Woodhenge Henge Timber Circle – Amesbury, Wiltshire. A wooden version of Stonehenge?
“A little further on the right of the road leading to Amesbury, we see the mutilated remains of an enormous Druid barrow”
This is how Richard Colt Hoare described Woodhenge in the early 19th century, and it continued to be viewed as a disc barrow (with the name “Dough Cover”) until 30th June 1926.
On that day, Squadron Leader Gilbert Insall VC took an aerial photograph that showed a series of dark circular cropmarks inside the area enclosed by what had been regarded as the barrow’s ditch.
Insall’s photo is shown below, Woodhenge is just above left of the centre.
These marks later proved to be the surface traces of six concentric rings of postholes, uncovered by Maud and Ben Cunnington in their excavations between 1926 and 1928. These posts date to between 2600 and 2400BC.
When their excavations were over, they installed short concrete markers to show…
View original post 683 more words
The Blick Mead excavations have transformed the understanding of the Stonehenge landscape.
In the early 2000s, Professor David Jacques was researching the estate records of Amesbury Abbey and realised that the archaeology around the Iron Age hillfort known as Vespasian’s Camp had probably not been obliterated by landscaping of the parkland in the 18th Century, as had previously been assumed.
The subsequent excavations, from 2005 onwards, around the spring pool at Blick Mead have transformed the understanding of the Stonehenge landscape.
Archaeologists at the University of Buckingham, led by David Jacques found the ancient site in October 2014, which is around one-and-a-half miles (2.4km) from Stonehenge
The earliest datable “monumental” activity at Stonehenge comes from pine charcoal found at the bottom of two of the three enormous post pits that were discovered in the late 1960s when the old car park was being extended.
Radiocarbon-dated to around 7,500 – 7,900 BC these almost 1m diameter pine posts were erected back…
View original post 730 more words
2017 Stonehenge Private Guided Access Tours departing from Salisbury
Be one of the few people to walk amongst the inner stone circle at Stonehenge on our exclusive special access trips.
What better way to experience the magic and mystery of Stonehenge than with a private viewing at sunrise or sunset. On our popular exclusive private guided tours from Salisbury, guests will be able to access the historic stone circle, and explore the surrounding area rich in history, myths and legends. We are proud to be the longest established Stonehenge Tour Company operating the very 1st special access tours into the monument. Please view our exclusive Stonehenge inner circle tours
“Being able to walk amongst the stones at dawn without the crowds and without the rope barrier is a truly magical experience”
Our exclusive entry into the stone circle allows you to wander in and around the heritage site and experience an up close and personal look at this iconic monument. We have scheduled small group tours and arrange custom private tours. Please visit our travel website for details.
Stonehenge at Sunrise or Sunset
In the evening after Stonehenge is closed to the public, or at dawn before it is open, we can arrange for you to visit this awe-inspiring prehistoric monument and walk among the giant sarsen stones towering 6.4 m high and weighing up to 50 tonnes. Marvel at how stones of such monumental scale were quarried, transported and erected 5,000 years ago when the only tools available were made of wood, bone and stone.
For those of you who have not visited Stonehenge, we should mention that the complex is roped off. Visitors observe the stones from a distance and are not permitted within the Stone Circle which can be somewhat frustrating. Our private special access tours allow you to be amongst the stones.
Please follow us on Twitter for all the latest Stonehenge and Salisbury tourism news and Instagram for Stonehenge and Wiltshire photos.
Stonehenge and Salisbury Guided Tours
www.StonehengeTravel.co.uk
Approve Visit Wiltshire Member
8 Images of a Frosted England
Baby, it’s cold outside!
Our Archive collection of over 9 million images is a window into the history of England’s archaeology, historic buildings and social history. You can use the archive to learn about your local area, and research well known historic buildings and sites. We hold some of the earliest photography ever taken.
Keep warm this winter with our pick of 8 archive images of the historic environment covered in a blanket of snow:
1. Rievaulx Abbey, Ryedale, North Yorkshire
© Historic England
At one time one of England’s most powerful Cistercian monasteries, the impressive ruins of Rievaulx Abbey is managed by English Heritage and is Grade I listed.
2. Highgate Cemetery, London
MF001673/09 © Historic England
The resting place of many famous residents and the home of some of the finest funerary architecture in the country, Highgate Cemetery is Grade I listed on the Register of Parks and…
View original post 310 more words
Virtual Reality Helps Scientists Recreate The Sounds Of Stonehenge
Stonehenge may have been a centre of ritual musical activity.
A team of researchers has borrowed technology from the architectural and video games industries to bring the ruins of Stonehenge to life. The end product of the group’s endeavours is a virtual reality tour of the ancient site that recreates what it what have looked and sounded like several thousand years ago.
Though the purpose and origins of Stonehenge are still shrouded in mystery, researchers such as Rupert Till from the University of Huddersfield believe it probably served as a venue for ritual musical activity.
Mathematical reconstructions of the site and its acoustics have indicated that it may once have been capable of resonating at low frequencies when the wind blew or when percussive instruments were played within the circle of stones. Till and his colleagues suggest that the brainwaves of those present may have become synchronized with these frequencies – a phenomenon known as entrainment – in order to generate altered states of consciousness and even send people into a kind of trance.
Unfortunately, many of the stones have been eroded or removed over the past few millennia, so experiencing this first-hand is no longer possible. Yet the new virtual reality reconstruction of the site offers the next best thing, by digitally recreating the sights and sounds of Stonehenge as it was back in its heyday.
Join us on a Stonehenge Private Access Tour from Salisbury and hear all tthe latest theories from our local expert guides.
Stonehenge and Salisbury Guided Tours
The Stonehenge Travel Company
http://www.StonehengeTravel.co.uk
The lost sounds of Stonehenge. Hidden sounds of prehistoric site revealed on new app
There are many questions surrounding the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge but might sound help in the search for answers?
Virtual reality allows new ways to examine Stonehenge’s history
Thomas Hardy said it had a strange “musical hum”. Tess of the d’Urvbervilles ends at Stonehenge and features the “sound”. Modern-day druids also say they experience something special when they gather at Stonehenge and play instruments within the stone circle.
However, Stonehenge is a ruin. Whatever sound it originally had 3,000 years ago has been lost but now, using technology created for video games and architects, Dr Rupert Till of the University of Huddersfield has – with the help of some ancient instruments – created a virtual sound tour of Stonehenge as it would have sounded with all the stones in place.
Arriving at 07:00 on a decidedly chilly January morning, I was sceptical. Dr Till had arrived with a…
View original post 465 more words
Stonehenge and Salisbury Guided Tours 