous ...
It’s been the haunt of poets and artists since the 18th century. Certainly the best known prehistoric monument in the world for a time. The study of it has struggled to lift off recently, so more and more sensational ideas are being thrown out.
@@davidioanhedges much of the land was owned by MOD
@@Chris-m8e it was too....I grew up near by!
I was the last person to sit on the stones - in the middle of the night - before the razor wire went up next morning. They've ruined the place - the admission fee, commercialisation and development is obscene. I will never go back.
England at its best! I mean that in a sarcastic way of course. These monuments belong to the country and its people not a box office money grabbing bunch of twats!
@@Zerocopsrus Fun fact. I was born just a few miles from Stonehenge in a former POW camp on land belonging to Lydiard House - a manor that was the first project of what later became known as "English Heritage". They evicted us from the land a month before the public opening because we made it look "untidy". I was 1yr old. Nice people.
I visited all these places in the 1970's before the UK became a giant cash register.....
Well done finally someone who understands what some of us are talking about Stone Henge is just one of many and we need to take them all into account stand back and try and look at them as a whole!
About 20 years ago, my mum invited a 90 yr old lady for Christmas dinner.
She imbibed freely and told us how she had gone to Stonehenge on a motorbike with her squaddy boyfriend
and had sex on the altar stone at midsummer....been in use a long time....
She must have been demented - the Altar stone is buried!
.. likely it was one of the large stones with a relatively flatish upward surface, that she was ridden upon as if it were an alter top .. methinks.
@@razor1uk610 yes, thanks.
@@AdamMorganIbbotson She meant the one that's on it's side near the centre west.
PS she did make stuff up though. Her name was Primrose Cummings, who made her money out of 'girls on horses' books and travelled the world on the revenue
The Oxbridge Thumb is firmly pressed on a number of other scales in UK academia. Just because you are bright does not make you infallibly right.
Bright… or wealthy.
Academically skilled, not necessarily “bright”.
"Infallibly"
It makes them more likely to know stuff within their field of speciality. It certainly doesn't - and this is the real problem - make them wrong or part of a conspiracy
@@thedevereauxbunch Yes, I seem to have been misunderstood by some people. Anti-intellectualism was never my message. More so, being critical of non-empirical, or post-modernist theory
Why don’t you have like million subscribers?!🤯 your videos are so good
@@zhunya_asmr I will soon enough Zhunya! And you too!
Stone henge keeps all the sheeple from trampling the other sites!
shhh they'll find out
S n o b
Wow.
Imagine using the word "sheeple" in 2024 unironically, like people who use it haven't been laughed at since the mid 90s for being nauseating cringe-merchants.
I bet you had a straight face whilst you were writing it too didn't you....
🙄
🍄
Very good point. And the tourist wonga stops the Highways people re-routing traffic back to the A30 where it should have been kept in the first place but much to the annoyance of several Tory voting villages.
I'm reminded of the Time Team Stonehenge special where an archaeologist was claiming that Stonehenge was part of a linked series of religious monuments about death, rebirth etc. and Mick was rightfully pointing out that he has a biased viewpoint because of modern birds eye view and his own theories.
@@Arkantos117 That may have been Mike Parker Pearson.
@@AdamMorganIbbotson Yeah I just googled and that's the guy.
@ His books and theories are great. But not facts.
There used to be this place called SeaHenge.... until Time Team discovered it. Now there isn't.
I'm 74, born in 1950. I grew up in Ludgershall, a village near Stone Henge. We used ride our bikes over there to play among the stones and make daisy chains. I can tell you that we never saw any evidence of building , cranes or the like going on.)occasionally the odd geologist or archaeologist poking around we even talked to some of them. They weren't bothered by us harmlessly playing. I even carved my initials in one of the stones too! Am I apologetic? Absolutely not. It was like carving your initials in a tree. I remember my Granny telling me tales of similar escapades too. I'll be interested to see what is 'discovered' next. Hysterical! No way I'd pay to walk around there now. It's lost its magic to me but my memories are so precious. I also have a photograph of me next to the stone where I scratched my initials...1962...I was 12. No fences, no money collectors, just the stones and fresh air.
