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Trilithon of Plastic Pollution: Metaphor in Milan

Photo: ©Alessandra Terranova/ Vatraa

Our ancient ancestors left stone monuments for us to admire and wonder at but the most lasting legacy we’re leaving for our descendants may be plastic waste.

National Geographic’s 2019 campaign “Planet or Plastic” included a competition for young architects to create an art installation representing the topic, one that could become a landmark. Among the over 1600 entries from 86 countries was this remarkable trilithon made from bales of crushed plastic water bottles created in Milan by the architectural group VATRAA and entitled “Plastic Monument”. VATRAA, based in London and Bucharest, as founded by two young Romanian architects Anamaria Pircu and Bogdan Rusu.

Rusu said in an interview in Fast Company, “Our ancestors left us real assets like the pyramids, the Colosseum, or Stonehenge, but part of our legacy might be plastic waste.” Other ancient sites were considered for the recreation but in the end Stonehenge was chosen for its pure form. The uprights and lintel are actually hollow, with their form created by 8-inch outer skin of crushed plastic bottles encased in mesh. A nice touch is that the mesh trilithon “was sculpted to add the kind of texture that a stone pillar might show, based on a preexisting 3D model of the Great Trilithon.” That’s the kind of detail Clonehenge likes to see!

“Plastic Monument” in Milan

On our social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook group, Facebook Page, Mastodon, and Instagram) and on this blog we discuss the many things Stonehenge means to many different people. Here we see the iconic form of the inner trilithons being used to symbolise the legacy left to us by mankind of the distant past. The powerful and unmistakable form of the stone trilithon speaks to us of the strength of those in the past who found their way in a wild and untracked world toward civilisation as we, I was going to say as we know it today, but perhaps at this point it is best to say civilisation as we once knew it. Maybe hollow fake stones formed of crushed plastic water bottles are a fitting monument to what we have become today.

An article posted by Design Boom about this installation says: “It is hoped that ‘Plastic Monument’ will be reinstalled in other iconic locations across the world in hopes to continue the spread of this powerful message. Bogdan Rusu, founding partner at VATRAA, notes: ‘The installation is not designed to be beautiful, but to make us think about the consequences of our actions in the long run. We hope that this will inspire people of influence or regular plastic users to consider the bigger impact of the decisions they make today.’”

Clonehenge covers replicas and models of Stonehenge from the sublime to the ridiculous. We’re inclined to file VATRAA’s remarkable work toward the sublime end of that spectrum. A wonderful use of Stonehenge’s iconic status in the global consciousness.

We hope to write a post here about Joe McNamara’s recent work ‘Unhenged’ in Brentwood, UK before long. Until then, kind friends, we wish you good days and happy henging!



Featured

Kemi, Finland: the Stonehenge of Keijo Nevaranta

Keijo Nevaranta: Stone Age 1998 from his Facebook page

Because of Kari Kola’s brilliant Snowhenge we’ve been thinking a lot more about Finland lately. (We can’t really say this is Finland’s day in the sun. We believe that day is in June. Haha. Sorry.) Sadly the wonderful Snowhenge can’t be added to our List of Large Permanent Replicas since before long it will melt, but that doesn’t mean Finland doesn’t make our list at all! Near the border between Finland and Sweden on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia in a park in the city of Kemi stands a granite sculpture modeled after Stonehenge, entitled Stone Age. It was designed by artist and poet Keijo Nevaranta and donated to the city in 1998.

Built roughly on a 1/2 scale of Stonehenge itself, it is oriented to the same directions as the original so that it marks “the sunrise of the summer solstice, the sunrise of the winter solstice, [and] the northernmost and southernmost of the moon” according to Mr. Nevaranta’s blog. He states, “Like Stonehenge, the original idea of ​​”Stone Age” has been to move something from the spiritual tradition of mankind over time to the end of the second millennium and the following centuries, from the dawn of mankind to perhaps the twilight of mankind.” (A bit ominous but, it must be said, not inappropriate.)

