Salisbury Cathedral & Stonehenge

Last week Bob and I were able to go with the undergraduate students to see Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge.  Salisbury Cathedral was built in the early 13th century in only 38 years.  How did they do it?  It is incredible that they were able to construct this majestic cathedral, given the tools of their day, in such a short period of time.  Everything was designed and shaped by hand. Stones cut from the quarry had to be brought to the building site and precisely shaped and lifted into place. The size of The Cathedral is staggering and the details are remarkable.

The inside of The Cathedral is beautiful but I loved the intricate sculptures of saints and important people on the front of The Cathedral.

Ouch!

Inside Salisbury Cathedral, they have some contemporary art displayed.  This one interested me.  What do you think?  Is that his subconscious squatting on his chest while he sleeps, or is it his spirit leaving him, or is it suppose to represent his dream?

Lunch time had us looking for an interesting old pub to dine in.  We found just what we were looking for at The New Inn. (I wonder what the Old Inn looked like.)

Quaint on the inside...

amazing food also.  The best Sticky Toffee Pudding so far.

Across from Salisbury Cathedral is the Malmesbury House.  

You might recognize it from the movie Emma.

From Salisbury we headed down the road to the ancient ruins of Stonehenge.  The picture below shows what researchers believe Stonehenge looked like when it was completed.

The ancient stone circle evolved between 3,000 and 1,600 BC.  Researchers know that it is aligned with the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset but it's purpose is a mystery.

Again, I am amazed what people long ago were able to accomplish without the tools and equipment that we have now.

If you look at the center stone behind Bob's head, you can see a notch on the top of it.  All the upright stones were notched and the stones that fit on top of them had a corresponding carved out area to allow the notches to slide into place and lock the stones together.

So many questions about Stonehenge.  Why was it built and why in this particular spot?  It must have been incredibly important because the effort it took to build it was extraordinary to say the least.