Sunday 22 April 2012

Inflatable Stonehenge Lets You Perform Your Druid Ceremonies Anywhere


Tired of trekking all the way to the Wiltshire countryside just to perform your druid rituals at the actual Stonehenge site? Do you wish there was a more convenient way? Well your prayers—or chants, or whatever—have been answered with this inflatable alternative.

Created by artist Jeremy Deller to commemorate the Olympic games, and to show that Britain has a good sense of humour, this unique version of Stonehenge is completely inflatable. So all you need is a big enough space, an air compressor, and a bit of patience, and in no time you’ll have your own version of one of our biggest mysteries. And maybe next time Deller will create a bouncy castle version of Buckingham Palace—now that’s a tourist attraction. [BBC via Neatorama]

Source: http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2012/04/inflatable-stonehenge-lets-you-perform-your-druid-ceremonies-anywhere/

Stonehenge Tour Guide

Thursday 19 April 2012

Neolithic acoustics of Stonehenge revealed by academics


A team of academics have revealed the "sonic experience" that early visitors to Stonehenge would have heard.
Scholars from the Universities of Salford, Huddersfield and Bristol used an American replica of the monument to investigate its audio history.
Salford's Dr Bruno Fazenda said they had found the site reacted to sound "in a way that would have been noticeable to the Neolithic man".
He said the research would allow a "more holistic" view of its past.

Stonehenge
The degradation of the site meant it could not be used for acoustic tests
"It is as if we can travel back in time and experience the space in a more holistic way”  Dr Bruno Fazenda University of Salford
The acoustic experiments could not be carried out at Stonehenge, as the derelict state of the site meant only a "few weak echoes and no noticeable reverberation" could be studied.
As a result, the team used a full-sized concrete reconstruction of it in Maryhill, America, which was built in 1929 as a memorial to WWI soldiers.
In February, scientist Steven Waller published a paper suggesting the design of Stonehenge could have been inspired by music.
Dr Fazenda, who has been involved with the acoustic testing of the monument for four years, said his own research had not revealed if this was the case or not.
"Stonehenge is very well known, but people are still trying to find out what it was built for," he said.
"We thought that doing this would bring an element of archaeology that so far hasn't been looked at.
Maryhill replica of Stonehenge
The team used an American concrete replica of Stonehenge for tests 
 
"This type of research is important because now we can not only see ourselves surrounded by the stones using virtual reality, but we can also listen how the stone structure would have enveloped people in a sonic experience.
"It is as if we can travel back in time and experience the space in a more holistic way."
Dr Fazenda said that the data collected did not "unequivocally reveal" if the site was designed with acoustics in mind, like a Roman amphitheatre.
But he added that it did show "the space reacted to acoustic activity in a way that would have been noticeable to the Neolithic man

Link source: BBC

Stonehenge Tour Guide

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Stonehenge Future. English heritage plans for 2012 - 2014



Stonehenge key milestones from now to 2014:

May/June 2012: Removal of Airman’s Cross memorial for safe storage during construction works. Construction begins at Airman’s Corner

July/Aug 2012: Stonehenge to welcome visitors during the Olympics as normal at the current facilities

Sept 2012: Improvement works to Longbarrow Roundabout begin

March 2013: A344 closed to traffic between the A303 and Byway 12 (access to current visitor facilities and car park via A360/ Airman’s Corner)

Summer 2013: Installation of Airman’s Cross memorial in visitor building precincts

Oct 2013: New visitor centre opens, existing facilities and car park decommissioned, fencing removed

From Autumn 2013: Re-landscaping work at the site of current facilities and car park

Summer 2014: Environmental improvement works completed

It is their intention to keep local residents, community groups and businesses fully informed about the project, and we will be sending out regular newsletters updating you on progress.

Link: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk

Stonehenge Tour Guide