We were curious about how firmly the stones are set into the ground, and we find the artist says, “When I designed the work and applied for a building permit from the City of Kemi, the city representatives were promised a 2,000-year warranty on the work. Yes, it will remain upright in this place for at least as long as Stonehenge, which is at the base of nature. This is better established.” Turns out it has concrete bases for the stones.

From what we have read, the artist devoted 18 months to the design and creation of the work. It was paid for by Ahti Mäntylä, owner of a granite mine who wanted a monument to the Finnish mining industry and to the Elijärvi mine, Finland’s largest mine, not far north of Kemi.

There is Frisbie golf at the Kemi Stonehenge! Photo from Mikko M. on Four Square

Stone Age stands in a park in Kemi. At one time the park, Ruutinpuisto, was threatened by development, but that threat seems to have passed for now, as some photos of the sculpture are pretty recent.

As for the monument from our point of view, it looks good but a bit in the mode of the Rolla, Missouri Stonehenge, small, without bluestones, and with very straight and even shapes for the stones. The artist says the reason for the straight lines is to create a visual conversation with the city buildings nearby. The inner trilithon horseshoe does face the three-lintel stretch, always a sign that someone’s paying attention. We’re convinced Mr. Nevaranta was paying close attention to Stonehenge as he conceived and created the work.

We were delighted to find this Stonehenge replica in far away Lapland! We first saw it on Twitter in June, in a video posted by @kaukamieli which can be seen here. The caption says, “”Mooooommmm! Let’s go see Stonehenge!” “We have Stonehenge at home.” Stonehenge at home:” He is obviously unimpressed. 😂
https://twitter.com/kaukamieli/status/1410212893451243520?s=20

We will add Mr. Nevaranta’s excellent sculpture to our list of large permanent replicas and hope that no one talks the city council into letting them develop the park and destroy it. We would love to find our way to Finland one day and see it in person! There is one more Stonehenge-ish structure in Finland beside this and the ephemeral Snowhenge. We’ll have to tell you about that one some time!

Have a great weekend, friends, and until next time, happy henging!

Sausagehenge: Starting the Friday Foodhenge on This Blog!

Vegan Sausagehenge!

In order to bring this blog alive we’re going to start posting a Friday foodhenge here as we do on all of our social media accounts. We’ll start with this vegan sausagehenge which is exactly as absurd as we need it to be as we launch this new feature! Posted by @student_veganlife on Instagram.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends, and don’t forget to henge! 😄

How to Build Stonehenge! And Possibly Restore a Blog?

Mike Pitts’ new book, out in February

Well, here’s the story. For the last few years we have neglected this original Clonehenge blog, focusing instead on our presence on Twitter, Facebook, and eventually Instagram. Recently we’ve even dreamed of getting a cute animé 2-D avatar and becoming a Clonehenge V-tuber! Why not? We have to move with the times. 😉 Meanwhile we’ve let this WordPress blog fall into ruins, littered with broken links and humour that we (unlike everyone else) once thought funny but that is now super cringe. This past year we were even considering deleting the blog once we completed the mythical possibly never-to-be-completed Clonehenge World Map.

BUT things happen, plans change, often precipitated by unforeseen events. In this case the unforeseen event is called Mike Pitts*, or more properly a book written by him, set to be released in a few weeks, the book you see above entitled How to Build Stonehenge. Written by Pitts, well known archaeologist, journalist and Stonehenge scholar and enthusiast (he’s shown up on this blog in the past, I believe, bouncing on Jeremy Deller’s inflatable Stonehenge and saying he recognised every stone. Hmm, must check we didn’t say anything in that post we might wish we hadn’t!), the book talks about how Stonehenge was built including the accumulated scholarship of the past plus all of the latest research, with lots of interesting tidbits thrown in to create a uniquely comprehensive and fascinating look at how it came together along with other points of interest about the iconic monument. We think. Haven’t actually read it, since it isn’t out yet, but we will see soon enough.

