The latest theory coming out of Stonehenge, this one from English Heritage, is that the stone circle may have been as much of a community meeting place as it was a building project. Erm. Anyone else feel disappointed that this makes Stonehenge sound like an ancient conference put on for hippies?
The first time I visited Stonehenge, many years ago, it was for a music festival and, after accepting a few kindly donated mugs of “mushroom tea”, I, and equally inspired friends, solved the mystery of the stones.
It was obvious (maaan!) that Stonehenge was a monument to pagan sorcery, Wiccan lore, even satanic worship, with people flocking to absorb its dark powers, dance around naked and everything else we had read a bit about in Dennis Wheatley books.
We may not have been right, and we definitely weren’t sober, but at least our theory was more exciting than this English Heritage idea, which sounds akin to a community Grand Designs project, complete with seating plans. Just a thought, but perhaps it’s best to stop theorising about Stonehenge if it’s simply going to make an interesting concept sound boring.
• Barbara Ellen is an Observer columnist
