Description
“How grand! How wonderful! How incomprehensible!” was how the antiquarian Sir
Richard Colt Hoare described Stonehenge in 1812. Since then, this iconic stone circle has
become one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world. Mysterious, awe-inspiring,
magical, sacred and eternal are some of the words used by people today to describe
this remarkable monument.
Thanks to ground-breaking advances in science and archaeology, we now know a lot about
Stonehenge and the ancient people who built it. I have been privileged to lead a team of
experts in the last 15 years, unlocking many of its secrets and making new discoveries
that are the subject of this exhibition. We have found the remains of their daily lives as
well as the special artefacts that were used to construct Stonehenge. The builders of
Stonehenge were anatomically modern people – just like us – but their technology and
material life were simple.
The people who built Stonehenge lived at the end of the Stone Age 5000-4000 years
ago – what archaeologists call the Neolithic – but remember that this was less than 200
generations ago. Just like today, there were people of vision and genius. Some of them
must have been involved in the huge project, involving many thousands of people, of
building Stonehenge – designing its architecture, moving its stones hundreds of miles,
shaping them and raising some as lintels on top of others.
This exhibition presents the latest discoveries and findings about Stonehenge, its
landscape and people. Archaeologists have long known that Stonehenge did not sit
in isolation but was part of a much larger complex of monuments that developed on
Salisbury Plain over thousands of years, between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. I hope
you will enjoy following this story as much as I have enjoyed exploring this mysterious
world of a long-vanished civilization.
MIKE PARKER PEARSON
MIDSUMMER SOLSTICE, 21 JUNE 2018
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