Debunked: Stonehenge fake?? [Patched with concrete in the 1950s]

[Max]

These pics are going around. Can someone explain why this stone looks fake? there's a few pics of the prez walking by this stone and it doesnt look natural? It looks like a layer of plaster. There's also this whole notion the the stonehenge was built in the 50s and there's some pretty compelling photographs. I'd like your opinions please, thank you. Max

 

[Mick West]

Stonehenge was restored between 1920 and the 1950s. Several of the stones were previously laying down. Some were restored to upright, and some were reinforced with concrete.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge#Archaeological_research_and_restoration

Here's a stylized look at what it looked like in the 1700s:




An 1877 image showing leaning stones:


Restoration in 1901, uprighting the tall stone that can be seen leaning above:

source:https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/history-and-research/history/

And at the early stages of restoration around 1920


Source:
Compare that with the modern Stonehenge (Using Google Earth to match the viewpoint, so the shapes of the stones are not perfect)


This pre-restoration photo shows that particular rock before the concrete was added to stabilize it. This is from around 1877


source: http://www.digitalhistoryproject.com/2012/09/stonehenge-friars-heel-great-trilithon.html

Video of the restoration in the early 1900s:

Here's some more details on the concrete:
http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/610/stonehenge_reinforced_concrete_stone.html

Concrete was added in 1959:


And you can see why:

 

[Efftup]

I was born in Salisbury, about 8 miles from Stonehenge. Are you trying to tell me that my grandparents lied to me about it, cos they must have been around when it was being built.
I just tried ringing my dad, who was born in 1940, but he was out. I'll ask him when he first saw Stonehenge and see what he says. various debunking websites mention excavations and restorations.

In particular, a lot of work went on in 1919/1920, where they set some of the stones in conrete to make sure they wouldn't fall over and added lead seals to some of the joints: http://mikepitts.wordpress.com/2012/03/31/no-spin-at-stonehenge-in-1920/

 

[Efftup]

I googled Stonehenge fake and found an article.
Other headlines on the same site include: Noah's Ark to Stop Monsanto and Serena Williams MK-Ultra breakdown at Wimbledon.

 

[Mick West]

I went to Stonehenge in 2005:






Had to get up at 5AM for the "Stone Circle Tour", back then you could touch the stones.

 

[David Fraser]

I have been to many a gathering for the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge (and Avebury) and concrete and plaster they are not. Also they are not that comfortable to hug or dry hump apparently, even on psychodelics so I am told.

 

[Efftup]

Yeah, when I was a kid you could, then you couldn't, then you could. Not sure about now. Last time I went we couldn't be arsed to pay the money to go in closer than you can see from parking by the side of the road for free. It's something everyone should see once in their lives, but for some people they don;t really need to go right up to them.

I remember the huge crop circle that was there in 1996 as well:

 

[Max]

thank you everybody!! I will be able to send the conspiracy theorists to this thread.. kind regards, Max

 

[Pete Tar]

Date of the pre-restoration photo?

 

[Mick West]

Date of the pre-restoration photo?

It seems consistent with this one from 1877:
http://science.nationalgeographic.c...nehenge/#/stonehenge-picnic_24766_600x450.jpg

 

[David Fraser]

@Max in all seriousness when you visit the site it is obvious it pre dates 1950s. You don't need to understand rocks but one can see lichens that are old and many are rare.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/may/15/arts.artsnews2

 

[NoParty]

There's also this whole notion the the stonehenge was built in the 50s and there's some pretty compelling photographs.

I heard 1984

 

[Pete Tar]

Sounds like a variation on solipsism or The Matrix - all historical evidence of the past before I was born was faked.

 

[TEEJ]

The "compelling photographs" were ripped off from the English Heritage website. They were ripped off and appeared on a Russian website claiming to have been found in the "KGB archives".

http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/results.aspx?index=0&form=advanced&who=Atkinson

 

[WeedWhacker]

I went to Stonehenge in 2005:

Blast you....I went in 2008, and wasn't allowed off the perimeter walkway (that kept us all at distance)....of course, could have paid extra for the close access...if I had planned ahead better. (Plus, it was raining....sigh).

 

[Trailspotter]

Coincidently, BBC Two presents a new documentary about Stonehenge tonight. Info from:
Stonehenge secrets revealed by underground map
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29126854

 

[Efftup]

damn !! shame I am working tonight.

The really weird thing is that when they were making Spinal tap, Black Sabbath were touring for the Born Again tour, and ended up with a Stonehenge monument that was too big to fit in the venues (like in Return of Spinal Tap). But they were unaware of each other at the time so it;s a bizarre coincidence. We won;t get into Jeff Porcaro dying in a "bizarre gardening accident" as it's OT.

edit: just seen it's on the iplayer, or at least will be

 

[Jason]

Yeah, when I was a kid you could, then you couldn't, then you could. Not sure about now. Last time I went we couldn't be arsed to pay the money to go in closer than you can see from parking by the side of the road for free. It's something everyone should see once in their lives, but for some people they don;t really need to go right up to them.