What would you say if everyone carved their iniials on Sttonehenge?
Very interesting video. I've been to Stonehenge twice and it's one of the most amazing prehistoric sites I've ever been too. There has been an enormous amout of research which continues to this day. We're still leaning which in or of itself is amazing.
It's proximity to London and the ability to turn it into a money-spinning daytrip tourist attraction may have a lot to do with this.
@@cliveambrose2251 It has everything to do with it. But that shouldn’t influence the academic discourse (which it does)
I do think the size of the stones might have something to do with it! Have visited many stone circles and there are many that are more enjoyable and more atmospheric than Stonehenge (eg Boscawen-un, Stanton Drew, Avebury, Castlerigg, Merry Maidens, The Rollrights and several in Brittany, too) ,. But none of them come near the size and stonework of the stones at Stonehenge. I think having hundreds of smaller stones is impressive (Carnac, Avebury), but I would guess that the sheer size of the stonehenge stones impressed even the builders of those other sites. It is unique and I see why it gets the attention, even though there's many more sites I'd rather visit.
@ Many of the stones at Avebury are far larger than those at Stonehenge
I presume you must come from America or somewhere. When I was a kid a trip between Stonehenge and London was a friggin ordeal. I definitely wouldn't call it 'proximity' even today given the number of traffic bottlenecks. If you wanna go E-W or W-E stick to the M4 or the A30. Thing about the A303 is that it's a road to friggin nowhere through a dreary landscape for no good reason (which is exactly how it was regarded before 1958).
Thanks for this, I find all these fabulous places so interesting, never been to any but to see them here, explained and shown at their very best is amazing! Well done, I am sure there is still a lot to learn but in the meantime let us just enjoy them for what we see!
Absolute pleasure!
Like most ancient things, we will never truly know the truth.
Where documentary evidence is lacking any hypothesis is possible.
Though I've seen numerous videos of the reconstruction in the 50's and 60's, I've never heard anyone say it is fake.
Already have a few on this video!
Theres a good video on here from a japanese guy analysing the fakery its called stonehenge is fake rocks I think.
What a disgrace.
In a way Stone Henge drew attention to the ancient history of Britain and Ireland, but then drew attention away from the majority of it. The discoveries we have made about it and because of it are amazing, and the more we learn from it the better, but it is just a snapshot of what's out there (literally all over the place!) and I feel it is giving us a distorted image of that society, fascinating as that image may be.
@@escandolosoamargo Well put. Definitely an amazing site - but one that overshadows so much.
My point is, though, that it actually damages the research of the period. Drawing attention to itself no matter where in Britain you look. What if I don’t want to source Parker Pearson!
Where the dew drops cry, and the cats meow.
No one knows what they were doing, or why they were there...
Why did they build Stonehenge so close to a noisy motorway?
@@rustle2 Easier to get your lorry to Wales and back
Well, thousands of years ago, it was not surrounded by anything. Magnificent lonely, mysterious stones all alone.
@@AdamMorganIbbotsonha.
I don't think they've ever built any road for that reason ever @AdamMorganIbbotson.
Motorways were not invented when Stonehenge was created.
Came up on my feed and this was great. Instant sub and will watch the others
@@johncruickshank9763 Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Love the vid, and well said.
This is why i personally prefer to tackle history over prehistory, as at least I've got something to work on.
With prehistory?
Boy... so much speculation, educated guesses and gatekeeping.
I dont envy you guys. But please, do keep it up.
They do know quite a bit about stonehendge like stones coming from wales and scotland
The free festivals managed to show Stonehenge as it might have been in previous times ...
