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Sunday 26 May 1998
The weather was a touch dull but an England without grey or white skies every now and then would not be England! We were heading for Avebury and the road I chose took us past the white horse at Cherhill. There are several of these horses in the area. They date from prehistory to this century and are "drawn" by scraping the turf from the underlying chalk and repeated "weedings" known as scourings. |
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Avebury never ceases to fascinate me. I think after Glastonbury it is the
most magical place in England. Forget Stonehenge, if it's atmosphere you want then come to
Avebury. The huge earthworks and the remains of the stone circle entirely surround the village.
The stones are alternately huge rounded disc shaped and tall slender stones, having been
likened to female and male characteristics by some. |
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Some of these stones were destroyed a few hundred years ago when the villagers sought
to use the stone for building. Large fires were started around stones which were then cooled rapidly by dousing them with water, the expansion due to the heat followed by rapid contraction causing the stones to split apart.
The practice stopped after a man was blinded
by a flying chip of stone, causing superstitious minds to race! |
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Having left the village and driven just a short distance to visit West Kennet long barrow, we were confronted by the sight of a crop circle in the hillside next to the path leading to the barrow.
The 3-week old circle was a 250-280ft diameter ring with 33 scroll motifs fitted into the ring. A chap looked at me as I took the photo and said "So is it aliens or what?" With great
effort I resisted the urge to say "No, it's a camera..." |
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Or maybe I should have just laughed and said "You Earthlings are so funny!"...
This is what we had really come to see. West Kennet Long Barrow. The barrow has five
chambers that contained human remains. The huge stones were added much later to block off the entrance with it's small courtyard, when the tomb ceased to be used. These places can have no small atmosphere of their own... |
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The entrance is seen here, reached by walking around the side of the standing
stones.
How light it is inside depends on whether the turf has grown over some small skylights
that have been set into the ceiling of the tombs. The first set of skylights have been
covered on the hillside above with a thoughtful slab of concrete, not entirely in keeping with its surroundings... |
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| Fran tried to make me out in the gloom whilst I blinded her with the flashgun... I wasn't popular for a bit after this!
We stood in the dark for a few moments wondering who had been buried here and who had mourned them. |
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