[Stones] Stonehenge and Avebury Quotes

[belshade]

Can’t resist this one from John Evelyn’s Diary – July 22nd. 1654. He begins
by writing in the same vein as Samuel Pepys, showing due respect for the
“stupendous monument” and counting the stones – then a total of 95. He
continues – “The stone is so exceeding hard, that all my strength with a
hammer could not break a fragment”  Black mark, Mr. Evelyn.

Desmond.

-----Original Message-----
From: stones-bounces at henge.org.uk [mailto:stones-bounces at henge.org.uk]On
Behalf Of littlestone
Sent: Friday, 23 February 2007 7:37 a.m.
To: Stones at henge.org.uk
Subject: [Stones] Stonehenge and Avebury Quotes

"'You won't see Stonehenge every day, young man' said the custodian, a
little piqued.
'It's only an old beach,' said the small boy, with extreme conviction. 'It's
rocks like the seaside. And there isunt no sea.'"

H G Wells: The Secret Places of the Heart

"In the afternoon come to Abebury, where, seeing great stones like those of
Stonage standing up, I stopped, and took a countryman of that town, and he
carried me and shewed me a place trenched in, like Old Sarum almost, with
great stones pitched in it, some bigger than those at Stonage in figure, to
my great admiration: and he told me that most people of learning, coming by,
do come and view them, and that the King did so: and that the Mount cast
hard by is called Selbury, from one King Seall buried there, as tradition
says. I did give this man 1s. So took coach again, seeing one place with
great high stones pitched round, which, I believe, was once some particular
building, in some measure like that of Stonage. But, about a mile off, it
was prodigious to see how full the Downes are of great stones; and all along
the vallies,
stones of considerable bigness, most of them growing certainly out of the
ground so thick as to cover the ground, which makes me think the less of the
wonder of Stonage, for hence they might undoubtedly supply themselves with
stones, as well as those at Abebury."*

Samuel Pepys (1633-1703)

* Thanks to Nigel Swift for the latter submission. There's a pic to
accompany the Peyps' piece, as well as some new pics of Avebury in the
recent snow, at http://megalithicpoems.blogspot.com/ The pic entitled On
sorrow's pillow tossed, and the poem entitled Like a frozen drop of
transience are dedicated to Rebecca van der Putt (treaclechops) who was at
the Megameet in Avebury last summer and who, at the tender age of only 39,
sadly passed away earlier this year.
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