The Hidden Face of the Altar Stone

A couple of snaps of the Altar Stone where it lies protected from visitors' feet under Stone 55. I was surprised how rough it looks, it is described by Atkinson as being finely worked. Of course, I could only see a small section which was partially covered by soil, which a four legged furry friend had been disturbing, so looks may be deceiving.

But if it is a roughly hewn rather than finely worked does this mean it is more likely to  have been vertical once or not?

More on the stone at http://www.sarsen.org/2013/05/the-altar-stone-fallen-stone-or.html

It is cromulent to embiggen the pictures by clicking them.

Twisted Stone 10, a problem solved.

This plan is from Edgar Barclay's book of Stonehenge. 

I noticed that Stone 10 is marked as being twisted out of a true circular position.

From the current EH guidebook, circle added.

From Cleal et al

Stone 11 is out of line because it is leaning outwards, but 10 has never been restored or moved so it seems to be in its original position. Examining it on the ground the twist is quite obvious, and I have spent quite a few hours chewing over the problem as to what it could mean. Could it be related to the idea of 11 being an entrance way?

This morning the solution came to me thanks to one of Adam Stanford's Aerial Cam photos.

The ground level may be twisted but the top with the two tenons is exactly right. What amazing engineering!

Click to enlarge any picture.

Stone 66

From Cleal et al  

The published picture is misleading to me because it seems to be printed on its side. By turning it I can make sense of it.

Stonehenge Stone no. 66

Mr.R. S. Newall (1952).
The Antiquaries Journal, Volume 32, Issue1-2, April 1952 pp 65-67

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?aid=7860573

From Atkinson Stonehenge 1979 edition

The False Mortise Holes on Stone 156

On what was the top of Stone 156, which was the lintel on top of the Great Trilithon, there are two holes which roughly correspond to the mortise holes on the bottom of it. It is normally accepted that they were mistakes, that the stonemasons started chipping out the holes and then someone said," No, turn the stone over."

I'm not convinced, other theories are that they may have held the bottom of a second storey of trilithons or that they may have held burning pots, though no heat fractures have been found.

But whatever, I have been requested to post some pictures of them:

Click to embiggen

Summer Solstice 2014 at Stonehenge Arrangements

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/summer-solstice/?lang=en

Celebrating the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge

Stonehenge is an ancient prehistoric site and has been a place of worship and celebration at the time of Summer Solstice since time immemorial.

During Managed Open Access for Summer Solstice at Stonehenge, we support all individuals and groups conducting their own forms of ceremony and celebration providing that they are mutually respectful and tolerant of one another. It is a place seen by many as a sacred site - therefore please respect it and those attending.

English Heritage continues to work closely with the many agencies and people from all sectors of the community and we would like to thank them for their help and support.
Parking and entry to the Monument will be free, subject to the Conditions of Entry. Please do not arrive at the Solstice car park or Stonehenge in advance of the opening times listed below.

Please note: As Summer Solstice this year occurs on a Friday/Saturday, the roads around Stonehenge will be very busy. We strongly advise visitors to leave their cars at home and travel to Stonehenge using public transport. See Travel for further information.

You can also follow @eh_stonehenge on Twitter for travel updates on the night.

Timings for Summer Solstice at Stonehenge

SOLSTICE CAR PARK OPENS
19.00 hours (7pm) Friday 20 June
ACCESS TO STONEHENGE
19.00 hours (7pm) Friday 20 June
LAST ADMISSION TO SOLSTICE CAR PARK
06.00 hours (6am) Saturday 21 June
STONEHENGE CLOSES
08.00 hours (8am) Saturday 21 June
SOLSTICE CAR PARK TO BE VACATED
12.00 hours (12 Noon) Saturday 21 June

We hope the weather will be kind and wish you a peaceful and celebratory solstice.

Sunset and Sunrise


Sunset and sunrise occur at the following times:

Sunset on Friday 20 June 2014 is at 21.26 hrs (9.26pm)

Sunrise on Saturday 21 June 2014 is at 04.52 hrs (4.52am)

• Summer Solstice 2014 - Conditions of Entry (84.55 KB)

Puddingstone Meeting and Field Trip

Puddingstone and related silcretes of the Anglo-Paris Basin - geological and archaeological perspectives
Date: 16 - 19 May 2014 Burlington House, London

The meeting will cover puddingstones and silcretes of similar age in both the Hampshire and Paris Basins, and the weekend field trip will include East Hertfordshire/Essex, then Saint-Saëns and Sotteville in Northern France. It is anticipated that both the meeting and the post-conference field trips will lead to further co-operative research between archaeologists and geologists.
Speakers include:

•  Tony Brown 
• Chris Green 
• Jenny Huggett 
• Bryan Lovell 
• David Nash 
• Mike Parker Pearson 
• Florence Quesnel 
• Jane Tubb 

Full details can be found within the draft PDF programme.

• Puddingstone draft programme - 
• Fieldtrip information v2
• Puddingstone registration form v3

Registration: Deadline: Friday 14 March 2014

I await the papers with interest.

h/t http://brian-mountainman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/sarsens-and-silcretes.html

Barclay, Edgar. Stonehenge and Its Earth-Works. With Plans and Illustrations. London: D. Nutt, 1895.

Fascinating and well illustrated book on Stonehenge.

Free to browse at https://archive.org/stream/stonehengeandit00barcgoog#page/n6/mode/2up

or downloadable from https://openlibrary.org/books/OL20590864M

Click to embiggen