WINTER SOLSTICE AT STONEHENGE 2015

29 11 2015

English Heritage will once again welcome people to Stonehenge to celebrate the Winter Solstice. Sunrise is just after 8am on Tuesday 22nd December and visitors will be able to access the monument as soon as it is light enough to do so safely.

frosty-sunrise

Why 22nd December? 

Many people – not least diary manufacturers – believe that the Winter Solstice always falls on 21st December. But the celebration of Winter Solstice at Stonehenge is not fixed to a specifiic date – this is because of a mismatch between the calendar year and the solar year.

MANAGED OPEN ACCESS PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Please read and respect the Conditions of Entry for Winter Solstice 2015 and the English Heritage website.

Public Transport is being provided by Salisbury Reds buses and will be running from 06:00 from Salisbury.  Stonehenge Guided Tours are offering their usual transport with expert guide service from London and Bath. Booking essential (click here to book direct)

Please be aware that parking is very limited. There is a thirty minute walk, depending on where you are parked, in low light or darkness, from the parking areas to the monument. You are therefore strongly advised to bring a torch with you for personal use.

Accessibility – parking provision for people with disabilities

A limited number of permits will be avaialable for blue badge disabled parking and there will be dedicated accessible transport to the stone circle – which will begin just prior to the opening of the monument field. Please apply to Sandra.Ross@english-heritage.org.uk

Please note that there are no other amenities or facilities available to visitors until such time as  commences.

Conditions of Entry

Please read and respect the Conditions of Entry.

Stonehenge Audio Tour: Free Download from English Heritage

Follow Stonehenge and English Heritage on Twitter for Stonehenge Solstice news and updates

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English Heritage Events at Stonehenge: December 2015

29 11 2015

Neolithic craft and textile demonstration (Sun 6 Dec 2015)

Sally Pointer and Gareth Riseborough will bring the past to life in their demonstrations of a variety of natural fabrics and crafts including cord making, twining, looped weaving, netting and leatherwork. See bone and antler worked and discover how all these materials were used in the Neolithic. Book here

neolithic-crafts-and-textile-workshop

Neolithic Textile and Craft Workshop (Mon 7 Dec 2015)

Work with textile experts Sally Pointer and Gareth Riseborough to discover more about the research and processes used to create replica Neolithic and Bronze Age clothing for Stonehenge and get hands-on experience with materials and techniques. Learn to make cordage from natural fibres and deer sinew and experiment with braiding, twining and looping techniques. All materials are supplied, and using flint tools, you will craft a needle from red deer antler to take home along with the resources to continue your project. Lunch and refreshments included. Book here

textiles-event-stonehenge

Stonehenge Christmas Shopping Evening (Wed 9 Dec 2015)

Join English Heritage on Wednesday 9th December for a festive evening of Christmas shopping and enjoy a 10% discount on purchases.

They will be serving delicious mince pies and hot mulled wine in the cafe.

Live music and Christmas carols will be sung throughout the evening and the exhibition will be open for free visits.  More info

xmas-stones.jpg

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Coming 2016: “Stonehenge – A Hidden Landscape” exhibition at MAMUZ Museum Mistelbach

16 11 2015

Coming 2016: “Stonehenge – A Hidden Landscape” exhibition at MAMUZ Museum Mistelbach | Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology mamuz-stonehenge-mamuz_vorderseite

New discoveries and insights into Stonehenge landscape made possible by the LBI ArchPro’s intensive research over the last five years will be – for the first time – presented in a comprehensive exhibition in Austria.

Starting on 20th March 2016, the “Stonehenge – A Hidden Landscape” exhibition at the MAMUZ Museum Mistelbach will take the visitor on a journey of more than 8.000 years through Stonehenge and its surrounding landscape including the newly discovered stone monument at Durrington Walls and original finds from the Salisbury, Wiltshire and Dorchester Museum.