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For all those wanting to walk inside the stones you can book a guided visit. I went in 2009 as part of a weekend tour based in Salisbury and led by the very knowledgeable Julian Richards.
Ive just gone online and there are even evening bus tours from London including time inside the monument. Not cheap but a commercial company. You can also book direct for a 1 hour visit on the English Heritage site but I couldnt find the charge easily. I assume the cost is less than the coach trip from London.
"Stonehenge is a depiction of our geocentric universe." -The Principle (2014)
😂
Another great video. Thanks! Some day I’ll get across the pond to see these places… I hope!
@@Andy_Babb Make sure to visit Castlerigg! Much more awe inspiring than Stonehenge
Very well said. Context is so often missing from our click bait society.
What is more incredible is how these stacked stones have withstood the test of times from elements to civilization relatively keeping structural shape.
Nobody knows what shape they started off with. Probably not the knobbly monstrosities they are today.
Good presentation & well said. Stonehenge has become the "poster boy" of modern archaeology.
Modern archaeology is great! But because we can debate like this!
The hunk of rusty metal puts me off at 1252-13.00mins
The color of the stones is just beautiful. I am glad it is still around, considering it is sooo old. I cannot imagine the time gone by. Since there is no “language” , we will always try to figure it out. Always makes it interesting.
Well said. I thoroughly agree. I have always thought that archaeologists are taking the specific case and applying it to the general case. Rather than doing good science by testing the specific case against other sites, the general case. Stonhenge is just like London. It consumes a disproportionate share of available 'wealth'.
Another wonderfully thought provoking video. Thank you.
@@paulgammidge-jefferson9536 Wonderful comment, thanks!
What was the last great monument of the megalith people before the beaker takeover? I thought it was either silbury hill or stonehenge
Over the 60 or so years I've enjoyed reading about archaeology and British pre-history I've noticed that professional British archaeologists have shown a consistent unwillingness to interest themselves in anything pre-Roman. I don't know why. For instance, I remember, not so long ago when the outlines of a bronze-age harbour was delineated near Poole one of the chief archaeologists exclaimed how delighted she would be if she could find a Roman ship in it. 🤷🏻
It seems all to likely that much of the reason for the attention paid to Stonehenge is the result of it's status as a money-making, theme park/tourist attraction rather than it's intrinsic historical importance as a neolithic monument.
However, my cynicism aside, another explanation for the academic focus on Stonehenge maybe that (unlike other neolithic sites like Avebury) it continued to be used as a ceremonial/funerary center of some sort throughout the Bronze Age and into the preRoman Iron Age. At least used enough that Roman frat boys mentioned it in their letters home. As such the 'ceremonial landscape' in which Stonehenge stands is very interesting. It just happens (as you point out) to not be the original landscape.
To continue with my nit-picking (oh did I say I enjoyed your video very much?) I thought henges were circular neolithic enclosures with the banks inside the ditch. Avenues and what-not leading off is neither here nor there. Avebury is usually described is being within a henge isn't it? So why not Stonehenge. Not sure of your point there.
Also I thought the Trilithons within Stonehenge were arranged in a horse-shoe shape, not a circle and the circle shown in your 18C (?) illustration was the artist's reconstruction. (I'm just complaining about the picture now, not your point about the similarity to concentric circles further North.)
and BTW, who said chariots rattled over marshy fields? 😀
Hi there! Really glad you enjoyed my video!
Few things though: 1. Henges are circular enclosures with one or more causeways interrupting a ditch and bank. The bank is always OUTSIDE the ditch. Not inside. Stonehenge is unequivocally not a henge.
2. Almost all Neolithic ceremonial enclosures saw use throughout the Bronze Age. This myth stems from Stonehenge (a particular archaeologist).
You must have missed all those TV documentaries then.
@AdamMorganIbbotson thank you for replying. It's more than I deserve.
Bank Outside. Yes of course, I knew that really. It's what implies they were not defensive.