Normally the announcement of such a book would simply be delightful, if potentially expensive, news. But on the 16th of December of last year the author tweeted out a few photos of his author’s copy including part of a page of the preface and Lo, there in the that image was the name Clonehenge! Our thanks to Tim Daw of the informative Stonehenge website www.sarsen.org for drawing our attention to it. The photo not only mentions the name Clonehenge but also the name of the one behind the curtain, who honestly would never even have guessed that the esteemed Mr. Pitts knew their name.

image of pages of the preface to How to Build Stonehenge: the reference is just over halfway down the right page

Notice however that this mention doesn’t name our Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram accounts. No, just this old WordPress blog which frankly we had stuck against the back wall of the garage behind some boxes, old sleds from when the children still lived here, and that former favourite no-longer-working lawnmower that’s just too good to throw away. I think some squirrels actually nested in this blog at some point and when we got it back out last month to have a look we had to dump nut shells, sticks, and grasses out of some of the posts from roughly 2013 to 2016. Yet when the book comes out and people become curious and look us up, this old abandoned wreck is what they’ll see.

So after lengthy panic (our area of expertise!) and a certain amount of contemplation, what we recommend for everyone who sees this is of course to buy Mike Pitts’ book How to Build Stonehenge, to be released 17 February in the U.K. and mid-March in the States, if you haven’t pre-ordered already, and not to look at any posts on this blog that are more than a year or two old. There aren’t any fleas but we can’t guarantee you won’t feel a little itchy after reading some of those old posts.

For our part we will start by writing brief new posts about Stonehenge replicas worldwide not yet added to our Large Permanent Replica list—there are well over 100 now and we need to catch up—and then eventually we’ll go back and improve old posts. There are well over 400 posts on this blog though, so it won’t happen overnight. Please bear with us. There’s only one of us and we have another blog on another subject with many more followers that also requires tending. If you run across any dust or nutshells in the meantime just toss them aside. Squirrels can be such a nuisance.

We thank you for being here, gentle readers, and until the next time, happy henging!

*Mike Pitts’ archaeology journalism blog can be found at Digging Deeper.

Clonehenge Shops



In gearing up for the Clonehenge World Map which is due to be finished by September or October, we commissioned a new logo and a new banner image to use on our social media accounts. In the banner above you can see, left to right, the Odessa, Texas Stonehenge, the Maryhill Washington State Stonehenge, Carhenge in Nebraska, and a small wooden Stonehenge. We think Lena Bane, the artist, did a wonderful job.

The new Clonehenge logo.


A side effect of this is that we can now offer Clonehenge merchandise bearing the new images! To do this we have opened 3 shops on Etsy, one for the U.S., one for the U.K., and one for Australia. All of them are print-on-demand, which means the items are printed after being ordered, in the country where they were ordered, and none have to be shipped internationally unless you are ordering from outside those 3 countries.

You can order from the UK shop here: Clonehenge UK

You can order from the Australian shop here: Clonehenge Australia

And you can order from the US shop here: Clonehenge US

So far we only offer mugs and t-shirts but we’re open to suggestions or requests for other items. (You may not be impressed that we figured out how to make three shops in three different countries but we’re rather chuffed.)

Here we see long time friend of Clonehenge Simon Burrow sporting a brand new Clonehenge t-shirt:

Simon Burrow on Piestewa Peak, Arizona

And here is friend Timon Greenwood with a Clonehenge banner mug!

Timon Greenwood

Purchases will of course help us to defray the costs of having the beautiful graphics created by Lena Bane, @lenabanegx on Twitter. But the best part of course will be how unattainably cool you will become just by owning one of these rare collectors’ items!

The Clonehenge mugs. I’m not sure both versions on all stores right now but that will happen.

So thank you in advance for any purchases you decide to make! By the way, we did another interview recently, this time on BBC Somerset in the U.K., and we think Stonehenge replicas and the ideas around them are just coming into their own. There are a lot of you with fun ideas out there. We can’t wait to see them. And if you buy our merchandise, please send or post pictures!

And until next time, friends, happy henging!

What’s Even More Mysterious than Stonehenge? Find Out in the Clonehenge Interview!

Philip Adams of ABC Radio, Australia.

Hear the wonderful Philip Adams interview Clonehenge on ABC Radio in Australia, here and find out what Clonehenge is all about. The interview was held on 17 May, 2021.

