Two bed with a thatched roof

Now in two groups of six; we made our way to the huts as the other group walked off. As they walked off knowing that our group would be going there next I did hope it was not going to be a long walk.
Photo by Louise Topp

As we stood outside the hut we could see a small fire burning through the small doorway. We were invited inside one by one we squeezed through the small door, for me it was like a cat trying to get through a mouse hole, I was dreading a “Winnie the Pooh” moment where someone would have to push me through the small hole. But I did get in.

The first thing that struck me was how spacious it was inside even with nine people. Looking around there were two beds / seats, a central fire used for heating and cooking. There were shelving units (ok more MFI than IKEA) with pots and cooking tools. There was clothing hanging from wall some fur / leathers and even a lining shirt. Along the walls arrows and bows and axes neatly stored.

The guides started off by making some bread by mixing flour and water and cooking on one of the stone from the fire. For more information on bread making please read  A taste of Neolithic life.

While the bread was cooking our guide explained how rope and threads where created from different types of plants. We were shown an assortment of different reeds and grasses for us to use to make cord.

So as we sat there, bread cooking, the heat from the fire, people conversing everyone twisting something to make rope a sense of normalcy filled the space. The hut became to feel very homely and sharing the bread transported us back in time.

Now with bread consumed, ropes made it was time for the next part of our adventure – I’m sure its going to be a long walk…

I am including a video about the huts for your enjoyment.

Episodes

Twelve go to the Stone Age

Two bed with a thatched roof 

Neolithic building school 

A taste of Neolithic life 

About the project – http://humanhenge.org/

English Heritage & Stonehenge http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/

Authors Resource

Name Mr BPD

Website http://www.my-dark-lyrics.uk

About Author I have Borderline Personality Disorder and as a writer and poet I explore my madness through the creative arts. I have a personal belief that even in darkness light exists and it is a personal responsibility to always seek the light and I find the light in creating something.

Twelve go to the Stone Age

This week there seemed to be a lot more people at the education centre than in previous weeks. That could have something to do with the three experts who where going to show us around the Stonehenge exhibition and the Neolithic huts.

We walked in to the exhibition centre and into a circular room with video screens. The video playing was a history of the henge as if film from the centre of the henge. As the film played our guide pointed out the solar positions at the solstices and other poignant facts.

I probably missed so much information from our guide as I was transfixed at the sense of being inside the stone circle the 360-degree views being interrupted by people moving around only added to the atmosphere.

We then moved into the main hall and our guide showed us around and gave talks on the exhibits – again I probably missed loads well! -There were bones and arrows and I was like a kid in a candy store.

I did have a giggle to myself as tourists attached themselves to our group ear wigging to the guides information, as we moved off to a corner to discuss pottery several came with.

A large replica pot was brought out for us to hold and examine, the guide along with Yvette informed us of the contents and possible uses and how they where made several of the tourist had moved on but the woman next to me whose friend was bored and was badgering her to move on turn to her friend in almost perfect English said “I am not going nowhere till I touch the pot” I nearly choked.

Yes she did get to touch the pot and I am sure it made her day because she left smiling like the Cheshire cat. We then made our way to replica Neolithic hut where we where split into to groups.

One group went to the huts while the others went to build walls.

I have started to realise that so much happened this week that a single blog post will not do justice to the experience I and I hope others had so I will split the article into individual episodes

Episodes

Twelve go to the Stone Age 

Two bed with a thatched roof 

Neolithic building school 

A taste of Neolithic life 

About the project – http://humanhenge.org/

English Heritage & Stonehenge http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/

Authors Resource

Name Mr BPD

Website http://www.my-dark-lyrics.uk

About Author I have Borderline Personality Disorder and as a writer and poet I explore my madness through the creative arts. I have a personal belief that even in darkness light exists and it is a personal responsibility to always seek the light and I find the light in creating something.