@alanbeaumont4848 lol, yes, I've not owned a telly for 35+ years.
Nobody except locals paid any attention to Stonehenge until Thomas Hardy published Tess of the D'Urbervilles in 1891.
if this were a newspaper article:
Archaeologists BAFFLED by monument older-than-while-simultaneously-the-same-age-as Stonehenge
@@ForestArchaicCollective “amazing new find at a site like Stonehenge, unravels new mystery at Stonehenge” rinse / repeat for the next 20 years.
Id like to know where the other heel stone went too?
I bet there’s a ton of missing stones out there. Like I say, weird there’s only one megalithic site there!
We want the finset wines known to humanity, we want them here and we want them now!
This was great, Adam. I almost actually punched the air when you said it doesn’t matter where the stones came from.
Good job your out animation didn’t make it look like you were singling out Parker Pearson as chief proponent of Stonehenge nonsense.
I had no idea there were conspiracy theories about Stonehenge being fake. Brilliant!
@@WC21UKProductionsLtd haha, thanks! I originally had a bit in there telling people to go and watch your Devil’s Arrows vid - but it sadly hit the cutting room floor!
Archaeologists would do themselves a favour watching your videos over reading a 300 page Stonehenge book!
Morphology and field archaeology, that’s the bread and butter.
Heya Darren - you don't reckon this erred too far on the side of nutty anti-science speel, do you? I have more oddballs agreeing with me than usual, and they're tacking on some extra-dubious stuff...
@ 😂 That made me “lol” as they say! Whenever I run into any kind of space craft, OR, mention ley lines in a video, typically all hell breaks loose in the comments.
But no, you didn’t go too far in this video. It was engaging, intelligent and funny. A lot of TH-camrs just ignore comments, don’t they? If you’re anything like me, that’s something I struggle with, but I am starting to understand how it becomes essential!
@ I reply to all of them! Apparently it ‘drives up engagement’, whatever that means!
Might be staring into the void! Will come out mad as a hatter
@ yes I have always tried to - for the very same reason. Probably delusional. I have seen a few of your replies to silly/rude comments and they’re very good. I have developed a stock reply for those: “Thank you for your comment. The contents of which have been noted.” I stole this from somewhere else in my distant past and may well explain it in a video at some point!
I had never heard there were any Stonehenge conspiracy theories.
My father used to visit quite often during the war when he was stationed at Larkhill - so they definitely predate the 1950s.
Have a look through the most recent comments on this video - there are a few conspiricists in here! This is also my most disliked video, probably because of them folk. Idiots, the lot of them!
These conspiracy theory loonies are the saddest bunch they theories dont even make sense havent they anything better to do
That's reassuring.
Your point about volume I thought quite good. It reminds one of the "mystery" of the Bermuda triangle. That area has a larger number of shipping lanes that cross it compared to other areas of ocean. And a higher volume of shipping quite naturally means that there will be a higher number of ships lost to storms, equipment failure, foundering on uncharted reefs, etc. In truth, there is no mystery there at all. Unfortunately, most people wouldn't know reason if it walked up and took them by the hand.
Funny enough AC Valhalla did a pretty good job of showing off that there are tons of stone circles all over the place.
This is really great, and it sort-of helped me realize that I've had lots of similar vague feelings. I'm not in the UK but when I see videos like "Lets walk around this cool park in Cornwall and oo look there are 12 stone circles here" I wonder why I've never heard of all that. Heck if there were *one* ancient big stone around here I'd go see it every day.
@@michaelmcnally1242 It’s true!
I have a photo of me as a toddler playing on the stones. In the late 50's you could wander all over Stonehenge and you didn't have to pay a penny.
I'm with you; I want to know more about Avebury, having had a violent emotional reaction to the place while sitting on one of the stones 26 years ago. I wonder what you make of Gobeklitepe and its sister site Karahantepe, in Southeast Turkey, both over 6000 years older than Stonehenge but appearing to be ritual circles nonetheless: smaller stones surrounding a couple of monoliths, with 12 other sites all through the region. Thanks for your work and for sharing it.
