Monthly Archives for November 2008

Stonehenge Aotearoa, New Zealand

new-zland

We just post them–we don’t try to pronounce them.

This is one of the big permanent Stonehenge replicas scattered about the globe. The original press release said: “A modern day version of the 4000-year-old English monument as it might have been, had it been built in the Southern hemisphere, Stonehenge Aotearoa, is backed by the New Zealand Government and Royal Society of the New Zealand, and is the brain child of members of the Phoenix Astronomical Society.”

New Zealand publisher Mary Varnham says in its defense, “I’ve been to both it and the original Stonehenge in Britain and there’s no contest: Stonehenge Aotearoa is by far the most interesting experience.” We can’t say, as we’ve only been to the original, but it no doubt depends on what you’re interested in.

Kudos to its builders for attention to astronomy and for a neat, clean presentation. For what it actually is, it could hardly be better, but as we rate things as Stonehenge replicas on this blog, and it skips the inner trilithons and many other aspects of the original, we’re giving it six druids. If we were Kiwis, though, we would definitely plan a visit!

Plasticine henge

plasticine-2

A henge of Plasticine (much like Playdough, for those on the left bank of the Atlantic), made and photographed by Alice Yeah on Flickr. It is part of the Flickr Thinghenge group, which is, for us, a thing of great wonder. We hope to bring you more from there over time.

She says she was inspired by a film (I think we all know what film she means!) to make a little Stonehenge and first tried making it with lolly (popsickle) sticks wrapped with coloured wool, then moved on to plasticine. She likes “the concentric arrangement and the shapes of the stones.”

plasticine-1

The colo(u)rs here are pleasing, too, and she took care to make it resemble the real Stonehenge with some  flat stones and a limited number of lintels. Nice, too, that we have an aerial view . . . Score: 6 ½ druids. Those stone shapes are good. It’s close to a seven. Thank you, Alicia!

Phonehenge–one version

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A rock-and-roll-themed amusement park near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina includes this curious structure, entitled Phonehenge, as part of their British Invasion section. Of course this is not the only type of phonehenge out there–cell phone henges made at home are another interpretation of the subject matter.

It was touch-and-go at first, but we have slowly come to realize that we like this structure despite its obvious failings. It’s only a half circle, making room for the performance space and yet in a whimsical gesture they include three inner trilithons. And there’s something about having each ‘stone’ be a contained space that one could enter . . . perhaps more could be done with that idea.

But we digress. 6 ½ druids for this quirky henge!

The smallest henge?

minihenge

Scientists at the National University of Singapore, testing out a process called silicon micromachining, chose to make this Stonehenge microstructure with a proton beam writer. “The proton beam writer, housed at the NUS Centre for Ion Beam Applications, can focus proton beams to diameters of less than 50 nanometres (about 2,000th the diameter of a human hair).” Why they chose to make a Stonehenge replica is not mentioned on the site, but we’re glad they did!

This pseudo-Stonehenge, created on a silicon wafer, gets our highest score yet: 8 druids!

North Dumpling henge

dumpling-henge

An AP photo by Jessica Hill from here

Wealthy inventor Dean Kamen owns North Dumpling Island off the east coast, and has a constitution, a flag, and a national anthem for “the Kingdom of North Dumpling.” Not content with that one playful eccentricity, he has also built a Stonehenge replica on a bluff there, overlooking Long Island Sound.

It’s private so we can’t get a great look at it, but let’s see: really just a few very slender trilithons. Siting by the sea is a nice touch, but on the other hand the guy is rich, so he could have done better . . .

Score: 5 druids.

Cheese puff henge

stonehenge-cheese-curls

This is the picture that sparked the creation of Clonehenge, the cheese puff trilithons of California. According to the Los Angeles Times, this Stonehenge replica “constructed from cheese puffs was part of a 2003 art exhibit courtesy of the Joslyn Fine Arts Gallery on display at a shopping mall in Torrance, California.” Photo taken by John Ahr.

This article in the L. A. Times includes some great links, including one to this excellent article at Roadside America.com. The first three paragraphs express our thoughts on the subject pretty well. For example, “We figure that the ancient megaliths must emit an invisible energy field powerful enough to enslave sculptors, builders, and the odd guy with too much time on his hands.” Exactly. Is it related to the crop circle phenomenon or to the approach of 2012? Who knows, but ya gotta love it!

We hope to cover all of the henges mentioned in the above articles as this blog continues.

Points for using what would appear to be an impossible and completely inappropriate material. Score: 7 druids!

Kentucky’s Stonehenge

kentuckys-stonehenge

There are plenty of Stonehenge replicas in the States. One of the lesser known examples stands in Munfordville, Kentucky, in the cave area of the state. I haven’t been able to find much information about it, but the website says:

Kentucky’s Stonehenge does not strictly follow the layout of the actual Stonehenge. Instead, it has been set up to reflect the points on a compass rose with additional rocks marking the cardinal directions.

kentuckys-stonehenge-21

What do you think? On one hand it has that unnatural manicured garden look, but on the other hand it is at least oriented to the directions and they added a stone row, which is good. Still, those gravel bases and those round bushes–are they boxwood?– reduce the visual power.

Score: 5 and a half druids!

Sausage henge: the fun begins

Of course, a lot of Stonehenge replicas are made of less realistic materials. Well known examples, ones we will get to, include Carhenge and Fridgehenge and Banksy’s famous henge built of portable toilets, but the henge replicas of the people, so to speak, are the food henges.

Any food will do, it seems. Here is a simple example, a sausage henge, complete with spaghetti-os.

sausage_henge_pa

from the BBC

Not accurate or especially good looking, but this one gets extra points for using round lintels, which is touchy, and for sheer audacity!

Score: seven druids!

If you need a kit . . .

Think Geek, a sales site full of goodies that appeal to the computer (ahem) enthusiast, shall we say?, offers this Build Your Own Stonehenge Kit.

Love it!

Love it!

Not a bad price, either.

Good-looking as it is, however, we can only score it seven druids out of ten, because, hey, it’s manufactured. Still, I simply must have one. Hear that, Santa?

[We did receive one as a belated Christmas gift. Thank you, Santa–you are listening after all!]