Circle of stones

Wind swept open space,
Secrets hidden in Gaea’s flesh
Time and technology advance the human race.
Ceremony in celestial orbit
Buried in barrows…
The far reaching curse us
The silence of far go woods.
In darkness seven sisters shine.
Now all in place we turn back time.

Photo by Mr BPD, original image © Historic England

Millennium times ten before a saviour,
With stone of axe and flint knife;
The story of Neolithic life.
The seas had taken the land away,
Building homes of brush and clay.
They sang songs of pig and dog –
While carving tools from bone and fallen log.
To the ground they offer – a body;
The caved in head of child of three,

Photo by Mr BPD, original image © Historic England

The wood of henge would fade away
But it’s the stones circle still seen today
First came a ditch, then a bank, and then Aubrey holes.
The entrance marked with ornate polls,
Time does pass then it’s welsh stone of blue,
Repaired in future with cement as glue,
A heal added with Sarsen stones.
So heavy to lift they must have moaned.
To the circle rearrangement once more.

Photo by Mr BPD, original image © Historic England

From then till now the sun and moon still calls
At mid summer and winter – spring and when autumns leaf falls,
By day and by night,
With High priestess and druid might,
The magick of the henge comes to life.
History and archaeology run rife…
So walk the land with me,
In circled stones the past your see
But time has not done there are more secrets to come.

Photo by Mr BPD, original image © Historic England

Authors Resource
Name Mr BPD
Website http://www.my-dark-lyrics.uk

About Author I have Borderline Personality Disorder and as a writer and poet I explore my madness through the creative arts. I have a personal belief that even in darkness light exists and it is a personal responsibility to always seek the light and I find the light in creating something.

Stonehenge visitor centre by Jessica Swinburne

A change of plan this week. We had been down to visit the Cuckoo Stone but instead we stayed in Education room for a Question and Answer session with Professor Tim Darvill.    

It was absolutely fascinating to speak to a real expert about the ancient landscape we have been exploring over the last few weeks. It was almost too much to take in but the highlights for me was that the Mycenaean Greeks believed that the god Apollo left his shrine at Delphi  in the winter at travelled to the mythical land of Hyperborea (land beyond the north wind) which some identify with Britain. This led to some intriguing speculation about the possibility of an ancient Greek priest travelling to the British Isles! Only speculation of course but a fascinating idea none the less.     

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the Human Henge project for me has been the opportunity to explore the Stonehenge landscape at a slow pace and really appreciate it in depth.

I am now really looking forward now to next week’s Evening Walk on the Cursus and a further opportunity to pick the brains of the good professor.

Simon Chaplin

We sang in woods and rain

I was running a bit late so by the time we got there everyone was seated with a coffee and the session had started. Luckily we had not missed much apart from the piggy pig dogs song.

I grabbed a seat and “C” made me a coffee – black no sugar! There was a quick update of what we would be doing.

Ben from the Richmond Fellowship had brought in some flint tools and began to explain the process of how the tools where used and made. He started off with a bit of flint that tools had been made from. He explained the percussion marks and how to tell if a bit had tools made from it or had just crashed against other stones.

We were shown examples of Stone Age knifes and told how they were used. We were reminded that we were going to places where humans inhabited only used stone tools. A place where archaeology can make guesses and assumptions because any organic items would have broken down over time so there is no true evidence. We meditated on the idea of a world where the only tools people had were stone and any others could only be imagined as now they were lost to history and the earth.

Then we were off to Fargo Woods, do you remember Fargo woods from last week [3,2,1 Cursus] and yes it was still a mission, with the added joys of cold winds and rain. I did question my sanity as l looked up the long road, but it just laughed at me and went for a coffee as I started my hike.

The wind whipped from the front and right and with the uphill incline it did make the journey a bit of a struggle but I finally got there. We stepped off of the tarmac road and into a leaf-covered woodland, the wet soft ground insured you focused on where you stepped.