It was an honour to speak with him, and it also turned out to be tremendous fun.

Since it’s that time of year we wish a happy solstice to all, whether it’s winter or summer you’re celebrating. And of course, to all our friends everywhere, happy henging!

(Again, if you missed the link: here it is.)

Rugby Stonehenge? Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka, Japan!

Stonehenge at Osaka, photo by @T0m0yeab0ii on Instagram

Japan has its share of large Stonehenges. We have posted the impressive one at the Gunma Observatory and the glorious one (with Buddhist shrine inside and a line of moai nearby!!!) at Makomanai Takino Cemetery in Sapporo. Here is yet another one, large and handsome, at Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Osaka. We’re guessing the thinking went: “Rugby is English, and what else is English? Stonehenge! We’ll build a Stonehenge!”

At any rate, the construction is suitably rugged in style to match the game. It isn’t a full Stonehenge like the others in Japan, but a bit abstract with several solid trilithons. For the Clonehenge connoisseur it is reminiscent of the exceptional Stonehenge in Odessa, Texas. In one article the Daily Mail captioned their photo with the curious words “Stonehenge-like objects”.

We would love to know more, though. Whose idea was this? What was their thinking? Who designed it? Who built it? Where did the stone come from and what kind is it? Is there a plaque or some kind of dedication? If anyone can give us answers, we would be grateful.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kintetsu_Hanazono_rugby_stadium_Entrance_2018.jpg photo of Hanazono stadium from Wikipedia, showing a section of the Stonehenge-ish things

In the 12 years we’ve been doing this blog, many new Stonehenges have appeared. We think the form’s popularity is due at least partly to the satisfaction of visiting a sculpture or construction that offers familiarity, simplicity, large size, and the pleasure of being able to interact with it, to actually walk through it. Add the hint of the ancient and of mystery that is associated with even the idea of Stonehenge and you have an attraction that many people will be eager to visit.

It has been suggested that a Stonehenge much like the real one be built near the original Stonehenge, to offer visitors the full experience of the stones without further threatening the ancient monument itself, many aspects of which, despite its rugged appearance, are fragile. As we are among those who have seen firsthand the damage created at Avebury and West Kennet Long Barrow by public free access there, we have to agree that a close imitation offering the spacial and tactile experience of the stone circle would in the long run serve the public well.

Future generations would appreciate the preservation of the original and current generations would benefit by the extraordinary experience of walking freely in the circle, feeling the extraordinary ambience the stones create just by their form, size, and positioning. Even better might be two imitation Stonehenges with access, one as the monument stands now and one how it is envisioned to have been if and when it was completed.

But that’s far afield from Hanazono! Blood, sweat and rugby! And Stonehenge! A winning combination.

And until next time, friends, happy henging!

Checking In: What’s Up With Clonehenge and the Replicas?

Wonderful trilithon from Twitter with children in the uprights, holding hands
Garden Stonehenge replica in Poland, made by Jarosław Wiśniewski, see link below
https://skierniewice.naszemiasto.pl/skierniewicka-replika-megalitycznego-stonehenge-zdjecia/ar/c1-7682563

Hello. We have fallen behind on this blog and its maintenance, perhaps irrevocably, so we’re doing a post to say hello and tell you what’s been happening in the topic of Stonehenge replicas.

This used to be a single manageable topic. Combining large permanent replicas, home replicas, small exhibit replicas, and larger temporary Stonehenge replicas didn’t seem like taking on a lot. There just weren’t that many of them, at least not posted online.

But things have taken a turn since then. Numbers have increased in every category. We find large new Stonehenge replicas, large Stonehenge-like circles, large trilithons, including sculptures and fountains, very frequently, all over the world. Stonehenge replicas for advertising and for display or exhibit purposes have become more common, or at least posted more often and therefore easier to find, and the number of at-home replicas and models has gone through the roof.

