Discovery - Archeology
Stonehenge
Mystery
Face
Silently watching
us for 4,000 years?
By BBC News Online
Science Editor Dr David Whitehouse
Has
the face of the creator of Stonehenge
been staring at us unrecognized
for more than 4,000 years?
A
British archaeologist claims to have seen a face
carved into the side of one of the mighty stones at Stonehenge.
![[ image: The face can be seen on the side of a standing stone]](_474977_stone150.jpg) |
|
The face
can be seen
on the side
of a standing stone
|
It
is the first face ever seen on the Neolithic monument and
one of the oldest works of art ever found in Britain.
It
was recognized by Terrence Meaden, an archaeologist with a
fascination for the ancient standing stones of the British
Isles.
"I
just happened to be there at the right time of day because
only when the light is right can you see it properly. During
the summer months it is only obvious for about a hour each
day around 1400."
It
is amazing that it has never been recognized before.
DR
Meaden believes that it was missed because previous researchers
concentrated on the fronts of the standing stones and not
their sides.
![[ image: A face carved on an Avebury standing stone]](_474977_face150.jpg) |
|
A face
carved on an Avebury standing stone
|
The particular
viewing conditions to see it at its best will have also played
a part in it not being seen.
"But
once you see it it's obvious," he says.
It
seems to carry a serious expression, almost a frown, as it
looks across the Salisbury plain.
Stonehenge
was built about 2450 BC but why does DR Meaden believe the
carving was made at the time and was not done much later.
"Why
would anyone do that?" he asks, "The type of stone, Sarsen,
is the hardest stone know to man. It would have taken hundreds
of hours working on a platform to do it. Why bother?"
Meaden's
photographs are being evaluated by other archaeologists.
He
also claims that other faces can clearly be seen on the Avebury
stones not far from Stonehenge.
But
who is the face of Stonehenge?
"We
will never know," says Meaden, "He could be the patron of
the monument or even its architect. Perhaps the designer of
Stonehenge has been looking at us for four thousand years
and we didn't see him."
Terence
Meaden can be contacted by e-mail at terence.meaden@stonehenge-avebury.net.
| ©