@@tricivenola8164 Thanks! Gobekli Tepe and its cousins are extremely interesting, obviously. But I think it’d be a massive mistake to think of them as similar in any way to the stone circles of Britain.
We know nothing of how the tradition emerged in either country.
Glad I clicked on the vid, its made me realize you're exactly right. Stonehenge is impressive but I recon more archaeology needs be done on a lot more sights to get a better picture of what was going on.
@@vespasian266 thanks Vespasian! And you should know - your camp is just down the road from it!
Hello from Australia new subscriber here this is fascinating so happy to catch up on 32 uploads 😃👌You Rock 🪨💯
Don’t feel that Stonehenge is overrated. However, I completely agree that other sites are critical to understanding the Neolithic period and that more comparative study is necessary. There is much more to be learned. Avebury is my favorite, but Stonehenge is a long enduring site with some unique twists on Neolithic themes.
Absolutely agree it isn’t ‘overrated’, but equally important to others across the country. This idea that it’s the centre of the Neolithic world is, in my opinion, ludicrous.
I totally agree. Being Scottish & Stenness reportedly being the oldest henge, it's importance is almost completely ignored despite the fact that the oldest henge circles in the UK are Stenness in the Orkney Islands and Avebury Henge in Wiltshire are two of the oldest henge circles in the British Isles:
Stones of Stenness
This henge monument may be the earliest in the British Isles, dating back 5,000 years. It's part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, which also includes Skara Brae, Maeshowe, and the Ring of Brodgar. The Stones of Stenness are made up of four upright stones, up to 6 meters in height, that were once part of a larger stone circle.
Avebury Henge
This henge dates back to around 4,600 years ago and is part of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site. It's made up of a huge circular bank and ditch that encircles an area that includes part of Avebury village. The henge contains the largest prehistoric stone circle in the world, which was originally made up of about 100 stones.
Most henge's are largely unknown with little or no funding for proper investigations or archaeology - promotion of the areas would take some of the footfall away from Stonehenge & enrich the other areas & localities in terms of tourism capital & knowledge (& enlighten us all on the joint history of our people, the land, & links to Europe & further afield). The good thing about this video is that it brings attention to that & some other places of interest that are completely ignored. Transferring some of the attached wealth & tourism to these other areas would bring in some much needed national pride, local jobs, housing & funding into the areas run down by collapsed industries (another missed opportunity in tourism - histories of the mines, environmental issues & local histories linked to these). Harping on about the same old sites & creating fake news to make them relevant really isn't needed. There's more than 1 henge.
The other thing the UK has greatly missed on - & links right into the topic - is architectural tours. The UK has some of the globes greatest architecture & every village, town & city in the UK has layers upon layers of history build into it's architecture (sometimes in 1 structure where buildings have mediaeval structures, within renaissance structures, within Victorian structures with a new modernist build attached). A recent tour I went on was linked specifically to buildings paid for & linked to the slave trade, now almost unrecognisable as their current purpose (& largely forgotten). Huge, elegant structures with the most amazing sculptures - largely ignored in Glasgow despite being on a main thoroughfare on Buchanan Street, a principle shopping area. Promoting such tours could take in the forgotten monuments & structures from the past, fund archaeology & give local historians a platform for their work bringing in tourists, money to hotels, hostelries & shops.
All much needed wealth & job creation at a time when the country's on it's knees from an already there & free resource. Feeds knowledge, gets kids away from crime & drugs, & expands human minds. WHY aren't we doing any of this? Giving funds in aid & arms to destroy humanity, culture & progress - rather than destroying all of it would be better spent here & on joint international projects of progress, not regression. Looking back at history & learning from it instead of repeating the same mistakes & destroying it. Makes sense, doesn't it? #ProgressionNotRegression.
