Stonehenge
Published on 12. June 2008
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-86197-865-3 (ISBN)
Description
This is the first book to approach Stonehenge without any theoretical position. It describes what is known and believed about the monument's construction from c. 3000 BCE onwards.
The Middle Ages were content with the story of it having been brought by Merlin from Ireland. The post Reformation antiquaries gave us the conception of Stonehenge as a historical monument. It played a significant role in the imagination of writers and artists. Then the Victorians invented prehistory and Darwin himself came to measure it. In 1918 it passed into public ownership and 1926 saw the first forced entry by Druids.The Earth Mysteries Movement now sees the stones as part of a greater web of ley lines and other phenomena. Archaeologists, united in their disdain for that, remain divided on many other points. And perhaps the most fraught issue now is conservation as the henge stands between two thundering main roads. This rich and provocative book explores all this in presenting a monument whose history is as fascinating as its secret.
The Middle Ages were content with the story of it having been brought by Merlin from Ireland. The post Reformation antiquaries gave us the conception of Stonehenge as a historical monument. It played a significant role in the imagination of writers and artists. Then the Victorians invented prehistory and Darwin himself came to measure it. In 1918 it passed into public ownership and 1926 saw the first forced entry by Druids.The Earth Mysteries Movement now sees the stones as part of a greater web of ley lines and other phenomena. Archaeologists, united in their disdain for that, remain divided on many other points. And perhaps the most fraught issue now is conservation as the henge stands between two thundering main roads. This rich and provocative book explores all this in presenting a monument whose history is as fascinating as its secret.
Reviews / Votes
Her book is a treasure: stylish, thoughtful, miraculously condensed, and as full of knowledge as a megalith is full of megalith. * Sunday Times * ...a lucid and sophisticated history explaining how the meaning of Stonehenge is in perpetual flux. * The Independent * ...excellent...an important and deeply satisfying book. * Conde Nast Traveller * ...brings genuine originality to the cultural history of Stonehenge. * Times Literary Supplement * What sets this work apart is the empathy and intellectual generosity that suffuses it... Hill... has a rare gift for seeing the best in people, and her book inspires one to investigate further the heroic cast of architects, antiquaries, writers and artists. * Guardian * 'Rosemary Hill's entertaining whirlwind scrutiny of that monument's reputation and interpretation over several centuries' -- Jonathan Meades * New Statesman *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 206 mm
Width: 144 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
401 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-86197-865-3 (9781861978653)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Person
Rosemary Hill is a journalist and cultural historian. Her generally acclaimed God's Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain was published in 2007. She lives in London.