The Road Goes Ever On

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Uffington Castle

Back the other way on the Ridgeway is Uffington Castle,
the remains of one of the more prominent Iron Age hill
forts in the region.

Ditch and bank

Signpost

Contemporary megaliths

Wayland's Smithy

Wayland's Smithy is an ancient long barrow just a few meters

off the Ridgeway

Side view

Entrance

Kerbstones along the side

On the Ridgeway

In the afternoon, we drove over to Uffington, the White Horse

and Castle, and walked on the Ridgeway, "the Oldest Road."

Above, a signpost; the Ridgeway, from, roughly, Avebury to

the Thames, has been in use since paleolithic times

Vicki

Parts of the Ridgeway admit automobile traffic; even Tom

was impressed...

Interlude: Our Oldest Companion

Neolithic dog from Avebury (at the museum)

"Our Oldest Companion...this is perhaps the earliest

indication of the British obsession with dogs...." Obession.

Indeed. I wasn't going to say anything. In three months on

this island, on every footpath, trail, track, up and down Ben

Nevis and Snowdon, on the beaches, at the landing grounds,

in the fields, in the villages...everywhere, we have seen

Brits walking their dogs. Most often there appear to be a

couple dogs per family, but, often, we have seen a single

person walking three or even four dogs.

The dogs themselves are exceptionally well-

behaved, if perhaps a bit aloof. Well, they

are British. Their owners are a bit less well-

behaved, sometimes foregoing the injunction

to keep their pets on leads, and, less

charmingly, to pick up their pets' droppings.

The south part of the island is subsiding into

the sea, and I strongly suspect the reason

is not the movement of tectonic plates, but

other movements....

I rest my case

Lesser Known Sights of Avebury

The little parish church--part Saxon, then Norman, then late

medieval--is of interest

Avebury Manor; good to know something was going on

here in the last 4000-5000 years

One of the better Avebury shops, especially for megalithomaniacs

Avebury

We spent the balance of morning at Avebury, perhaps the

greatest of megalithic sites on this island, part of a giant

neolithic complex, as I said, that is still being uncovered

and reinterpreted. The scale of the circles is unforgettable--

a whole village and thoroughfare lie within--but, even

after three previous visits, I had forgotten the great size of

the stones. Of course it is impossible to get all of Avebury

in the picture--it's hundreds of feet in diameter, the ditch here

is 12 feet deep and the bank is 27 feet high...

Me by one of the smaller stones

Part of the array

Vicki by one of the medium-sized ones

One of the really huge ones

Still more

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Silbury Hill

Silbury Hill is about the same age as Avebury, as I recall,

maybe 3000BC at its height, all part of a giant, connected

"ceremonial" complex. The Hill is still the largest earthen

structure in Europe. It has been excavated many times,

but nothing has ever been found, except the sarsen stone

foundations and frame that underlie it. Humans are not

allowed to climb on it.

Up closer; sheep's eye view

No climbing, humans

West Kennet Long Barrow

November 7 was a banner megalithic day. The carpark at

Avebury was closed early when we got there, so we drove

over to neighboring West Kennet Long Barrow, one of the

older neolithic monuments in the area, 3000-4000BC. I

walked the quarter mile over to enjoy it alone in the early

morning calm. A long barrow--in this case perhaps 150'

long--is a chambered tomb, sometimes kerbed, but with

huge entrance, interior side and ceiling stones, all big

enough for a large person to walk under. An allee couverte,

as we'll say in France in a couple weeks. Above, the

entrance to the barrow.

Cup marks on the big stones

Part of the passage-way

Exterior view...just a long mound

Silbury Hill in the distance

Monday, November 16, 2009

Wells Cathedral II

Outside the church, the "Penniless Porch" for

beggars; indeed there were some the day we

were there

Inside, from the original Saxon cathedral, the

baptismal font, made to celebrate 1000AD

Fashion statement: on the side of the font, hundreds of years

later, someone has tried to re-shape the Romanesque arch

into a Gothic arch

On one of the pillars, a very famous depiction

of a medieval toothache

In the 14th century, the southwest pier of the

crossing had subsided four inches, threatening

the whole building; between 1338 and 1348,

this amazing structure, a sort of Gothic figure

eight (alpha and omega?) was added, a sort of

interior buttressing; looking at it for the first

time, one thinks this can't be medieval, it must

be a Victorian or even 20th century addition;

but no, it was completed in the year of the

Black Death, 1348; it worked; and it is strikingly

beautiful, and huge, apart from being completely

different from anthing we have ever seen in a

medieval cathedral

The buttressing seen from the nave; there are

three of the buttressing figures, the nave, and

both transepts, humongous

The oldest still functioning cope chest, 1120

A figure in the chapter house, sticking his

tongue out at the bishop

Wells Cathedral clock--the oldest complete still-functioning

clock in the world, 1390 (Salisbury's is a bit older, but has no
face and does not do minutes...a clock precursor)

It still powers a variety of cathedral bells and

whistles

As well as, every fifteen minutes (for 600+ years), these

jousting knights, which whirl around for a minute or so

until the third from the left gets un-horsed; it's a hoot to

watch. As I said, if a cathedral can be fun, Wells definitely

is fun.

Working our way back east, we stopped in Wells, did a
marvelous cathedral tour, walked the town, then headed on
toward Avebury, detouring by Bath in search of an internet
signal. We stopped at a quite decent lay-by about 4 miles
from Avebury. To us, Wells was far more interesting on
the inside than the outside, and I'll have to add another
post to do it justice. If a cathedral can be fun, Wells is a
fun cathedral.