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Written by DeadGirl
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Sunday, 20 June 2004 |
By Stuart Coles, PA News
Thousands are heading for Stonehenge for the summer solstice celebrations.
Gatherings in recent years have been far more low-key than in previous troubled times, but police in Wiltshire and Hampshire have said they will still not tolerate any illegal parties after the event.
They have also warned motorists to avoid the area if possible and have reminded drivers that illegally parked cars will be removed.
Stonehenge is one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments and symbols, yet who built it and for what purpose has long been shrouded in mystery.
The stone circle lies about eight miles north of Salisbury in Wiltshire and is thought to date back some 5,000 years, probably to 1500BC.
Its construction has been attributed to Celtic Druids, indigenous tribes from the late-Neolithic period and even the Arthurian wizard, Merlin.
Some claim it was a temple used to worship ancient earth deities, while others say it was a prehistoric astronomical observatory, or a sacred burial site for people of high birth.
A large bank and ditch earthwork – called a henge – was first dug using tools believed to have been made from wood and the antlers of red deer.
The first stone circle, which now forms the inner circle, was erected in about 2000BC, but abandoned before it was completed.
About 80 small blue stones, each weighing about four tonnes, were used and are thought to come from the Prescelly Mountains, more than 200 miles away in Wales.
The outer concentric circle is formed of giant sarsen stones, each weighing up to 50 tonnes each, from the Marlborough Downs, about 20 miles away.
Archaeologists recently uncovered a number of ancient skeletons buried near Stonehenge – including the Amesbury Archer who was found with the earliest gold ever found in Britain and numerous artefacts including his bow earning him the title in the press “The King of Stonehengeâ€.
Tourists have been banned from going up to the stones since 1978 but problems in the 1980s led to tight restrictions on the celebrations.
Numbers of revellers grew up to 70,000 and in 1985 culminated with a clash with up to 500 police in the infamous “Battle of the Beanfield†the following year Margaret Thatcher’s controversial Public Order Act spelt an end to such mass gatherings. Full access to the stones for celebrations only has been gradually reintroduced in the last few years.
The conclusion of a lengthy public inquiry into controversial plans to build a 2km long tunnel under the site and move the busy A303 road away from sight of the stones is due in the autumn.
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3089370 |
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