Stonehenge
*** This page is in the process of being updated. For current information on Stonehenge and HAD please see the following ***
www.honour.org.uk/node/329
HAD was first created because of the ancestors who hum in the wind around the temple of Stonehenge. It was their song in my soul that inspired me to believe I should and could form an organisation that spoke on their behalf. That was in 2004, and at the time we were further encouraged by the positive response from those involved in the (now legendary) road development team who gave assurances that HAD would be asked to facilitate any ritual the Pagan community needed during the upheaval. Four years later, and it is not the road development but archaeological digs that keep HAD involved with this ancient sacred site.
Emma Restall Orr
November 2008
Recent & Current Events
- Summer 2008 - Aubrey Hole VII
- April 2008 - Darvill & Wainwright dig
Future Plans
HAD's Background Involvement
Why is Stonehenge Important to Pagans?
Links and Useful Resources
Summer 2008 – Aubrey Hole VII
Earlier in the summer Mike Pitts and Julian Richards of the Riverside Project contacted HAD to inform us of a dig into Aubrey Hole VII in which fragmentary human remains excavated between the wars, mostly from the ditch, had been deposited. They wanted to do this to test the bones using techniques not available before their reburial to ascertain a date of death and place in which the deceased had lived before being buried at Stonehenge. This was in support of the theory that Stonehenge has been a cemetery for important individuals, probably over a long period. Their intent was that, after study, the bones should be stored locally, probably at Salisbury Museum. HAD’s view is that the bones should be reburied after study in order to resume their place in the landscape and, therefore, we raised an objection to this proposal.
Then, out of the blue, HAD received a surprise call from Peter Carson of English Heritage informing us that there would be a rite on August Bank Holiday Monday before the start of excavation, and that Emma Restall Orr of HAD and Arthur Pendragon would be jointly in charge of the rite and anyone wishing to be there should contact one or other of them. This presented some difficulty as Emma was not able to be at the rite and Arthur was protesting in a field at Stonehenge. Three priests were chosen to represent HAD. Christine Cleere (Vixxen) was to lead our team (as the she is lead priest of the Gorsedd of Bards of Cor Gawr), Angela Grant (Kestrel) (as she is HAD representative on the Stonehenge Round Table Access Committee), and Theo Tigger (as she is Druid Network representative at the Round Table). Arthur, Frank Somers and others were Arthur’s choices.
On the day, the different approaches of the two groups became clear. HAD works to establish connections – with the spirits of place and the ancestors, with the living communities and with the participants of the event at hand, to be a witness. Arthur's group, on the other hand, sought to hold the authority of granting permission for the dig to proceed. As a result, the HAD representatives regretfully decided not to acknowledge this attempt to establish power over events and did not enter the stones.
The HAD team felt it would be disrespectful to the ancestors to leave without talking to them, so they did, hand in hand, quietly and on their own, in the field opposite the Stones.
Some time later, there was a meeting between English Heritage, the archaeologists, and Arthur’s coalition, which HAD was invited to attend as observer by Frank Somers.
The outcome is that the archaeologists have permission to retain the bones for two years for study purposes at which time the licence requires them to be returned to the ground, though not necessarily at Stonehenge, which would require a further licence. The archaeologists wish to retain the bones in specialised storage in a museum so that they are available for study as and when new study techniques become available. But they can only offer their preference as a recommendation to the relevant authorities, as can we, as pagan stakeholder groups.
Both HAD and Arthur’s coalition are agreed on one point, that we want the bones returned where they should be, to Stonehenge.
HAD prefers to work in quiet dialogue and gentle persuasion to achieve our ends whereas Arthur’s coalition admits to preferring direct action and public protest. However, wherever this approach has been taken HAD finds its avenues of communication with authorities have been blocked by memories of how difficult other Pagan groups have been elsewhere.
Connections have not yet been made. HAD will continue to work to establish them.
April 2008 – Darvill & Wainwright dig
Many of you will have heard about a dig that took place earlier in 2008. The dig, being the first allowed for decades at this sacred circle hoped to establish when the first bluestone circle was constructed, and what happened to it.
How did Pagans get involved?
Dave Batchelor of English Heritage informed the Round Table (Stonehenge Liaison Community) that several applications for digs in the Stonehenge area had been received and some are expected to get the green light. He asked for volunteers to communicate with, from the group, and two of us stepped forward.
The archaeologists, Professors Darvill and Wainwright, came early to Stonehenge to meet the Pagan team. There were only five present that first day, and it was very clear that the archaeological team were delighted that we had come. The other thing that was immediately obvious to us was that their passion for the place was equal to our own.
You can watch a clip of our short rite at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/stonehenge/video.shtml?video=day2.
We called the attention of the ancestors, told them plainly what was about to happen and asked for their consent for we need their wisdom in our time, and gave a gift of a song 'summerland' written to honour spirits of those who have gone before us.
Yesterday (Sunday 13 April), as the dig came to its end, eight of us returned to ensure the land was being restored with care, and to say thank you to the sacred land and our ancestors for the gifts they have shared. Again we called for their attention, told them simply we were grateful, placed a gift of flowers into the ground and offered prayer and song in gratitude.
Our small team of eight: Emma Restall Orr and Angela Grant (HAD), Rollo Maughling (CoBDO), Tony, Ceri and Chris (Dolmen Grove), myself and Bex.
When it works, it works really well ...
- The authorities notified us of what was about to happen before they started, imagine if they hadn't!
- The archaeologists were open minded and respectful towards us, and even commented on how moving our presence and simple rite had been for them.
