Page 31 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - October 2015
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Stonehenge Myths and Conspiracies 31
Stonehenge Myths and
Conspiracies
by Benjamin Radford
With the news earlier this week about the being among the immense stones is awe- they are actually just restoration. This concrete
discovery of a “super-Stonehenge” circling one inspiring enough. can be seen in several places today, and a
of the world’s most famous monuments, modern visitor to Stonehenge (unaware of the
attention has once again focused on the However for others such details may be restorations) might be forgiven for thinking they
Wiltshire marvel. There are thousands of crucially important. If the monument was have discovered some evidence of forgery or
ancient stone circles across Europe, of which designed to cast a shadow or serve as some sort hoax.”
Stonehenge is by far the best known and most of astronomical calendar corresponding with
impressive. celestial bodies, for example, a difference of a Stonehenge fell out of use around 1500
few degrees could lead to vastly different B.C., and has stood as a mute mystery ever
While there are many genuine historical interpretations about its role or significance. since. However one by one several of the
mysteries about Stonehenge — such as who mysteries of Stonehenge have been solved. Last
built it and for what purpose — there are just as Many mystics and paranormal buffs year, for example, a new analysis of some of the
many fabricated ones trading in myth and have carefully analyzed the exact positions and stones determined that many of them had been
conspiracy. angles of the Stonehenge rocks, hoping to glean quarried in a place called Carn Goedog, several
some information left behind four millennia miles further away than previously believed.
In his book “British Folklore” historian later that might reveal clues to its meaning. The Stonehenge Intricate Treasures Made by
Marc Alexander notes that “Theoretical layout of Stonehenge — as it is now, not as it Children
explanations for Stonehenge are plentiful and was created — has been subjected to countless
varied. Ley hunters — those who research crank theories, ranging from numerology to In her article “Secrets of Stonehenge”
imaginary lines claimed to connect important astrology to calculating lunar eclipses. National Geographic writer Caroline Alexander
sites around the world such as the Great reminds us that “There are no texts to explain
Pyramid — find great significance in its Because the restoration work at Stonehenge. Secure in its wordless prehistory it
geographical relationship to other sites. Stonehenge is not widely known, it has can thus absorb a multitude of ‘meanings’:
UFOlogists gleefully point to the usual number generated conspiracy theories. Some have even temple to the sun — or the moon for that matter;
of flying saucers reported over Wiltshire and suggested that the monument dates back less astronomical calendar; city of the ancestral
draw obvious conclusions, and those who than a century, created to spur tourism profits or dead; center of healing; stone representations of
believe in ‘earth forces’ see it as a gigantic for other unknown — and possibly nefarious — the gods; symbol of status and power,” as well
‘battery’ for storing ‘terrestrial energy.’” reasons. as more paranormal and New Age explanations.
Others claim that the stones are designed Mick West, a British researcher who While the mechanics of Stonehenge will likely
to be some sort of cosmic portal, perhaps to writes for the Metabunk web site, has visited the be determined through further research and
other dimensions or realities; as one speculative site several times and investigated such discoveries, the purpose of the monument will
commenter noted, “It’s said that Stonehenge is a conspiracy claims. “The idea that Stonehenge is likely forever remain a mystery. []
sound resonator that when a sound is played at a relatively modern construction is appealing to
the right frequency and the right placement it’s a certain type of conspiracy theorist who has THE SCIENCE OF MAGIC
supposed to have an effect. Maybe a portal to fallen far down the rabbit hole,” West told with GWILDA WIYAKA
another dimension or a (alien) base.” Discovery News. “Images appearing to show
the construction of Stonehenge with cranes and Coming Soon To
Stonehenge Conspiracies concrete are an intellectual delight to them. No
Ironically some of the most outlandish particular reason is needed for Stonehenge to be ‘X’ ZONE BROADCAST
conspiracies about Stonehenge were created by faked, because in their mind everything is NETWORK
attempts to preserve it. When most people see faked, and this is simply pleasant circular www.xzbn.net
the monument they believe (or assume) that confirmation that they were right all along.”
they’re seeing more or less what has always For Information On
been there. And indeed that’s the story West notes that “By the 1800s THE SCIENCE OF MAGIC
promoted in guidebooks: the idea that what Stonehenge had fallen into ruin. Several stones
today’s visitors see is what has stood for had fallen over and others were leaning with GWILDA WIYAKA
thousands of years. perilously. Some large sarsen stones were so
eroded by thousands of years of inclement Visit
But that’s not quite true; in fact most of British weather that they were in danger of
Stonehenge has been moved at one point or falling to pieces. Numerous restoration projects www.thescienceofmagic.net
another. It’s not the result of a hoax, fraud, or were carried out between 1901 and 1963, and of
deception, but instead merely early attempts to course many photos and film clips of these
preserve and restore the site — for example restorations exist.
reinforcing the stones with concrete.
“It’s easy to take these images out of
Over the millennia some stones have context and present them as construction when
fallen into the soft earth, and it’s not known
whether they fell straight back or twisted
slightly at an angle, and so on. At least a dozen
of the stones were straightened and re-erected
between 1900 and 1960, and early depictions of
Stonehenge (such as artist John Constable’s
1835 painting) look quite different than what is
seen today. Those restoring the area made an
effort to give a sense of what Stonehenge might
have been like thousands of years ago, but in
fact no one really knows what it originally
looked like — or was supposed to look like.
For most visitors, of course, whether a
given stone was originally 10 or 20 degrees off
kilter to one side or another is irrelevant: Just
