Why Is This Stone Henge Suddenly So Popular In Britain?

This is the first episode of a series I am making which discusses recent news articles about archaeology and heritage, helping explore the world of archaeological news.
Enjoy!
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[@lovelyskull3483]

Thank you.

[@richardhinton3801]

Great vid Alex. keep them coming!

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

Thank you :)

[@imBelegaeraHithaeglir]

Love the intro

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

Thank you, I quite enjoyed making it. It will just be the intro for my "world of archaeology" topical videos, my other videos will continue to feature my regular intros for now. New video out tomorrow btw!

[@AScottishOdyssey]

The Standing Stones of Callanish, on the Isle of Lewis, and the Ring of Brodgar, in Orkney, are definitely worth a visit.

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

God I'd love to visit Orkney but I live in Norfolk so it would be very difficult to reach Orkney and the Shetland Isles unfortunately.. I definitely plan to visit one day though

[@AScottishOdyssey]

@@AlexTheHistoryGuy You can get a plane from Glasgow Airport, directly to Kirkwall Airport. You can hire a care directly from the airport. You can also take a ferry from Aberdeen, or from Thurso. I know that you can take your car on the Aberdeen ferry. Hopefully, you will get to visit, one day.

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

Haha funnily enough getting to Scotland is the more difficult part! 😆

[@AScottishOdyssey]

@@AlexTheHistoryGuy Yeah, it can be a long drive, especially if you are really coming from Down South. I briefly lived in Hampshire, and I've also worked in the Cotswolds.

[@julieblackstock8650]

I wonder if you have heard about the Freston Dig (Shotley Peninsula). Its HUGE!! Bigger than Stonehenge and 1000 years older. Its a causewayed enclosure.

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

I haven't put I shall definitely look it up! I fear it's quite a long way away from me though so getting there could be tricky haha

[@AlexandraStarr1974]

Always thought there might have been some henge near Kings Lynn, where that old church stands not too far from the QE hospital, now hidden beneath decades and decades of farming, but look on google earth and old historical images of the spot, it clearly shows a large oval shape with the chapel at the eastern side of it!

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

Ah I assume you mean the Church of St. James in Bawsey? It stands atop a hill in a field on private ground. I've actually been there and I can say that it used to be an island 1,500 years ago... The original church was built in the Saxon Period and was accessible by boat as it stood on a small island within a salty marsh. The Saxons later debated where they should build a cathedral/minster in the area, and the two main candidates were the chapel of St. James on Bawsey island, or the chapel of St. Etheldreda on the island of Ely. Ely was chosen and St. James Chapel was unfortunately left behind - it was still a functional church and was rebuilt in the 12th century by the Normans who notably added some gorgeous Romanesque arches that still survive today, however Ely of course received much more love and grew to become the grand cathedral that you see now. During the middle ages, much of the Norfolk landscape changed considerably, with the marshes around Kings Lynn drying up while the coasts of East Norfolk & Suffolk were rapidly eroding to the waves of the North Sea. As such, the waters that surrounded the islands of Ely and Bawsey dried up and the areas both became land-locked. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the monks at Greyfriars in Kings Lynn could no longer afford much-needed repairs at St James church so it was gradually left to ruin, whereas Ely cathedral became rebranded as a Church Of England. Time Team visited St James church for a dig but I don't think they found any evidence of neolithic settlement (the videos are archived on KZbin so feel free to give them a watch). It is perfectly possible that there was a henge site here as it's not too far from the important Bronze Age site of Flag Fen and the famous Sea Henge of Hunstanton!

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

I realise this was an awfully long reply to your query but I just appreciate that someone else knows about Bawsey church haha

[@AlexandraStarr1974]

@@AlexTheHistoryGuy Then my own reply, in revenge, will be equally as long however, one must sleep, its awfully late 😊

[@AlexandraStarr1974]

St James, thats the one! More or less spent our weekends in the 90s at bawsey pits if we were not out partying all night long at hyperbolic in lynn, or tiffs at yarmouth etc, and quite often we would find ourselves at that church after a good long stomp, but i not been back there since the late 90s, though it still stands as it did back then! We know about the sea henge at wells discovered a decade or so ago, how many other lost henges are under the sea or sediment or our own inland areas, with st james being a prime spot as its stood like you say, as prominent as Ely cathedral nearby, who knows what secrets still lay under those fields, would love a little dig there myself if i ever got the chance! And, if you believe in such things, a strong Ley Line runs through that part of norfolk, not that i do these days.

[@SallyBowles5050]

Very interesting

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

Thank you:)

[@larrywave]

Interesting

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

Thanks :)

[@johnorchard4]

You quite rightly describe it as a stone circle, but it is not a henge. A henge monument is not about being a stone circle!

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

Aha indeed, I was moreso just using the words that the several social media and news articles used which made me want to make this video. Plus I figured "stone henge" would get more views than "stone circle" haha

[@johnorchard4]

@@AlexTheHistoryGuyAh, but... I am an historical geographer born just 20 miles from Stonehenge!

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

Very nice! I visited Stonehenge in 2021, it was of course amazing but it's a shame it's so touristy. I prefer West Kennet long barrow as there's usually noboby around and you're free to just enjoy and appreciate where you are

[@johnorchard4]

@@AlexTheHistoryGuyThere are two distinct areas that you ought to explore then, because you are correct Stonehenge is touristy - but what about Woodhenge, Durrington Walls, and the great and increasing wider ancient landscape around the Salisbury Plain. Then the West Kennet Barrow is part of the other linked but separate area. I presume you have seen the Sanctuary, Silbury Hill and, of course, Avebury. Few then venture along the road east of the Ridgeway to the fields where you will find the Sarsen stones in situ. The new discoveries just keep coming in those areas, especially around Durrington Walls. Most of these places are not at all touristy.

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

Thanks, I touched upon a few of those areas in my "Origins of Salisbury" video, certainly Durrington Walls. I do need to revisit the area as there is just so much to see. Yes I have visited Avebury and Silbury hill multiple times, we have 2 henges in Norwich which are probably some of the least touristy places in Britain since there are no signs/information boards and barely any study papers done on either of them unfortunately.