- We responded, without fuss, asked intelligent questions and retained dignity for our traditions in the way we honoured the place simply and sincerely
- The Stones themselves, the energy within Stonehenge, seem unstressed and balanced.
We hope that the future relationship between the scientific and Pagan communities, respecting each others ways and quests for truth can build upon this positive example.
English Heritage have promised to notify our community of any future digs and immediately should any human remains be found.
Frank Somers
HAD’s Background Involvement
It was the complicated issue of Stonehenge that first provoked HAD into existence.
Before the public enquiry into the proposed road development in early 2004, rumour and gossip were seeping through the Pagan community about what would or could happen, most of it filled with suspicion and pessimism. At the Druid Network office, we were receiving a constant stream of enquiries from folk concerned about the temple and the surrounding sacred landscape, with a few of the assumptions put forward being quite extraordinary.
Stonehenge : Danefox
Tired of the complicating misinformation, we began to explore the various schemes that had been proposed, finding out who was objecting and supporting which and why. As we did so, it became clear that all the Pagan and Druid groups involved had put their weight behind a few larger organizations specialising in heritage and environment issues. While this seemed sensible in many ways, it also meant that there would be no direct representation of the Pagan faith community at the public enquiry. Securing support from the British Druid Order, the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids, Arthur Pendragon’s LAW, the Albion Conclave and a number of other Druid Orders and Groves, at the last minute the Druid Network stepped into that gap. Our aim was simply to make it clear that, whatever was decided, we required acknowledgement that the complex was deemed sacred by the growing faith community of British Paganism, and that each and every decision made should take that fully into consideration.
Our primary aim was to craft effective lines of communication, and this we achieved. Through a number of meetings and ongoing correspondence, liaison was established; we put forward and were assured that a number of steps we felt to be essential would be put into action. Amongst these were a transparent and easy flow of information between the consortium of designers / archaeologists / ecologists / builders and the Pagan community. We required assurance about opportunities and ongoing access for ritual throughout the construction process, and adequate sensitivity from all involved that the site and surrounding landscape were, to so many, entirely sacred.
In return, what the various bodies in question needed to know from us, and rightly so, was whom we spoke for. Whom did we represent? While I could in 2004 give a list of Druid groups, we all knew that wasn’t enough: the team who would be implementing the development needed to know they were talking to a group that adequately represented British Paganism. Without that one voice, they would have to continue talking to a dozen or more people, both individuals and representatives of various different groups, some of whom appeared to them to be creating an emotionally charged and inarticulate commotion.
So I took out my old address book and contacted key elders in this broad faith community of British Pagans. Some were too busy, some unsure, but most came back to me with enthusiasm and interest. That is how HAD came into being.
For a year or so, the issue of Stonehenge took a backseat as we waited, the government delaying again and again as it clambered through another general election, and came back declaring first one then another option far too expensive. So, at the time of writing, the issues are still on the table: what is going to happen about the roads through the Stonehenge World Heritage Site, the increasing traffic problem of the A303, the bypass demanded by the villagers of nearby Winterbourne Stoke, the accident blackspot at Stonehenge Bottom, and the creation of a new visitor centre.
Why is Stonehenge Important to Pagans?
Perhaps though, it would be useful to explore just what is important to Pagans with reference to Stonehenge, and this is not necessarily a point that simplifies the issue. Clearly, the stone circle is considered a key temple to a great many in the various British Pagan traditions; the avenue and cursuses are integral to that monument, as are the barrows built at various times before and after the circles were erected.
However, Durrington Walls and Woodhenge are also significant nearby sites that need to be considered in how the wider complex is treated. The river was clearly also a part of the immediate sacred landscape, with most now believing the (lost part of the) avenue to have ended at the river. Indeed, to focus on just the temple of stones is not valid, for the surrounding landscape as a whole is truly sacred space.
Although some are content that the map-drawn lines of the World Heritage Site are what delineates the critical area, there is also a question about the validity of those lines. Within the WHS, there is much ploughed land, while outside it there is world-class archaeology in pastures not yet destroyed by the plough, much of which has not yet been disinterred, disturbed or distributed in boxes to museums. It lies silent in the ground, humming with stories. There are important conservation areas in terms of ecology, protected wildlife, and small village communities. Do we devalue these, pushing a new road through, in order to hold the WHS delineation as sacred?
Sunrise and the Hele Stone : Chrissie Rayner
Stonehenge is an archetypal sacred site. It has great age and mystery, and an international reputation. To Pagans its importance lies in the belief that heritage is not just valuable but sacred.
Ancestry and landscape are, to Pagan perception, indivisible. Every footstep trodden, every breath taken, each raindrop that has fallen, each leaf that has opened, was and is a creative and integral part of the whole, offering gifts to the here and now. The interconnecting threads that make up any ecosystem, to the Pagan, stretch across time and space, in nature’s cycles of life and death, rain and ocean, growth and decay, wisdom and myth, and so on, creating a web of existence that is affected by each thought and action.
The Stonehenge complex is all of the following, and more: a place of serenity, of healing and community, a place of exclusion, human flaws and asserted dominion, a place of humility and essential learning, a medium for better hearing the song of spirit and the teachings of the ancestors, a landscape of the dead, a journey towards and a place for rebirth. To all it is a powerful gift left by the ancestors, humming the songs of the land and skies, the songs of the ancestors, indubitably sacred.
Links and Useful Resources
The Druid Network, Sacred Sites (Stonehenge) http://druidnetwork.org/sacredsites/stonehenge/a303/roads.html#delays
Save Stonehenge http://www.savestonehenge.org.uk/stonec.html#jan2006
Child and 'Toy Hedgehog' found at Stonehenge tinyurl.com/42mzda