12.57 clearly see the stone rendering falling off on the stone putting doubt in my mind
That’s part of the restoration. That stone had fallen and weathered. They keep it visible as evidence of the restoration, to keep perspectives realistic.
@@AdamMorganIbbotson constable stonehenge painted between 1820 and 1836 i think
That was a repair made in 1959 by the Ministry of Works. The team at Stonehenge have photos of the repair being made and earlier photos showing people sitting inside the hole , available to see when you visit.
I remember standing beside the great pyramid of Khufu many years ago, I thought yeah . . very impressive, we've got Stonehenge.
Kufus pyramid is impressive but close to up not as impressive
I've lived in the south of England for 50 years but never visited Stonehenge. I've visited Old Sarum and Maiden Castle twice. I've also been inside a stone burial chamber in Anglesey which was great because I had the place to myself. My best guess is that these stone circles, and pyramid structures, were places where people went in an attempt to speak to the dead. A ancient seance. I think the stone structures were constructed to create a "quiet space" where the voices of the dead could be heard. The stones being used to absorb external noise of spirits from the natural world. There was no doubt some trickery with the priests using ventriloquy.
Absolutely fantastic comment, and very in line with my own thoughts. Stonehenge is definitely worth the visit, it is a magical and important place.
Also, was the burial chamber Bryn Celli Ddu? If so, I once saw a naked druid in there
@@AdamMorganIbbotson Yes, it was Bryn Celli Ddu. I didn't see any naked druids, but I did the remains of a ceremony in the chamber with musical instruments and other stuff.
@@AdamMorganIbbotson There's no real druids anymore. It was probably a psychotherapist doing druid cosplay for the day. Only without the costume. BTW Bryn Celli Ddu is fantastic. And even better without the fake druids hanging out (literally).
Those pictures are very old, maybe 1970's. It is now a NT touristy money-maker with gates and fences, expensive tickets and bling shops.
@@AlwaysBastos I got myself a ‘Stonehenge Rock’ jumper when I was there. Worth every penny.
Hi there! Nice vid. Just an odd question: What was the population numbers in England when Stone Henge was built? ( :
@@ninthseal6646 From what I’ve read, it fluctuated between 100,000 and 500,000 between 3500 and 2000 BC.
There was a bug dip between the Neolithic and Bronze Age, that’s still unexplained. But some think it was the plague. I have a video on this, if you’re interested.
@@AdamMorganIbbotson big*
I grew up on a tiny island in the Shetland islands, and the island was almost perfectly divided in two by what may be the oldest wall in the world, and nobody knows why or how it came to be there, it's called the Funziegirt
@@SoupieGuitar Wow - can’t believe I’d never heard of this. May be a future video!
@AdamMorganIbbotson I grew up playing on Neolithic, Pictish and Norse ruins and had zero idea of the significance of them till I was much older 🤦♂️ lol
Very good and witty video! Great job!
If Stonehenge had been square or rectangular the answer would have been obvious - hand cut stones with uprights and lintels just like all the ruins of temples in other countries. Stonehenge is the most controversial site because English Heritage wants it that way - the mystery continues to makes lots on money!
MPP et al have completely over-egged the pudding of "ritual landscape" and the connections between Durrington Walls and the Henge. Whilst possible, it's only one of a number of equally valid interpretations. There is a thing in archaeology that some people achieve a status of being above criticism and unable to do wrong. MPP is one of those. How do I know? Masters in archaeology from Sheffield where MPP taught.
Agree with you there. I like MPP's work, but grow very tired of hearing "well MPP thinks" - like it's incredibly important. His ideas are actually refreshingly out-there - but nothing we should take as a baseline!
Absolutely!, well said.
Excellent independent presentation. Appreciated.
Brian John is a glaciologist. What Parker Pearson claims to be signs of quarrying in Peseli, Brian John believes to be caused by glaciation.
