Category Archives for Uncategorized

Alton Towers Stonehenge, Staffordshire

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photo from TowersTimes.co.uk, with permission

Lest we think Stonehenge replicas that barely resemble Stonehenge at all are  a phenomenon limited to clueless Statesiders, today let’s look at one of the older so-called Stonehenge replicas in the U.K., the one in the gardens at Alton Towers in Staffordshire (shown here in the English Heritage National Monuments Record). These days Alton Towers is best known as an amusement park and resort, and a pretty rockin’ one at that, but at one time the estate was best known for its gardens and conservatories.

In the early 1800’s one of the eclectic fancies added to those gardens was this odd construction which is still characterised,  when it’s mentioned at all, as a Stonehenge replica. Hmmm . . . We would guess that they built the smaller faux trilithons, connected them with the higher lintel, stood back, decided it just wasn’t grand enough for those gardens, and went on to add the un-Stonehenge-like fancy at the top just for style.

We weren’t sure whether this belonged on our list of the large permanent replicas, it is so odd. But if the Guidestones are on there, then this should be, too, right? Score: 5 druids. Don’t grumble and say that’s too high. It was built by Brits–maybe they knew something we don’t!

Lonnie Hamargren: Las Vegas Nevada’s Stonehenge

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photo from Rare Visions & Roadside Revelations, with permission

Imagine that you are the neurosurgeon to the stars and that as you work with stars the concept of celestial stars begins to fascinate you. You have money and a place on your roof beneath the dry clear skies of Vegas that has room for a planetarium, and–hey, why not?–a pyramid, and–what the heck!–Stonehenge. What do you know: you must be Dr. Lonnie Hamargren!

Of course, there are a lot of other random, amazing, bizarre pieces of culture in his collections, but we leave others to reveal those. For us the point of interest is what we believe to still be  his work in progress on the roof: a Stonehenge replica. When we last checked, it was unfinished, pending a shipment of copper plates (!?).  You can see what exists of the replica so far on the roof in the photo above. A little short of halfway down the page at this [link], you can see his hand with a sign saying, “Stonehenge wasn’t built in a day!”

It’s always difficult to score an unfinished replica. We’ll give him 5½ druids util he can show us a completed structure. We are happy, though, to post our first Silver State Stonehenge replica outside of Burning Man!

Stonehenge in Silver

silversculptatsiteThis replica is a meticulous copy of Stonehenge rendered in sterling silver. A page on the site says “The replica was on display at the English Heritage visitor’s center at the Stonehenge site for three years. It is now available in a limited edition to interested collectors.”

Believe me, we would like to make fun of this tiny silver Stonehenge. But it’s hard for us to deny that it is a beautiful thing. The minutely detailed stone-for-stone silver model of the monument is mounted on a base of gleaming black granite so that it looks like a piece of exquisite jewellery.

Yes, we know that it is still rather peculiar that people would bother to do this. And, yes, we know that the thing has no real use or reason for being. But that could be silver-draketrilithionsaid of most of the things we post on this blog.  Our inner magpie was aroused as soon as we laid eyes on this.

The artists, Drake and Waldon Lewis, are brothers from California. They don’t say on their website how much a copy of this replica would cost, but we imagine it is a pretty penny. It would make a great centerpiece for your Stonehenge collection. Score: 8 druids. It would be hard to resist placing tiny red ants among the ‘stones’ and taking pictures!

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A Couple of Museum Replicas

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photo from the website of the Hong Kong Space Museum

We found a couple of partial replicas that should be mentioned, but neither is complete enough, nor do we have good enough pictures, to warrant a full post for each. The one above is in Hong Kong’s Space Museum, part of a demonstration of ancient astronomical history.

The site says it “has a special effects projection of the midsummer sunrise over the Hell [sic] Stone of Stonehenge to gradually recreate the illusion of dawn.” Yes, we know the Hell Stone is a dolmen in Dorset, but who are we to correct such a delicious misspelling?

clock-museumThe second is a trilithon (Yes, we have learnt to spell it properly!) at The National Watch and Clock Museum in Pennsylvania. In this case it is part of their Ancient Timepieces Gallery.  It is rather a handsome thing, from what we can see, but not proportioned accurately to the trilithons at Stonehenge itself.

We’ll give the Hong Kong structure 5 druids for now, and the Pennsylvania trilithon 4. What is interesting is how their juxtaposition underlines the why behind the “surprising” finding archaeologists are always making that this or that ancient or “primitive” culture had a very detailed understanding of the movements of the bodies in the heavens. Astronomy, for millennia, was timekeeping, and every society, even the simplest, had a need for it.

(second photo from the website of the National Watch and Clock Museum)

Avebury and Silbury and the Long Barrow, too

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photo from Pete Glastonbury, with permission

Sent in by faithful reader and premier Wiltshire photographer, Pete Glastonbury, this model of the Avebury, Silbury landscape  was made by a local as part of his train set.

