2 July1998

Avebury's Megaliths
This view shows but a small portion of the ring of stone megaliths that surround Avebury. It is the largest of the stone circles to be found in the British Isles. First studied in a scholarly manner by amateur archaeologist John Aubrey in the 17th century, Avebury probably contained 100 stones at one time. Many of them were broken up and hauled away for use as building materials in the last one thousand years.

This view also shows to the right the ditch (9 meters deep) and steep bank -- some 1350m in circumference -- that surrounds Avebury. A huge construction project in itself, these were laborously made by digging the chalky soil with picks made from antlers. (photo: Tom Callen)

Silbury Hill
Directly after the megalithic circle at Avebury, we made a short stop at Silbury Hill, which is about a mile away from our previous stop. Older than Avebury, it is the largest man-made hill in Britain, at least as large as the pyramids in Egypt. Since no bones were found inside, it may very well have been an observation point.

Beneath its grassy interior can be found many terraces built up of chalk. One estimate claims that it would have taken 18 million man-hours to build such a structure. (photo: Tom Callen)

Salisbury Cathedral
More than 600,000 visitors come to see Salisbury Cathedral every year, and the IPS98 delegates on the trip to Stonehenge were no exception. Begun in 1220, it was completed in 1258, with the spire -- the tallest in the United Kingdom with a height of 123m (about 400 feet) -- being added a generation later. This Cathedral was often painted by the famous John Constable.

The Chapter House of the Cathedral contains on display one of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta (at least two more can be found at the new British Library in London), which was signed at Runnymede on 15 June 1215. The Chapter House also contains Europe's oldest working clock, dating to 1386. (photo: Tom Callen)

"And when you die I will erect a monument
Upon the verdant plains of Salisbury
No king shall have so high a sepulchre,
With pendulous stones that I will hang by art,
Where neither lime nor mortar shall be used,
A dark enigma to they memory..."
-- Rowley's The Birth of Merlin

One of many highlights in a day of highlights was this after closing hours visit to Stonehenge following our tour and supper at Wilton House, home of the Earl of Pembroke. And, as promised, we were allowed to wander at will among the stones, which so many of us have shown in planetarium show panoramas for decades. (photo: Tom Callen)

"Neer Wilton sweet, huge heapes of stones are found
But so confus'd, that neither any eye
Can count them just, nor reason reason try
What force them brought to so unlikely ground."
-- Elizabethan poet Sir Philip Sidney

What could be a greater daydream for a planetarian than to stand among Stonehenge's fabled stones? Pip Dunford of the London Planetarium staff grew up in the Salisbury area, and told of how he used to come to Stonehenge for picnics inside the monument before the rope barriers went up to help control erosion of the chalky soil. Imagine laying on your back on one of the fallen stones and watch the stars and moon cross the darkened sky overhead... (photo: Tom Callen)

"The eastward pillars and their architraves stood up blackly against the light, and the great flame-shaped Sun-stone beyond them; and the Stone of Sacrifice midway."
-- Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Probably the most relevant feature to planetarians is the so-called Heelstone, which can be seen off in the distance through the central trilithon. On the 21st of June, the Summer Solstice, the sun rises over this stone as seen from the opposite side of the monument. (photo: Tom Callen)

"Can I not fancy all these stones upright,
Thy surpliced priests, with mistletoe bedight,
With open mouths to catch the morning air,
And crowds on crowds with open mouths too, stare!"
-- Thomas Stokes Salmon

Drawing closer to the Heelstone, one can see how large it is. For comparison, note planetarians (from left to right) Ole Knudsen (Aarhus, Denmark), George Reed (Spitz Inc.) and Jeanne Bishop (Westlake, Ohio). (photo: Tom Callen)

"... a baker carry'd a basket of bread, and laid a loaf upon every stone, and yet could never make out the same number twice."
-- Daniel Defoe

Putting things into perspective, Stonehenge was begun as (perhaps) an astronomical tool over 5,000 years ago and was constructed in its various forms over 1,500 years. The first projection planetarium, another form of astronomical tool, came about in 1923 with the first discussions of its design taking place in 1913; progress was interrupted by the First World War. (photo: Tom Callen)

"a composition of crystals of red, green and white colours, cemented together by nature's art... from the general wear of the weather upon the stones... extraordinary antiquity... 2 or 3000 years old."
-- Edmond Halley to the Royal Society

What exactly does the stone of one of the Stonehenge trilithons look like? One certainly can't really tell from pictures in a book. This view, taken from a distance of about 30 centimeters, shows how it looks from relatively up close. It was extremely smooth to the touch, which was a surprise, not unlike the surprise one gets going to the circus and touching an elephant's skin for the first time (something I did with my daughter, Annika, last summer). My expectations were that the stone would be rough, but in fact it was like running one's fingers over a piece of cool, polished marble. (photo: Tom Callen)

"... nought can be sweeter than the air that moves o're this hard and dry chalky plain. Every step you take upon the smooth carpet, [literally] your nose is saluted with the most graceful smell of 'serpillum' and 'apium,' which with the short grass continually cropt by the flocks of sheep, composes the softest and most verdant turf, easy to walk on, and which rises as with a spring, under one's feet."
-- William Stukeley

Whatever the reason(s) that Stonehenge was built -- temple, calendar, observatory, or something as yet unthought of -- it continues to capture and fascinate the imagination. And, through the efforts of Undine Concannon and the organizing committee of IPS98, it was possible for we planetarians to realize a once-in-a-lifetime dream; to be able to walk among the megalithic ruins of Stonehenge. Our heartfelt thanks for your efforts that allowed us to do so. (photo: Tom Callen)