Category Archives for Uncategorized

Bonehenge, or who can resist a pun?

bonehenge

photo by kaymoshusband, henge by Winnie ?

It’s the first non-stonehenge in the Smithsonian video, and while it’s far from the only bonehenge out there, this one has the advantage of having been made of real bones rather than Milkbones. And, of course, there’s the astronomical aspect.

The caption on Flickr reads:  “Last night I caught Winnie building a working model of Stonehenge on the rug, using the only materials she had available. In this photo, she is double-checking the replica’s precise astronomical alignment, in anticipation of this evening’s Vernal Equinox.” One might expect such expertise from a German shepherd or a border collie, but I suspect astronomers are rare among labradors!

Of course it is not a full replica. Some henges get their druids from chutzpah alone. Score: 5 druids, and our thanks to Bob Gaffney and, of course, Winnie!

Autohenge, Ontario

autohengefromair

photo from williamlishman.com, with permission

Before there was Carhenge, there was Autohenge. Built in 1986 by artist William Lishman at the request of Chrysler for a commercial, it stood proudly on the Canadian landscape for 5 years until it was removed. There is some evidence that suggests Lishman would consider creating anotherAutohenge if he could raise the money.

autohengewithgeese

Maybe it’s just us, but these pictures seem to have caught something melancholy and magnificent. Its history is interesting. How many Stonehenge replicas have been sponsored by major corporations? May that happen more and more!!

We’re nearing the bottom of the list of large replicas. A handful more and then we’ll just be posting small ones. This seems to us to be a good example of a grand tradition. Maybe the Canadian government could give Lishman a grant!

Score: Look at that picture at the top. 8 druids, at least!

P.S.: We do not plan to list Cadillac Ranch, Truckhenge, or Airstream Ranch, as they just are not hengy enough.

Cellphonehenge, a tour de force

cellphonehenge-51We have been saving this one because once it is posted, it is unlikely to be surpassed. Among all the small, homemade henges we have had the privilege to see, this one is a rock star. As inaccurate as it still is as a Stonehenge replica, it has that je ne sais quoi that allows it to rise above.

Listing the faults sounds petty: no lintels on the outer ring and too many trilithons in the center for starts . . . still, what it lacks in the letter it proffers in spirit. The commentary, too, enhances the installation. The caption on the Flickr photo below reads, “A closer view showing how the setting sun in mid summer shines down the avenue of pagers, through the Motorola arch and directly on the altar phone. ” There’s more where that came from.

cellphonehenge-31And whom do we have to blame–no I mean thank!–for this extraordinary henge? Once again it is the work of the inimitable Simon W. Burrow and friends. Here is his Cellphonehenge blog post and here is a Flickr link from which you can click on 7 photos to read the captions.

Score? We’re giving this one 8½ druids. If only they had dug a little ditch and bank with a stick or something . . .

Mystical Horizons, North Dakota’s Stonehenge

mystical-horizons-3

photo in the public domain

We’ve been working on getting photos of this structure which is named Mystical Horizons and is often billed as a Stonehenge for the 21st century. We have received no answers from the photographers, but finally found this rather nice photo posted on a tourist site and marked clearly “in the public domain.” Thank you, internets! [Sorry, our old links are dead. Here’s one given us in a comment by one Gentle Reader.]

The wall by the benches has notches that line up with the standing stones to capture the sun near the horizon on certain crucial days during the year. There is also a star tube for viewing Polaris. This really is a 21st century creation in the sense that it lacks the ponderousness and wonder of Stonehenge and also takes the guesswork out of the viewing process. It seems very user-friendly: stand here, look there. Not in the ancient mysterious style at all!

We’re probably influenced by the beauty of the flat land and the distant horizon, because it isn’t a Stonehenge replica in any real sense–not a lintel in sight!–and yet we’re awarding it a score of 6½ druids. Something about it and its command of the wide horizon musters enough wonder in us to make it seem special. Nicely done!

Gardenhenge, after the winter

garden-henge

photos and henge by Kilaana

This henge first caught our eye when we saw it in its full glory:

garden-henge-2

but we find the picture taken after the elements had their way with it even more evocative of the original. This is not, as it appears, just another henge of small stones found nearby. It is the result of thought and work–the ‘stones’ were cast of Sand Topping Mix and then carved to more closely resemble the stones of Stonehenge! These people were determined . . . and perhaps a bit nutty. But in a good way, we think.