We get the question from time to time, “Why replicas of Stonehenge and not Avebury, which is bigger?” Well, this is part of what started us off with this project in the first place. Why is Stonehenge such an obsession with people (at least those who don’t speak Latin-based languages)? Why not replicas of Callanish, the Rollright Stones, Castlerigg, Duloe, Drombeg, Stenness, or any of the many others in the British Isles and around the world? It must be those lintels and trilithons!

At any rate, here is that rare item, the Avebury replica,  Silbury Hill included, their  chalk still white as it must have been before turf grew over them. The little chunk of summat on the lower right is West Kennet Long Barrow. A brilliant bit of work, we think.

Speaking of train sets, a train set at a show in Kemptville, Ontario included a precariously perched bit of Stonehenge, not worthy of a post to itself, but worth mentioning and  [link]ing to. How many Stonehenges are out there gathering dust as small trains roar by?

Baconhenge, Site of your Seasonal Celebration

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photo by Carol Squires for the Anticraft

This one’s a little messier than usual (especially if you add syrup), but it has made a play for the big time as few foodhenges have, even getting some attention on National Public Radio in the States, an interview (with the builder, not the henge) which you can hear at this link.

We are pleased with Carin Huber at the AntiCraft for beginning her Baconhenge page with this sentence: “Technically, a henge is actually an oval or circular earthwork, with a surrounding bank built up of the earth excavated from a ditch inside the bank.” She also uses words like trilithon and lintel, although technically there do not appear to be any trilithons in this model.

Carin says: “Let Baconhenge be the site of your seasonal celebration! Let bacon stand in for the sacrificed Year King, French toast for the Grain Goddess, the eggs in the frittata for the Cosmic Egg, and the vegetables for the bountiful Earth on which we live.” Lining it up with the sunrise is optional.

Score: Well, the recipe says it feeds 6 druids, so let’s go with that. We’re always glad to see interesting variations on the henging art!

Stonehenge of Orem, Utah

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photo by Mario Ruiz, from the Daily Herald, with permission

From the article: “Motorists cruising near Center Street and 400 West in Orem in recent weeks may have made a double take upon glimpsing a newly erected large-scale replica of the iconic prehistoric monument Stonehenge in England.” We’ll bet they did!

This was the first we’d seen of what may be the newest Stonehenge replica in North America. It stands on the lawn of a new high-end nursing facility for recovery from a hospital stay or other health problem, a transitional facility called Stonehenge of Orem. You may wonder why.

The administrator says that the number one question he gets is why they chose Stonehenge as a theme. He must be up on recent Stonehenge information, because he mentions that Stonehenge is believed by some to have been a place of healing, much like their facility. (If you wish to learn what he meant by the unusual statement, “We want to be the Disney World of skilled nursing facilities,“ then you’ll have to click on the link to the article.)

Score: 6½ druids. Not a bad replica–a little like a large-sized Cockington Green, a little like the sandstone henge in Tasmania. And it is our first entrant from the Beehive State!

Help Wanted: Henge Builders

UFO Landing Strip dot com

Just had to post this link in case anyone out there dreams of building a Stonehenge replica in northern California. California needs a full-sized, permanent replica, so we encourage any interested parties! You may be excited to know, they’re anticipating making discoveries as they go, as evidenced by this sentence, “What if Stonehenge contains formulas or points to locations in the sky?”

Why didn’t I think of that?!

Winter Solstice Henge, Washington State Again

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photo by littlemysteries, with permission

What kind of secret waves are broadcast through the air in Washington State? It has become Michigan’s only rival for the slogan, The Stonehenge State. (See the Clonehenge page, The 44 Large, Permanent Replicas) We’ve heard there may be another Stonehenge replica outside Seattle and believe me, we’re looking into it.

This henge was temporary, though, and only a partial one. It was built in a backyard in Clarkston, Washington, littlemysteries tells us, “for a Winter Solstice gathering and ritual,” out of  “wire, papier mâché [re-spelled by us just because we like diacritical marks], old wallpaper, and paint (and possibly other materials, I’m not sure)”

Remarkably, this is the only case we know in which the replica was privately built for a solstice ritual. We’re lucky to have a record of it.

Score: 6 druids, at least one of them awarded for the motivation of the builders. It’s good that Washington supplies the West Coast with henges, because California and Oregon seem to be falling down on the job.

P.S.: littlemysteries, we see those melting peeps in your photostream, and the peepicide, too! Frankly your peep-related behaviour worries us a little. Is one being drowned? And what’s with the tag peepdeath?! (What is it about peeps that spurs violence? See the bottom photo on this PeepHenge page.)