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The king of Stonehenge


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He was a giant of a man, a chieftain who ruled with a royal sceptre and a warrior's axe. When they laid him to rest they dressed him in his finest regalia and placed his weapons at his side. Then they turned his face towards the setting sun and sealed him in a burial mound that would keep him safe for the next 4,000 years. In his grave were some of the most exquisitely fashioned artefacts of the Bronze Age, intricately crafted to honour the status of a figure who bore them in life in death. For this may have been the last resting place of the King of Stonehenge - and the treasures that are effectively Britain's first Crown Jewels. Now the entire hoard, recovered from the richest and most important Bronze Age grave on Salisbury Plain, is set to go on permanent display....

 

...read the full article at the Daily Mail

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Interesting. But since Stonehenge was a religious site, calling him the 'King of Stonehenge' doesn't sound right, and more like typical journalism. Wouldn't it be more accurate to call him "King of the Tribes In And Around Salisbury Plain"?

 

The importance of Stonehenge as a cultural center isn't a matter of contention (Stonehenge was clearly an important festial site and arcaeological finds also suggest annual gatherings in shanty towns for the big event), but we should be wary of ascribing extra status to it until we know more about this man and his influence.

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  • 2 months later...

I've just read through an archaeological report about Stonehenge dating back to 1901. Apparently some of the stones fell over the year before due to neglect and the idea was to set them upright again and have a dig around. I was impressed by the dry analytical research they did, with little of the victorian theorising that's so mindnumbingly ridiculous.

 

One point of interest though. They found a roman coin there, a 'sestercius of Antonia', which was a coin of the Claudian period. Coincidence? Or did Roman soldiers pop down there to take a look? Stonehenge may have declined in importance during the iron age but it was used as a temple by druidic priests, so perhaps a leftover of an eviction by Vespasians conquerors?

 

It would be fascinating to find out.

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