In the interest of documenting Stonehenge replicas, we still do searches every day, especially on Twitter and Instagram, keeping links to anything interesting in a file on our computer. That list has grown to hundreds of examples, large and small. If we posted all of them on Twitter or our Facebook group or page, people would be overwhelmed and unfollow us en masse. In short, people are making a *lot* of Stonehenges. It’s great, but we can’t keep up.

We still intend to work on and complete the Clonehenge map of permanent replicas around the world, but for now just adding a link for each one instead of trying to include photos and info. Once we have that basic map, then we or other people can improve it over time. Our original ambitions for it are not realistic in light of how much time we currently can spare to do the work.

Lockdown inspired a lot of people to try their hands at Stonehenge replicas, and 95% or more of those were made by people who never heard of Clonehenge. This burgeoning phenomenon has nothing to do with our existence, which makes it all the more curious. Stonehenge is looming larger and larger in the zeitgeist.

This all sounds very serious, but we do still think Stonehenge replicas are funny. We just wanted to take a minute and catch you up with what has been going on. We’re working on learning how to reblog things on Instagram, so we can have a presence there, reblogging every Stonehenge we find every day, with the entire original post. That’s a goal. It’s fascinating what people come up with, from dusty cement block Stonehenges in vacant lots to aesthetic little Stonehenge replicas made to look pretty on Instagram, and all of the usual zany and ingenious versions that seem to come out of nowhere to delight us. We see the most creative and joyful side of people every day.

We’re not sure what the answer is to the problem of overwhelming numbers of replicas, how we can best cover them in the time we have in our lives, which is not a lot. This is a non-paying hobby that is increasingly taking the time you would allot for at least a part-time job. It would be a full-time nonpaying job if we were doing everything we probably should.

Is there a place where we should post every single interesting replica we find? Does anyone out there know what might work? We considered finding people to help with different segments: someone for large replicas, someone for social network replicas, someone to catalogue museum and other exhibit replicas, but a lot of time would be required, for no pay.

We always meant to be thorough and to document everything about this topic that we could, including the history and backstories for important replicas, many of which we know more about than almost anyone. We don’t see a way to do that now, and it’s a shame because it has become a bigger, and so more important, topic than we ever imagined it would be. We’re going to keep brainstorming how best to present the replicas and sometimes the people making them. Unlike in this post we hope to make it entertaining and engaging. We’ll see what develops.

There’s some kind of big psychological thing going on here, making people create these replicas, and it’s our hope that someday someone looks into that. For now, we will continue to observe, and in our private files at least, document what we find. I can’t promise how often we’ll post here on the blog in the time to come, but it costs us a bit of money to maintain so we hope to keep using it. Most Clonehenge activity takes place in the Facebook group and page, and on the Clonehenge Twitter account. Our feed on Twitter overlaps with but is different from the accounts on FB. You can contact us there any time.

We hope you had a happy and uplifting solstice and that the turn of the year brings good things! Thank you for being there and until next time, friends, happy henging!

Making Of: the Super Bowl #MoreTogether Henge!

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One of the great things about the ad we were in was the set. The Stonehenge replica we posed in had to be simple but it was still thoughtful. When we asked about it at the shoot we learned the makers were already gone. But good news! Our contact at the ad agency has gotten us the detailed explanation below from Production Designer Dylan Kahn. This is awesome! Many thanks!

(Markings in brackets in bold are ours and lead to footnotes below.)

Here’s basically how we pulled that thing off ..
I put a few images together that show the process

After I shared a bunch of research images of the real Stonehenge with Megaforce we then went and look at all the Clonehenge stuff together on FB[*] and google we could find.

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Once we decided what we wanted to do , I built a 3d model of the pieces to help the set shop and I determined which shapes I liked best and thought would read easiest

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From there I had the shapes carved in Beadfoam, the sculptors at vision scenery did that for us …using the reference and model as a guide

We then had those approved by MF for size and scale …

Heres a pic of me and the Alicia our Paint / sculpture foreman in front of them that we shared for size. You can see we numbered and then carved each trilithon as close to the model and real shapes as we could…so they were as close to the real thing as possible.

Knowing that they would be seen by not only the Clonehenge FB group people but more importantly[???] an additional 100 million Super Bowl watchers …
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Following approvals from MF i then had them coated in concrete…we used the quick setting stuff that comes in 50lb bags. We troweled that on and kept it as rough as possible.