I remember the huge crop circle that was there in 1996 as well:

While on the subject of "touching the stones". Can't you just park your car on the shoulder right there and walk over to them. Someone mentioning having to pay to get closer, I thought this was a free historical site. Who guards the stones, the English Government, or local security peopel

 

[Mick West]

While on the subject of "touching the stones". Can't you just park your car on the shoulder right there and walk over to them. Someone mentioning having to pay to get closer, I thought this was a free historical site. Who guards the stones, the English Government, or local security peopel

The National Trust manages and guards it. Kind of like the National Parks in the US, with park rangers restricting access.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Trust_for_Places_of_Historic_Interest_or_Natural_Beauty

 

[Trailspotter]

The National Trust manages and guards it. Kind of like the National Parks in the US, with park rangers restricting access.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Trust_for_Places_of_Historic_Interest_or_Natural_Beauty

Actually, Stonehenge is managed by the English Heritage:
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/

It would be nice if it were run by the National Trust. I and my family are members and could visit it for free.

 

[TEEJ]

While on the subject of "touching the stones". Can't you just park your car on the shoulder right there and walk over to them.

Jason,
That road has been closed and grassed over.

Work to permanently close a main road running alongside Stonehenge has started.

Traffic has been stopped from using a section of the A344 next to the stones, in Wiltshire. It will now be dug up and grassed over.

The road has been closed in both directions between Airman's Cross and the A303 at Stonehenge Fork.

Drivers are advised to follow the diversion via the A360 Longbarrow roundabout.

English Heritage wanted to close the road to "restore the dignity" of the World Heritage Site.

Content from external source

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-23026522

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/news/transformation-stonehenge-landscape-road-closure/

 

[Mick West]

Actually, Stonehenge is managed by the English Heritage:
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/

It would be nice if it were run by the National Trust. I and my family are members and could visit it for free.

Oh right, the NT just manages the land around it, the "Stonehenge Landscape"
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stonehenge-landscape/

However:
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stonehenge-landscape/opening-times/

Stonehenge is managed by English Heritage but National Trust members are admitted free to the visitor centre and stone circle during normal opening hours (please book ahead).

Content from external source

 

[Trailspotter]

Oh right, the NT just manages the land around it the "Stonehenge Landscape"
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stonehenge-landscape/

However:
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stonehenge-landscape/opening-times/

Stonehenge is managed by English Heritage but National Trust members are admitted free to the visitor centre and stone circle during normal opening hours (please book ahead).

Content from external source

It's good to know. As far as I remember, relationships between the two charities were different, when we visited Stonehenge the last time a few years ago.

 

[Jason]

Jason,
That road has been closed and grassed over.

Work to permanently close a main road running alongside Stonehenge has started.

Traffic has been stopped from using a section of the A344 next to the stones, in Wiltshire. It will now be dug up and grassed over.

The road has been closed in both directions between Airman's Cross and the A303 at Stonehenge Fork.

Drivers are advised to follow the diversion via the A360 Longbarrow roundabout.

English Heritage wanted to close the road to "restore the dignity" of the World Heritage Site.

Content from external source

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-23026522

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/news/transformation-stonehenge-landscape-road-closure/

Thats good to know TJ, thanks, but I was talking about the road in the foreground with the trucks on it..

But it's a moot point since I was adequately given answers, thanks.

 

[JRBids]

I visited Stonehenge in the early 80s. As far as I know, before that you were allowed to walk among the stones and people would picnic at them. Then just before I visited someone sprayed graffitti on some, which my English friends told me must have been in my honor, as I am a New Yorker. When I went they had some kind of temporary fencing around them so you could not walk up to them.

I was quite surprised when we came over a rise and saw it, it was smaller than I thought it would be.

 

[Efftup]

Damn that was lucky.
The photos I have on my FB of last time I went there and parked on the verge of the A344, were uploaded on the 2nd June. less than a month before the news article saying they were grassing it over.

 

[Efftup]

They wanted to close the road to "restore the dignity of the site".
They mean stop people parking on the grass verge and not paying any money.

 

[WeedWhacker]

When I went they had some kind of temporary fencing around them so you could not walk up to them.

The **$#@#s who spray graffiti on these ancient treasures are the reason.....

I was quite surprised when we came over a rise and saw it, it was smaller than I thought it would be.

I dunno....I thought it looked GREAT...my brain immediately tried to work out the engineering of erecting those stones.

 

[JRBids]

I thought it looked great also, I was impressed. I simply had in my minds eye it was much bigger, having never seen a photo of it with someone standing next to it.

 

[Trailblazer]

Thats good to know TJ, thanks, but I was talking about the road in the foreground with the trucks on it..

But it's a moot point since I was adequately given answers, thanks.