MAMUZ “Stonehenge – A Hidden Landscape” website:
Article source

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Stonehenge Midwinter Solstice Walk

13 11 2015

On the midwinter solstice, explore the ancient monuments of the Stonehenge landscape with National Trust. This walk is around three and a half miles. (December 20th 2015)

Stonehenge does not stand in isolation, but forms part of a remarkable ancient landscape of early Neolithic, late Neolithic and snow-hengeearly Bronze Age monuments. The best way to appreciate Stonehenge is on foot. You can enjoy the impressive Wiltshire countryside while exploring the ancient history that has shaped it. Follow in the footsteps of our ancient ancestors and discover the prehistoric monuments that fill the vast ancient landscape surrounding Stonehenge.

Stonehenge has far more than the stone circle. It encompass unrivalled Neolithic landscapes that contain many other fascinating and unique monuments. You could easily spend a whole day in either part of the World Heritage Site.

Containing more than 350 burial mounds and major prehistoric monuments such as the Stonehenge Avenue, the Cursus, Woodhenge and Durrington Walls, this landscape is a vast source of information about the ceremonial and funerary practices of Neolithic and Bronze Age people.

It can also help our understanding of regional and international contacts from the 4th to 2nd millennia BC, and shed light on how prehistoric society was organised.

National Trust Stonehenge Midwinter Walk: 20th December (1pm – 5pm)
Immerse yourself in the ancient landscape of Stonehenge, there’s so much to explore and many mysteries to unravel.
Booking essential (click here to book direct)

Stonehenge Guided Tours are offering their usual Midwinter Solstice Tours from London and Bath
Booking essential (click here to book direct)

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Stonehenge Debate: Mike Parker Pearson at the British Academy – 9th November 2015

2 11 2015

The CBA will be hosting a debate on the future management options for the landscape around Stonehenge – including the options for the road tunnel – at their Annual General Meeting on 9th November in London.

Mike Parker Pearson has been invited to give the 2015 Beatrice de Cardi Lecture at the British Academy on 9th November 2015.  The eminent scholar and archaeologist presentation will draw together years of groundbreaking research to share new interpretations of the iconic prehistoric site of Stonehenge and the landscape in which it sits.

Mike’s lecture will be preceded by a debate on the future management of the Stonehenge landscape, the CBA’s Annual General Meeting and presentation of the 2015 Marsh archaeology awards.

The event is free but registration is essential. Tickets are available now via Eventbrite or may be booked on 01904 671417 (during office hours).

Beatrice de Cardi was first Assistant Secretary and latterly Secretary of the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) from 1949 to 1973. In order to recognise her outstanding contribution to the CBA and to the archaeology discipline, the Council decided in 1976 to inaugurate a series of lectures, to be called after her. The speakers are given the freedom to discuss their own approach to any aspect of British archaeology.

The CBA headquarters in York was renamed ‘Beatrice de Cardi House’ in honour of her 100th birthday in 2014.

The Council for British Archaeology has taken a long-standing interest in the presentation and long-term preservation of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site – a unique cultural landscape.

Details of our engagement and the development of the CBA’s view can be found on our Stonehenge Saga archive web page, which includes the summary of our case to the 2004 roads inquiry.

The CBA broadly supports the position of ICOMOS UK which seeks to “achieve a solution which respects and maintains the Outstanding Universal Value of this iconic, important and unique site at the earliest opportunity”.

CBA Director, Dr Mike Heyworth MBE said:

“Stonehenge is arguably the best known prehistoric monument in the world and we must think hard before we cause irreversible damage to the landscape surrounding it – which contains many nationally important archaeological features which are not yet fully understood.

There are potential benefits from a tunnel to bury the A303 in the area of Stonehenge, but any proposals need to carefully scrutinised and we need to think of the long term implications, not just the short term needs.”

Join the debate on future options

The CBA will be hosting a debate on the future management options for the landscape around Stonehenge – including the options for the road tunnel – at our Annual General Meeting on 9 November in London.

The event is free but registration is essential. Tickets are available now via Eventbrite or may be booked on 01904 671417 (during office hours).

LINKS:
http://new.archaeologyuk.org/news/stonehenge-debate
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/people/staff/parker_pearson

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