http://clonehenge.com/2009/01/22/icehenge-fairbankss-ephemeral-crystal-vision/
This page relates to a partial (ie no sarsen circle or part of it) reconstruction of Stonehenge, made of more than 100 blocks of ice in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2007. Machines were much in evidence! There is also a link to a PDF which has great pictures of the project. Here are two of the images:
This is all very impressive, but it struck me on looking at the images that the model is strangely soulless and arid --there is too much geometrical precision and the edges are too sharp, and the trilithons and "bluestones" lack the variety and roughness which we have learned to love in the real thing.
A characteristic we often see in Stonehenge replicas made by scientists, who think that the entire point of Stonehenge is astronomical precision. The nicest ones are made by artists and eccentrics. It is interesting to note, however, that although they are all replicas of the same thing, no two replicas of Stonehenge are alike. Every replica reflects the perception of the builder and what he or she imagines Stonehenge to be about.
ReplyDeleteThanks Clonehenge! I was entertained by your site -- very jolly! But I think you have forgotten Achill Henge in Ireland -- perhaps the most interesting of them all.......
ReplyDeleteHave done several posts on it, but can't put it on the permanent list unless we get news that McNamara won't have to take it down.
ReplyDeleteThe 72 Large Permanent Replicas list is only one part of Clonehenge. There have been 350 posts on the blog proper, which includes kits and sets, miniature replicas, and all kinds of temporary replicas, including a few virtual ones. On the right side is a search function where you can search by material (cheesehenge, cakehenge, citrus henge, cat henge, etc.), by location or by any other related topic. Lol, show me a Stonehenge replica blog and I'll show you a wasted life. ;-)
My apologies -- I thought the list was a "definitive" one. Now I see the other posts about Achill. Fair enough -- you have your strict Clonehenge rules, and clearly they have to be adhered to..... but how permanent are some of those silly little things in gardens which ARE on the list?
ReplyDeleteWe take your point about the garden replicas. The problem stems from this all having been a joke at the start and then morphing into something that is, at times, when we forget ourselves, almost serious. If we started this list now, it is likely that some of those would not make the list.
ReplyDeleteI see your point about Achill Henge, however, and have amended the preface to the list. It at least deserves mention on that page. Thank you for pointing that out, sir!
My pleasure, Clonehenge! your site provides a valuable service for eccentrics across the globe, who should all stick together in the face of political insanity and other evils. With regard to Achill Henge, it is replete with symbolism -- and I think it's wonderful. (Mind you, I've not actually been there, but the splendid fellow who put it up is a man after my own heart -- truly in the Ned Kelly tradition.)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if, one day, singer Cerys Matthews, formerly of Catatonia and these days more of Radios 6 & 4, will build her own replica Stonehenge? Her parents had, and I believe still have, a modest modern stone circle in their cliff-top garden not too far from Carreg Samson Neolithic chambered tomb. She seems to have poetic inclinations.
ReplyDeleteAh yes -- Cerys is from Trefin, no doubt inspired by the presence of Carreg Samson. Now THAT site is in a location to die for!!
ReplyDeleteThe well-known MPP (and other learned colleagues beyond the Stonehenge Riverside Project) reckons that Carreg Samson tomb is of great significance in his (and others') overall view of the movements of Prehistoric Man here, there, and everywhere (nearly). They link it with Northern France/ Brittany, for instance. It's all in his 2012 Stonehenge book. Curious that my brother lives just up the lane.... Archaeology just seems to follow the pair of us around........or is the reverse true?
ReplyDelete