That road is the A303, one of the main routes to the West Country. Past Stonehenge it is a single-carriageway and notoriously bad for traffic jams with holiday traffic. It does give a decent view of the stones but you wouldn't want to try and stop - there are no real shoulders anyway. (When I was a child it marked the halfway point on the journey to my grandparents' house, so it's a view I know well.)

There are still plans to put that whole road in a tunnel as well, so there are no roads at all in the vicinity. They were scrapped for cost reasons a few years ago but seem to be back on the agenda now.

 

[Thomas]

Watching the news today, Stonehenge is not the only megalith structure there.

While on the subject of "touching the stones". Can't you just park your car on the shoulder right there and walk over to them. Someone mentioning having to pay to get closer, I thought this was a free historical site. Who guards the stones, the English Government, or local security peopel

When I visited Stonehenge with my boss in 2000 we had to pay and weren't allowed near it. AFAIK we had to stay on the path surrounding the stones, I thought only druids and followers where allowed near it at solstice's, but I am probably wrong seeing Mick near the Stones.

I entered the site thru a tunnel from the parking space, the area wasn't freely accessable.

 

[WeedWhacker]

When I visited Stonehenge with my boss in 2000 we had to pay and weren't allowed near it. AFAIK we had to stay on the path surrounding the stones...

Interesting. As I've mentioned, I went in 2008 (admittedly, as part of a packaged tour), but also we were constrained to the perimeter path.

(Perhaps I "paid" as part of the tour package?)

Later I learned (from some web searches) the ability to get up-close...(if you pay and plan-ahead, for the privilege)......and as Mick West noted....show up REALLY, really early....ahead of the "normal" tour groups that are scheduled daily.

(Side-bar....en-route, our bus from London broke down, on the MotorWay!!! It was a bit humorous, in hind-sight....because I knew the thing was dead....the bus, I mean....even as it took a LONG time for anyone to admit it. I could hear and feel the darn thing.....as it died!).

This added about two-three hours to our original schedule.

 

[Efftup]

Things have changed over time.
Basically when I last went last year, I parked my car on the verge by the side of the road. and then walked up as close as i could get. There is a fence and that was as close as I got. This picture was taken with a mobile phone.
If I had gone into the car park and paid money, I could then have gone under that road in a little tunnel and gone closer to the stones like WeedWhacker did and possibly been constrained to the perimeter path.

how close you can get to the stones has changed many times over the years.
As a kid I could go right up to them. after the worst of the Free festivals and the Battle of the beanfield you were constrained to the perimeter fence. At some point this was relaxed again and then it appears tightened again.

 

[WeedWhacker]

At some point this was relaxed again and then it appears tightened again.

I imagine that there existed no respect for the historical significance of this artifact.

Unfortunately, a modern 'sign of the times'....(hence, paint cans..."rattle cans" as they're commonly called....are now locked behind gates, in stores....at least in the USA.)

(hint: Don't share this....but usually the lock combination? Can be figured out. PM me for the answer....).

 

[Thomas]

There wasn't really anything holding you back touching the stones, you could just step over the markers without any effort...could not even call it a proper shrubbery.

 

[WeedWhacker]

you could just step over the markers without any effort...could not even call it a proper shrubbery.

+
Funny.....the Monty Python reference....but of course, it (StoneHenge) is well monitored, to prevent vandalism.

Sad fact that vandals will strike whenever and wherever they can, unless stopped.

 

[NoParty]

+
Funny.....the Monty Python reference....but of course, it (StoneHenge) is well monitored, to prevent vandalism.

Sad fact that vandals will strike whenever and wherever they can, unless stopped.

Vandals were just cheesed-off that Stonehengers came about 6,000 years before 'em...

 

[Josh Heuer]

Just a little tidbit I saw today...

https://richarddawkins.net/2014/09/hidden-monuments-under-stonehenge-revealed-by-high-tech-mapping/

An astonishing complex of ancient monuments, buildings, and barrows has lain hidden and unsuspected beneath the Stonehenge area for thousands of years. Scientists discovered the site using sophisticated techniques to see underground, announcing the finds this week.

Among the discoveries announced Wednesday are 17 ritual monuments, including the remains of a massive “house of the dead,” hundreds of burial mounds, and evidence of a possible processional route around Stonehenge itself.

There’s also evidence of a nearby mile-long “superhenge” at Durrington Walls that was once flanked by as many as 60 gigantic stone or timber columns, some of which may still lie under the soil.

The discoveries result from the Stonehenge Hidden Landscape Project, a four-year effort to create a high-resolution, 3-D underground map of the landscape surrounding Stonehenge.

Content from external source

Pretty exciting if you ask me.
On the topic of Stonhenge being fake...I guess this stuff would be too

 

[Gunguy45]

(hence, paint cans..."rattle cans" as they're commonly called....are now locked behind gates, in stores....at least in the USA.)

Just a note, that's not the rule everywhere. CA, yes, and I believe some other areas, but not all.

 

[Ray Von Geezer]

I wonder what Constable sketched in the 1800s then?



Ray Von


[post moved from redundant thread.]