Once that was dry, I had them put a white wash on some of the stones and then a solid gray each on the others so it looked as though some were not yet dry, as MF wanted the vignette to show the group mixing cement and making them.

All in all they turned out great !
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In the end we donated them to EcoSet and im sure they’re still there as they’re pretty specific not really recyclable.

I’m glad we had the chance to make something so fun and couldnt have done it without Vision Scenery, Alicia and Raymundo there!
So stoked to work With MF and Wieden to make something that challenged us all in so many ways

I hope this helps explain how we did that
Thanks
Dylan

Notes: MF above stands for Megaforce. Wieden is Wieden and Kennedy, the ad agency responsible for making the ad.
Our own footnotes:
[*] Yay!
[???] Say what????

There it is. We wouldn’t be Clonehenge if we weren’t curious to learn how replicas are made. This process was fascinating to us. As to the thinking behind including us in the first place, that of course remains an utter mystery!

Our thanks to Maureen Doyle (for many things!) and Jewel Estephanos for getting us this information. And to everyone who had anything to do with the creation of the ad, especially all of the lovely people we met and were in touch with during the process.

Who knows what will happen with Clonehenge next! But until next time, friends, happy henging!

Clonehenge in the Spotlight: do we indeed want to rock?

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Clonehenge still from the Facebook Super Bowl commercial

The tale we are about to tell you may sound unlikely or even fictional, but in this strange alternative universe to which we have somehow been transported it is 100% true.

In December, a few days before Christmas, I and a small cohort of the Clonehenge faithful (Simon Burrow and Paul Stoffels) were flown, all expenses paid, to L.A. and put up in a swanky Hollywood hotel for two nights. Another member of the Clonehenge: Stonehenge replicas Unleashed Facebook group , Siobhán Jess Sarrels, lived closer and was brought in by limo to meet us the next day where we were ushered into another limo and driven to the site where a set including a small Stonehenge replica had been prepared.

There we were led to a big trailer which was ours for our time there. We were visited by wardrobe and makeup people, met some of the people who had been instrumental in bringing us there, and went to the set. We ended up spending most of the day doing a shoot along with some very genial actors meant to appear to be Clonehenge group members. The main acting direction was to “look badass!” One does what one can.

What we did not know that day (it was at winter solstice, although we were led to believe that this was a coincidence) was that our shoot was to be part of a Super Bowl commercial (advert, ad, whatever word you prefer). On 02/02/2020 it aired. For a brief instant, the name Clonehenge: Stonehenge Replicas Unleashed!, some very good friends of Clonehenge, and the person typing these words—the redhead with the dark glasses*—appeared before a huge audience of American football fans. At last glance, the video of the ad on Youtube alone has had almost 22 million views. Whether they were all me watching it over and over again will remain undisclosed.

Apparently, at least judging by the soundtrack of the video, whether we at Clonehenge headquarters know it or not, we want to rock. This is new information and we are now attempting to assimilate it into our worldview. The effort is ongoing.

At any rate, the whole thing has been a glorious adventure. Not only have 200 new members joined our Facebook group, bringing us over the 500 member mark, but this along with a radio interview we did on Australian Broadcasting in Sydney on the same day the commercial aired brought this blog’s stats up to near record levels.

To be honest, we had always expected to labor over this topic in obscurity until the end of our days, so this all comes as a bit of a shock. We can only assume that having had the 15 minutes of fame granted to everyone by Andy Warhol, we will now be able to crawl back under the rock from which we briefly issued and continue searching out Stonehenges in all the places where we all, frankly, know they should not be. In that sense, come to think of it, perhaps we do want to rock.

We hope to resume our slow listing of large Stonehenge replicas worldwide in the next post. It is likely to be posted with the same grace and lightning-like speed to which readers have become accustomed.

Thank you for finding us or for sticking with us all these years. Until next time, gentle readers, happy henging!

*photoshopping suspected

Find us:
the (now famous?) Facebook group
the Twitter