When I read the headline about the SERIOUS problem I thought it might be subsidence.
I'm glad they don't have to bring the builders back to rectify it .... I heard they went out of business a long time ago.
What we in the industry call 'clickbait', and you my dear viewer, fell for it hook, line, and sinker!!
Though, I do think Stonehenge's grip is a serious problem with the study of prehistoric sites in the UK.
True. I grew up near what only recently, 2006, was confirmed as a bronze age earth works and within a short drive of Arbor Low and Nine Ladies stone circles. You can't go anywhere without tripping over some sort of ancient work.
Just deleted a rant against the lost integrity of MPP, AR et al. I guess the pressures of media production obliged them to over-produce....however its refreshing to see someone standing up for probity in the profession.
@@jwbee33 I like MPP, he’s a class act in my opinion. But he seems to rarely use the words “possibly” or “likely”
well said. Stonehenge has become an exercise in archaeological tunnel-vision, of confirmation bias for theorists not seeking answers but positing favourite fancies.
Of course Stonehenge has got problems! American tourists have long been complaining about its overall condition.
So, might you say, Stonehenge is becoming unhinged?
As someone who lives in Ireland and has Neolithic circles and other standing stones on and around my land, other than a brief study in the early 1990’s it’s left alone. And while I’m happy to have my own personal “henge” I feel it has secrets it could share to those better qualified than me.
@@glenith50 Do the standing stones have a name?
@ Only one of them does “The false man” it’s about 2m tall and stands alone. Apparently they’re all connected to Ceide Fields which is about 20km from me
The people that built these monuments knew why they built them. We can only speculate. They were obviously religiously motivated, as are most ancient monuments around the world. The hardest thing for human beings is to admit ignorance, so cultures invent and believe inadequate answers. The positive is that a culture's rituals, customs and beliefs give the population a common unifying identity.
The large Scottish stone wasn't carried by man, it was left there when the ice retreated at the end of the Ice age.
It is The Ancient New Year Calendar and there are five trilithons, not six as shown it the black and white image, they are the Five Days of Doom added to the 360 day year when crossing the nighttime Taurids.
@@bardmadsen6956 Ah ah ah - naughty! We say “I think it is”, and “possibly”. Did you learn nothing??
Marden henge lies halfway from Stonehenge to Avebury as the crow flies and it was massive
@@norkieuppercrusty1 YES - a big old superhenge. Rarely mentioned but in passing, but obviously incredibly important!
Good point!
I have a theory - think of stone circles as places you go to find people or people find you - ancient roundabouts. If i want people to find BobsTown - I go to the 'local' stone circle and align Bobstown with a stone if standing in the middle, or drive a wooden sign 'Bobs Town' into ground where needed by a general stone. Then tell visitors pick stone 17 - thats the direction to us. - Lose direction? No problems - two sticks in the ground at sunrise puts you back on the path or during the day - use the sun. The proof would be finding the marker stones for all the other stone circles close by - you go from circle to circle to cross the country until you get to the closest one to BobsTown. Even carry a small portable wooden 'stone circle' device that allows you to align your path whenever you need. The druids would know most paths and inform travellers.
Ah, well. I’ll one up your theory - have a look at Castlerigg Stone Circle. A site situated in a valley surrounded by mountains… (I also have a video on it!)
How would that work as a signposting site?
@@AdamMorganIbbotson - the theory still applies - stand in the middle - pick the stone for 'Bobs Town' thats the direction - start walking.
@@AdamMorganIbbotson - Look at the big picture - I bet theres stones that outlie or are key that link circle to circle - So Stonehenge to next henge, to next ,to next until the last circle before your destination. Hey - its a theory - I'd be thankful for this way of getting to some village or town 300 miles away.
@@_Hold_My_Beer_ I like your theory! Thanks for elaborating.
