Things to Do
A few suggestions for you...
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England is full of archaeological riches – so it’s also full of active archaeological societies. Why not join your local one? It’s a great way of finding out amazing things about what your area was like centuries, or millennia, ago. And if you’re lucky you might be able to go on a dig.
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Try mudlarking. Simply go to your nearest river and, keeping away from the water, scavenge for things in the mud! If you find anything interesting, you can send us your photos here. If you have a metal detector, or can borrow one, go treasure-hunting on the beach or see if there’s anything valuable buried in your back garden.
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Many varied claims have been made for the mystical properties of the Stonehenge site, usually based on the fact that it is situated on a ley line. Some report that the stones are a good site to practise water-divining, or dowsing, in which underground sources of water can be located by the twitching of twigs – usually a forked hazel twig. The British Society of Dowsers welcomes new and inexperienced members: www.britishdowsers.org
- The existence of ley lines was first proposed by amateur archaeologist Alfred Watkins in 1921, as lines that connected ancient megaliths such as Stonehenge to form pathways across the earth. One line is even said to run through Buckingham Palace! It has since been claimed that these are lines of geomagnetic energy. Find out where your nearest ley line is, trace its path across the earth and see what (if any) ancient vibrations you pick up. The Society of Ley Hunters can help: www.leyhunter.com
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One theory says that Stonehenge was an ancient astronomical indicator, predicting phases of the moon, as well as marking the summer and winter solstices. Find out where your local amateur astronomical society is, and keep watching the skies!
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Replicas of Stonehenge have been built out of all sorts of things: there’s already Carhenge, Foamhenge, Refrigerator Henge… So think of something original and build your own. Matchboxhenge? Cokecanhenge? DVDhenge? Deckchairhenge? iPodhenge? Cheesegraterhenge? The weirder the better. Send us your pictures, here.
- DVDs to watch: This Is Spinal Tap (1984), the hilarious spoof rockumentary with its unforgettable live sequence involving a reduced-scale Stonehenge. In National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985), Chevy Chase accidentally backs a rented car into Stonehenge, knocking the whole thing down.