[1]

I have not mentioned the umbrellas yet, but someone had brought some, good thing because it was raining but they were bright and highly patterned. I not saying they were ugly but…

[2]

We came together in to a small circle linking those ugly umbrellas into a faux roof. Trapped in the dry space Yvette decided it was time to sing and taught us a new song, “Now all the woods are waking” and had us sing it in rounds :-

Now all the woods are waking

The sun is riding high

Wake up love, get up love

Before the dew is dry

Funnily this was the best part of the day for me standing in the woods voices in almost perfect harmony my thoughts drifting to the trees, the bulbs getting ready to burst in to spring and the story of Persephone, returning to her mother Demeter whose madness would depart, and the icy grip of winter would have no hold on the earth and life would return.

We then spent some time looking at the trees and trying to identify them forming in to smaller groups for chats and discussions after a while it was time to return back to the learning centre.

[1]

The walk back should be much easier as it was downhill. Well it would have been if it were not for the blustering cold wind and very fine rain. I had that ugly umbrella raised like a shield defending my left side from the onslaught but I was getting wetter by the second, but with determination I marched back to the learning centre.

Finally back at the learning centre I was half soaked my left foot is so wet I was starting to wonder about trench foot. But now it was time for coffee and biscuits and discussions and question selection for next weeks guest. Luckily a few members of the group are very knowledgeable about the local area and its history so I am looking forward to hearing the answers myself. Then sadly it was time to leave – so till next week then

Credits

Images where provided

[1] The great photographer also known as “The chauffeur!”

[2] Yvette Staelens  Academic and natural voice practitioner, Human Henge Coordinator http://humanhenge.org/people-you-will-meet-2/

Further information

Fargo plantation (the woods) – http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-408000-141000/page/5

About the project – http://humanhenge.org/

English Heritage & Stonehenge http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/

Authors Resource

Name Mr BPD

Website http://www.my-dark-lyrics.uk

About Author; I have Borderline Personality Disorder and as a writer and poet I explore my madness through the creative arts. I have a personal belief that even in darkness light exists and it is a personal responsibility to always seek the light and I find the light in creating something.

Photos by Yvette Staelens

3,2,1 Cursus

Week 3 

Group 2

1 long walk

Well it’s the third week of the Human Henge Project and the participants are beginning to coalesce in to a happy group. As per usual we all met at the learning centre at Stone Henge for coffee and biscuits.

According to the schedule it’s session 2 – and the topic is Cursus, Barrow, Cemetery; we were informed that we would be going to the Stonehenge Cursus Barrow Group, which was a short walk away.

The session started with a look at some bronze knifes and pottery and a model of a Barrow with cross-section through the layers complete with a model skeleton with examples of items buried with the dead.

We found out that there are different types of Barrows, some raised like mounds, others sunk into the ground whilst there are others that have a sunken ring surrounding a mound. Although today they blend seemly in to the landscape in the past the exposed chalk would have shone out white and bright to honour the dead.

We then prepared to leave for the Stonehenge Cursus, which is in walking distance from the Learning Centre. I do love that term walking distance having COPD walking distance can and does fluctuate but I was determine to do as much as possible…

We walked through the Stonehenge visitors centre towards the Neolithic House (we will be visiting these houses in session 6) and on to the road then across to the field.

Here is where a short walk turns in to a hike, the slight incline of the field did not present to much of an issues in fact the views and conversations made the walk slow enough to be enjoyable. We walked up to the start or end of the Cursus depending on your point of view and with the little known about Cursus’s and Barrows you might be correct.

A Cursus is a Neolithic burial site with 2 parallel lines aligned astrologically and the Stonehenge Cursus is one of the notable examples in the UK. The Stonehenge Cursus is approximately 3km, 1.9 miles or 10032 feet long and between 100 metres (330 ft) and 150 metres (490 ft) wide.

