Stonehenge

Place of worship, human sacrifice or pilgrimage location?  There are many mysteries surrounding the ancient rocks at Stonehenge, but regardless of the intent of Stonehenge it is amazing that 5,000 years ago, humans were able to move stones weighing upwards of 50 Tons into incredible formations. Keep in mind this was well before wheels & tools.

To visit Stonehenge we decided to be true tourists and booked a bus tour.  Typically we would travel to wherever we want to see on our own, but Stonehenge isn't super easy to get to so the direct bus sounded more feasible than taking the train to Salisbury and then taking a local bus.  The funny thing about the tour is it was almost all high school and college kids.  I know we're not old, but it felt a little bit as if we were the teachers taking the kids on a field trip.  Our bus driver, Malcolm, did a really nice job commentating on the 2 hour drive to and from Stonehenge so I think we both agreed it was a good decision to take the tour.

Brady did great on the drive there.  He feel asleep about 20 minutes into the trip and woke up 10 minutes before we arrived ready to see the 'big big rocks'. 

The only thing that surprised me is I thought there would be more around Stonehenge.  I knew it was out in the country, but I think I was convinced there would be more surrounding it.  It truly is the rock formation, with a very small gift shop and coffee stand surrounded by sheep in a field.

We enjoyed seeing the historic site.  I won't talk through the history of the different stones, but feel free to read up.  Our bus driver did say that there is an archaeological dig taking place and they are due to release many 'new findings' and that the history of Stonehenge is about to change.  Previously much of the details around Stonehenge have been unproved speculation and theory, but they have found evidence that supports the fact that Stonehenge was a place that people pilgrimage to, to say goodbye to and bury the deceased.  They have found remains of people from as far away as Switzerland.  There are small mounds all around the site which is where the prominent, powerful and rich were given a proper burial (picture below).  There is a large mound about a mile or so from Stonehenge where the 'common folk' were buried (no picture).  There is said to be some 6000 different people buried in the large mound.

The only downfall to our day was the weather.  It was supposed to be mid - upper 40s and partly cloudy, however the weather forecasters were a bit off and it was 35 at best, windy, and not a single peep of sunshine.  Despite the cold, we still had fun!