What sounds like the title of a Nancy Drew novel is actually my most recent
fascination. In Britain they call them stones but they’re really rocks—big
ones. I’m referring to the roughly 1300 Neolithic monuments found throughout the
U.K. known as stone circles and standing stones.
I just got back from my daughter’s wedding to her British beau in the Cotswolds.
Having crossed the pond for the nuptials, my husband Brad and I were in no
great hurry to leave. We hired a car and drove four hours on the wrong side of
the road to Cornwall, the rocky peninsula at the southwest tip of England
that’s warmed by the Gulf Stream--allegedly. It wasn’t exactly balmy, despite
the presence of palm trees, but it was definitely picturesque. Devotees of
Poldark, Doc Martin, or the BBC mini-series of Daphne du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn
might recognize some of the scenery.
We looked forward to hiking the cliffs, taking photos of fishing boats and
quaint villages, and feasting on Cornish pasties and cream teas. What I didn’t
anticipate was how our first stop at the Avebury Stone Circles would spark an
obsession with searching out smaller versions of the same over the next several
days.
It was cool and misty the next morning as we contemplated the stones from our
window seat at the inn during our first full English breakfast. If you’re not a
fan of cooked tomatoes, beans, and blood sausage, I suggest passing on this
quintessentially British staple. We had planned on a brief walkabout before
making our way to Stonehenge but were persuaded to join a tour with a volunteer
from the National Trust. I’m so glad we did.
You can walk right up and touch the lichen-covered rocks here, the largest
prehistoric stone circle in the world. From our knowledgeable guide--big on
enthusiasm but oblivious to the cold and damp that reduced our numbers to a
mere four by the end of tour--I learned the definition of “henge.” It’s a
circular bank with a ditch on the inside, indicating it was not built for
defensive purposes.
The village of Avebury, including our humble inn which I’d highly recommend
save for the blood sausage, lies smack in the middle of this Neolithic, or
Stone Age, marvel. It’s also the only stone circle on Earth that contains a pub
and a chapel. Tragically, pious Avebury residents in the 14th
century toppled and buried dozens of what they deemed to be pagan stones. 400
years later their descendants smashed and, uh, repurposed many of the remaining
stones to build stuff. It seems Avebury was designated a protected UNESCO World
Heritage Site a few centuries too late.
Fortunately, antiquarians William Stukeley and John Aubrey mapped much of the
site during the 17th century before its destruction. Most of these
rocks remained buried until the 1930s when archeologist Alexander Keiller led a
project to excavate and replace them in their original positions. Also
unearthed was the skeleton of one of the original stone tippers, most likely
crushed to death, who was dubbed the Barber Surgeon from the pair of scissors found
nearby.
The million-pound question remains. Considering the…monumental time and effort
required, why were these megaliths erected in the first place? Archaeologists
believe they were probably used for ceremonial purposes, or in some cases, as a
solar calendar. Others suggested they represented an attempt to appease the
malevolent powers of nature, to commemorate the final battle of King Arthur, or
that Native Americans from the Appalachians—or even the Druids--were involved.
Lacking written records, we can only surmise. The theory that the tall slender stones
and the shorter, wider ones stood for male and female seems reasonable enough
to me.
Anxious to reach Cornwall before
dark—and peel off our wet socks--we decided, somewhat reluctantly, to forgo
Stonehenge. Distracted by the scenery and the surfers, I forgot about the stone
circles for a bit. While Brad navigated the narrow lanes bordered by thorny
hedgerows, I tried to stay on top of the pile of maps, books, and brochures
rising steadily at my feet. One site that kept cropping up was the Merry Maidens
Stone Circle.
We were heading back to our little Cornish cottage but this called for a
detour. Minutes later we pulled into the tiny lay-by, climbed over the stile,
and there it was. I was instantly transported back in time, trying to imagine
those who had trod this same path and what had brought them to this mysterious
ring of 19 rocks in the middle of nowhere.
According to myth, the Merry Maidens got its name from a group of lasses
enjoying a night out on the turf who lost track of time and danced into the
Sabbath. Greatly displeased, God turned the women to stone as a warning to
others. It was so pleasant and peaceful among the stones that only the promise
of seeing a nearby burial mound, believed to be the tomb of a local chief from
2000 BC, got me to bid the Maidens goodbye. But having met them, whenever we
saw a Standing Stone on our map we were on a mission.
Not entirely sure where we were going, we pulled into a farm, tromped through a
field, scaled another stone wall and were rewarded by the sight of a lone 10’
high slanting stone. Unable to pass up a cheesy photo op, we pretended to hold
it up like tourists at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We spied another tall stone
in the adjoining field and realized to our delight that we had stumbled across
the Pipers. According to legend, the pipers who played for the maidens were
also turned to stone as punishment for performing on Sunday. I love stories
like that.
Driving back to London for our flight home, I had that slight let-down feeling
you get when you leave a place that moved you and wonder if you’ll ever be
back. Traffic on the A30 was stop and go when Brad suddenly exclaimed, “There’s
Stonehenge!” In the distance stood the iconic monoliths silhouetted against the
late afternoon sky. I’d been there decades ago, before they put up the
barriers, but it was still breathtaking. Moments later we picked up speed and
it was gone.
Had I known I’d become fixated with stone circles I would have checked out some
of the many books on the subject available through the Minuteman Library
Network before my trip. “Circles and Standing Stones: An Illustrated
Exploration of Megalith Mysteries of Early Britain,” by Evan Hadingham, and Aubrey
Burl’s “Rings of Stone” sound intriguing, as does “The Atlas of Sacred and
Spiritual Sites” by David Douglas. To see the truly awesome nature of these enigmatic
monuments, check out the DVDs “Britain’s Treasures: An Aerial Journey” and “Standing
with Stones: a Journey through Megalithic Britain.” I plan to look at all these
and more. After all, there are still hundreds of stone circles standing around
patiently waiting to be discovered.