The view down the Cursus against the January sky was astounding which was punctuated with a helicopter flying across and not the last for today. We then made our way into Fargo woods and to the Fargo disc barrow an isolated site surrounded with trees you can  visualise the site being used to worship our ancestors today. We made our way through the woods and towards a group of three burrows, which we would walk around and return to the learning centre.

Knowing that we where going no further I took the opportunity take a short rest and prepare for the walk back. I was not alone in taking a rest and as we watch the rest of the group climb the barrow and start singing a song about a bell, we giggled thanking our lucky stars we escape singing. Although it sounding good and great fun.

We then made our way back through the woods and stopped for contemplation on time. We sat down on fallen trees in silence and mused of how long a minute. This contemplation gave the group a personal view of how they as individuals and others experience time.

We soon made our way back via the path we had travelled to learning centre for more coffee and biscuits and a example of a boast battle

So looking forward to next week

Further information

Stonehenge Cursus – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge_Cursus

The Monarch of the Plain – http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=219593

Cursus – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursus

Fargo plantation (the woods) – http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-408000-141000/page/5

English Heritage Stonehenge http://www.english- heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/

Authors Resource

Name Mr BPD

Website http://www.my-dark-lyrics.uk

About Author. I have Borderline Personality Disorder and as a writer and poet I explore my madness through the creative arts. I have a personal belief that even in darkness light exists and it is a personal responsibility to always seek the light and I find the light in creating something.

Blog by Jessie Swinburne

Today was the last day of the project, and winter solstice celebrations sent us out on a high! It started with a bit of anticipation, as we all arrived a little earlier than normal, in the dark, some wrapped in as many layers as they owned, to fend off the cold. We got to the bus clutching our blankets, instruments, song lyrics and cameras and arrived at the stones for sunrise…

Chartwell set up and began playing his mesmerising music, accompanied by drums and percussion. Everyone emerged themselves in the experience and wandered around the stones. We had time alone and then came together to to sing as a group:

Open your heart, lift up your voice
Let us sing together for a while
When we part, tears may flow
But we leave our shadow on the stones

The experience was surreal, it felt completely natural and restorative. Perhaps we were connecting to something beyond us. The stones towering over you remind you of your smallness in this big world, and yet bring you together as part of a wider history with our ancestors. We decided to run around the henge, an unexpected twist, that freed us from the rules imposed on us in the henge and added to the fun, celebratory aspect of our day.

We returned to a feast of bacon and sausage sandwiches and reflected on the sessions. We all had a hot cuppa and defrosted too. To end the day we sat in the huts and watched the fire, we got to taste a bit of bread cooked in the fire…. and there our journey ended…

Photos by Jessie Swinburne and Yvette Staelens

Blog and photos by Jessie Swinburne

Blog by Jessie Swinburne

Today started in good spirits as everyone claimed their pottery and saw how they turned out…  We set off on our walk with the pottery in hand, poised and ready to leave the pottery work, wherever fancied in the landscape… after a quick song, many smiles were raised, we set off on the minibus ready to explore…

We arrived at the New Kings Barrow. It’s always interesting to stop and reflect on the meaning of the what we are seeing, the ancestors’ landscape, and just breathing in the fresh air from the trees, and embracing the colours around. We sang together again and then everyone wandered around. A group of drummers and percussionist formed sitting on a fallen tree. All enjoying making sound, and just being in the landscape.

We began walking around the landscape once more, and headed towards the main stone circle. A few people located the avenue for us, we all walked up it. It was breathtaking and beautiful to see the stones from this angle. It also really helped to put the rest of the landscape into context, as we were able to orientate ourselves by seeing and tracing where we have been the previous weeks. People placed their pots in individual locations around the landscape.

We walked back for our tea and lunch end stop, we walked quite far this week and were ready to go back. Excitement is building for the winter solstice, plans were discussed for that and people are looking forward to it!

Photos by Yvette Staelens