Main problem I see with it, is that almost all stone circles are complete, without gaps, and arranged evenly-spaced. It would imply there were perfectly spread settlements in every direction from each stone circle, making their use as a signpost pointless. In my opinion, of course!
@@AdamMorganIbbotson - Ah :) - Now thats where the village elder goes to the circle closest to the village and hammers in a wooden marker with 'Bobs town' on it. Only the big boys got a stone. This would explain the traces of wood pilings/wooden circles found etc - Why would I want to build a stone circle in those days, dont forget the druids are on hand to assist (for some fee) - Go there, line yourself up, check the sun in each morning. Hey, Druids would sell you a personal portable, pocket wooden circle where you put in your pins in stone locations, line it up each morning so you keep on track - as you can see I like to think way outside the box ;)
Well, one thing is to be said about the comment section:
It's helping your channel grow 😂🎉
Btw, your book 'Cumbria's Prehistoric Monuments' was recommended by @Wainright's Walks wi' a local lad. So I ordered it, found it highly interesting and informative (although I believe you forgot at least one) and then passed it on to a member of my family who is very pleased with it;
but will predictably not be coming back to the Lakes any time soon.
Have a happy new year from an old Grasmere born lass in Germany.
@@medievalladybird394 amazing to hear! Really appreciate that, thanks!
There’s a brand new 2nd edition out - featuring 40+ new sites. So may have snagged that missing one! ☝️
Just like the gaggle of Authors that jealously protect the Ripper story by debunking each other, the guardians of the rocks hold firm to their fantasy twaddle none of them have come up with a definitive answer for who why or when it was built, not to mention the outlandish alien/giant rock levitating druids brigade and their fantastic ideas.
They're not that defensive. Never claimed so. They're great and open minded archaeologists, who happen to have been thrung into this bizarre over-egged site.
Nice use of the Withnail and I soundtrack
I love Avebury and can’t believe it is less popular than Stonehenge. I think the answer to Stonehenge’s continuing monopoly might just be convenience. Stonehenge is a compact site and much more accessible than many others. If you want to publish new research you don’t need to leave your desk, there is plenty of data for a study. If you do fancy a bit of original research (and you went to the right educational establishments) you’d be more likely to secure funding. Maybe the thought of trekking all the way to Cumbria is less appealing. Once this kind of behaviour is set as a precedent and keeps being rewarded, it will keep happening.
Indeed, i may be in awe, or something similar, or chariots clattering over marshy terrain. Pretty weird.
How did they move the stones in winter after harvest Samhain on sledges on the snow and ice
Cider.
I sometimes wonder, looking at the illustration. Whether it’s a main structure to a big house. From the inner to outer circles were laid the timber rafters for the roof.
yep i agree there are many henges some may be far older but unless we look then how can we know?
Very entertaining and informative video. Þank you, sir
I saw something a little while ago that said the Stonehenge site is the site of a lightning strike prior to its construction. I do not know how true that is.
Anyway your forgetting that time the Grisswalds accidentally knocked Stonehenge down. ;)
The work of Mario Buildreps unlocks the simitary of the structure while explaining the structure holistically. Buildreps also discovered the relationship of the structure with lunisticies. I believe the laser scans that show highly stylized "axes" are really stileized "reed marks" which lend to Buildreps discovery. I believe this henge was placed as a time stamp to make a special point location and time. The hardest part is shedding the current beliefs and ideas to allow the consideration of Mario Buildreps findings.
@@davidarrons5183 And the hundreds of other similar sites found across the British Isles?
HOORAY!! At last, A plea for Stonehenge to be only considered in its temporal and geographical context. Any monument requiring the transportation and manipulation of tons of stones was obviously important and by definition unique, although possibly stemming from a common requirement. Apart from its ability to cause stupendous traffic jams, what makes Stonehenge more important than, say Avebury?
@@mikepowell2776 Thank you! Out of all the comments, I think yours is the only one to understand it properly!
Stonehenge is the Caitlin Clark of the Neolithic.