Maybe the elements were making a gesture to recognise this when they destroyed the henge in a way that made it resemble its ancient parent. This couple makes cheese henges, too. Kilaana says they are a hit at parties. We want to go to the parties she goes to! We could bring a Stonehenge game and a Stonehenge watch and some crackerhenges to go with their cheesehenges. maybe dress as druids. A party for henge-heads–it’s a thought.

Speaking of druids, there’s the question of a score. We give this one 7½ druids as is. Rebuild it with the trilithons added and we’ll probably give it an eight!

Georgia Guidestones

georgia_guidestones1

photo by Craigkbryant, reproduced from Wikipedia according to Gnu Free Documentation License, version 1.2

This was, of course, not a Stonehenge but was only on this blog because it kept getting called “America’s Stonehenge”. It was destroyed for safety reasons on the 6th of July, 2022, after it was damaged by a bombing overnight. If, like us here at Clonehenge, you did Stonehenge searches every day on social media, you could definitely see this coming. The right-wing wacko theory industry had been milking their false narrative about this eccentric monument for all it was worth, inflaming anger toward it and inciting its increasingly violent following.

The Georgia Guidestones, once standing in Elbert County, Georgia, USA, were easily the most controversial of all the sites referred to as American Stonehenges. Ten commandment-like proclamations are carved into the stones.  A radical fringe saw them as Satanic proclamations of alleged evil overlords, although it seems they were funded and worded by a wealthy eccentric as a guide to any people who might survive a global apocalypse like a nuclear war or other devastating event. Some who see the stones as evil had sworn to topple them for decades.  We had stated before that we considered the Guidestones the most threatened of the monuments we list here.

It’s a shame to lose such an odd and unique creation but we aren’t shedding any tears officially since it was in no way a Stonehenge like like the others you can find on our List of Large Permanent Replicas.  However its destruction is a warning that the far right-wing crazies in the United States are becoming increasingly motivated by the joy of violence. Anything they’ve been muttering about and threatening could be the next thing on the list including anyone striving to make this a better world.

Clone Henge / CloneHenge / Clonehenge

We have been considering this for some time and now, at the suggestion of henging expert and advocate Simon Burrow, we have repaired our broken name to match that of Stonehenge. We do not, however, agree that “if there is  a space it is not a henge”. We are inclined to yield to the creative henger full freedom to name his or her creation. When the International Henging Olympics are formed, no doubt the committee will rule on such crucial matters!

Our daily henge will be posted later.

Stonehenge in der Oberpfalz

oberpfalz-henge

photo by Alfred Schaffer, with permission

In southern Germany near the Czech border stands the simplest of Stonehenge replicas, a single trilithon. We do realize that a trilithon doth not a Stonehenge make, but in this case the circumstances of its creation qualify it as a replica. Once again the imperative to build at least a bit of Stonehenge had its way with the people it needed to make it happen. You can see it on Google Maps:

As far as we can make out by the use of automatically-translated pages (what fun!),  this trilithon was built as a project for a documentary film series about world cultures. Two hundred people helped to move and place the three 40-ton granite stones using methods similar to those the builders of Stonehenge may have used, and all of it was caught on film.

This is not the only German replica. The same nation is responsible for (guilty of?) the best strawhenge ever (and there have been many strawhenges!), Strohhenge. We’ll post more on that another day if we can get more information. Score for the Oberpfalz henge trilithon? Only 5½ druids for it as a Stonehenge replica, but as a monument, what’s not to like?

Laptophenge–Doing it Right!

laptophenge

photo by Simon W. Burrow, with permission, henging by SWB and friends.

We have been admiring this man’s henging skills for a while and this evening we received the much-coveted okey-dokey to post some of his creations.  Hurray! We start with Laptophenge, which boasts $100,000 worth of old laptops. To quote the blog post:

“Fifty old laptops of course equals fifty crashed hard drives and an equal number of unhappy people.  Hopefully the joy created by Laptophenge has restored some of the karmic balance to the universe.“

We have no doubt that it has! Look at the joy here.

And this is not all–a henge t-shirt was created for the henging event that resulted in Laptophenge–a shirt we must post:
henge-t-shirt

Clearly these are people after our own hearts!And you haven’t even seen cellphonehenge and its ancient avenue of pagers . . . So many henges, so little time!

Laptophenge is an amazing creation. The t-shirt is just icing on the cake, the very best, most delicious icing.  Score: 7½ druids for our first California henge. We look forward to bringing you more works by Mr. Burrow. Happy New Year, everyone!