Simon (@weborguk@toot.community)
@weborguk.bsky.social
Astronomer by inclination, physicist by degree. Polymoth and Stonehenge geek. I write a few things now and then about the archaeoastronomy and archaeology of the site.
www.stonehengemonument.co.uk
www.stonesofstonehenge.org.uk
web.org.uk
www.stonehengemonument.co.uk
www.stonesofstonehenge.org.uk
web.org.uk
Indeed! It only lasted a short while because people started to come specially on that day of the week. Ropes went up in 78 as you said.
October 28, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Indeed! It only lasted a short while because people started to come specially on that day of the week. Ropes went up in 78 as you said.
The thing is in the early days of EH the staff used to bugger off home if there were few visitors and the weather was iffy so it's possible people wandered in for free from time to time. And don't forget there used to be "no ropes days" for a while, with access into the circle (Tuesdays, I think).
October 27, 2025 at 6:16 PM
The thing is in the early days of EH the staff used to bugger off home if there were few visitors and the weather was iffy so it's possible people wandered in for free from time to time. And don't forget there used to be "no ropes days" for a while, with access into the circle (Tuesdays, I think).
A child came up to me when I worked at SH (2010-2016), told me she'd counted the stones in the circle, that there ought to be 30 if they were all still there, and that was the # of days in the month. She continued that 12x30=360 and there were 5 big doorways making 365. I didn't get her name.
September 27, 2025 at 5:59 PM
A child came up to me when I worked at SH (2010-2016), told me she'd counted the stones in the circle, that there ought to be 30 if they were all still there, and that was the # of days in the month. She continued that 12x30=360 and there were 5 big doorways making 365. I didn't get her name.
Definitely already done, and Tim wasn't even the first to suggest it (though his was the first in recent years to think about how to work the circle into a year count).
Problem with all these ideas is that if you're going to count stones, you really ought to count all of them :-)
Problem with all these ideas is that if you're going to count stones, you really ought to count all of them :-)
September 27, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Definitely already done, and Tim wasn't even the first to suggest it (though his was the first in recent years to think about how to work the circle into a year count).
Problem with all these ideas is that if you're going to count stones, you really ought to count all of them :-)
Problem with all these ideas is that if you're going to count stones, you really ought to count all of them :-)
Nope, no idea sorry. I was at Lacock chatting with the Wilts Astro lot.
March 31, 2025 at 5:54 AM
Nope, no idea sorry. I was at Lacock chatting with the Wilts Astro lot.
Amanda - can you let me know the precise timestamp for this photo? Useful for horizon profiling and other stuff. Ta.
March 21, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Amanda - can you let me know the precise timestamp for this photo? Useful for horizon profiling and other stuff. Ta.
This sort of hassle is why I routinely set a fixed camera and do timelapses and montages - helps to be able to see the path and gives the possibility of projecting to the rise or set position (accounting for the refraction curve, of course).
March 8, 2025 at 9:59 PM
This sort of hassle is why I routinely set a fixed camera and do timelapses and montages - helps to be able to see the path and gives the possibility of projecting to the rise or set position (accounting for the refraction curve, of course).
Well deserved!
February 21, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Well deserved!
Happy to help.
February 21, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Happy to help.
Great pic, and very atmospheric. I went for a wider view to get a montage as it progressed.
February 16, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Great pic, and very atmospheric. I went for a wider view to get a montage as it progressed.
Ah, but is it ruined or in the process of being built...? "Right, we've got these 6 up - what's next?"
February 15, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Ah, but is it ruined or in the process of being built...? "Right, we've got these 6 up - what's next?"
Don’t mention that man’s name to me, ever. My opinion of him is unprintable.
January 31, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Don’t mention that man’s name to me, ever. My opinion of him is unprintable.
And now so do I. But with the misheard lyrics from Never Mind the Buzzcocks 1990s style.
January 29, 2025 at 3:17 PM
And now so do I. But with the misheard lyrics from Never Mind the Buzzcocks 1990s style.
The one the staff buried at the old Stonehenge visitor centre might be an exception.
January 27, 2025 at 12:36 PM
The one the staff buried at the old Stonehenge visitor centre might be an exception.
In the words of the wonderful Steve Wright, everything is within walking distance if you have the time.
January 24, 2025 at 7:54 AM
In the words of the wonderful Steve Wright, everything is within walking distance if you have the time.
If you look back at the creation of what's now called social media (eg systems like PLATO, The WeLL, BBSes, CiX &c) then their original aims were all quite different from each other and also to those that triggered the modern incarnations. I'm not sure the analogy holds up, but I get the point.
January 22, 2025 at 7:56 AM
If you look back at the creation of what's now called social media (eg systems like PLATO, The WeLL, BBSes, CiX &c) then their original aims were all quite different from each other and also to those that triggered the modern incarnations. I'm not sure the analogy holds up, but I get the point.
I think there's a qualitative difference between dragging large rocks around and participating in social media :-) But let's not overlook the creation of, and mass migration to, alternative platforms in response to a perceived threat.
January 22, 2025 at 7:14 AM
I think there's a qualitative difference between dragging large rocks around and participating in social media :-) But let's not overlook the creation of, and mass migration to, alternative platforms in response to a perceived threat.
Archaeoacoustics - by design, or simply emergent properties noticed after the fact... some fascinating threads to follow in that direction. And a scale model is always useful.
January 21, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Archaeoacoustics - by design, or simply emergent properties noticed after the fact... some fascinating threads to follow in that direction. And a scale model is always useful.
You're right, and I put it too strongly in that comment above - not everything that brings people together *has* to be a threat. Spectacle works too. Many possibilities.
January 21, 2025 at 10:41 PM
You're right, and I put it too strongly in that comment above - not everything that brings people together *has* to be a threat. Spectacle works too. Many possibilities.