I love watching programmes about Stonehenge; i particularly am fascinated by the cursus (next adventuring hopefully cursuses). It's amazing, fantastic. I aimed to visit once; pulled up in the car park; saw the coaches; saw the prices;saw the shop;saw the queues;saw the lack of access; worshipped from afar & drove on down the road...to Avebury & from then on in to some of the most beautiful places. Whole complexes on Bodmin moor, Dartmoor, Aberdeenshire / Scotland, Cornwall, Yorkshire, Wales & being a novice & ignorant, presumably all over the place. Orkney & Stonehenge, deservedly revered but no where near as special to me as say, Sunkenkirk. I think about Long Meg..one of the largest stone circles & Little Meg ...oh I don't know all alone out there. The recently visited Stannon & Fernacre circles; the hut circles, the stone rows..patently a whole bunch of fascinating archeology in one wonderful area. I know resources are seriously limited; i know the "big" sites have the equivalent of celebrity status & possibly had that when they where "operating". I can't touch Stonehenge; i can't feel it; i can't sit quietly & muse; that doesn't make it & it's surroundings unimportant, just not that vital to me.
I do get easily riled by what I perceive to be pomposity & exclusivity & am often wrong. Gladman, Sweetcheat & Costa, TJJ et al have the advantage of eloquence, I just get mad! TSC is right, if the archeo community cannot engage even lay people like me who have a passionate love, & absolute reverence for these places, then what hope do we have in engaging the wider public to protect & serve. I have a hard job trying to engage anyone in my immediate vicinity on a day to day basis with my fascination..in fact, they think I'm a bit weird! You know, dancing around naked at midnight etc etc. They don't give a shit. I plug away.
Archaeology coming across, as it sometimes does, as some exclusive little club is not helpful. It's not funded well from lack of general interest. Our places & history on this level are not generally taught to children...anyway, I mean I could go on! No one died!
Sadly I suspect that my footprints have trodden over many mesolithic layers, sorry.
Obviously not in reply to Gladman, just a general rant. Happy days:)