Stonehenge: The Story of a Sacred Landscape

Eminent British archaeologist Pryor (Home) examines Stonehenge, the most famous of all ancient British landmarks, in a work that balances the scholarly and the popular. For Pryor, “the great stones and the landscape around them are telling us a complex and a very human story.” He works forward in time from the period immediately following the last glaciation of the land that would become the British Isles, highlighting some archeological digs that have informed current theories about the site’s use. For each time period, Pryor relates how Britons of the day may have changed, used, and viewed Stonehenge (e.g., as an intertribal meeting place, for ceremonial pilgrimages into the realm of the dead); he ends with later interactions with the site, including graffiti on, artworks depicting, and recreations of the monument. Highlights include diagrams of Stonehenge that depict its elements and appearance in different time periods as well as a number of contemporary photographs and historical artworks. Readers may not agree with some of the author’s speculation about various aspects of Stonehenge’s history, including, for instance, the assertion that the ax carvings found on some stones represent specific individuals. Overall, this is a visually appealing and intellectually stimulating addition to the popular understanding of Stonehenge. Illus. (Feb.)