I have always been fascinated by archaeology and looking at what ancient cultures leave behind, especially when there is an element of mystery. For example, what compelled a prehistoric individual to inscribe those circular grooves pictured at right into a stone in Britain? A new website called England's Rock Art has been created to catalog as many of the country's ancient carvings as possible, both to increase awareness about their existence and to preserve them for future generations. From Jonathan Jones's Guardian blog:
As our
gallery of rock art shows, we have for too long made too little of this ancient British art, much of which is found at exposed sites in Northumberland and County Durham. A lot of Neolithic art has been destroyed by quarrying, as if it didn't matter. In reality it is a national treasure, a unique window on the minds of our ancestors. Only through art like this can we connect with the imaginations and feelings, the psychic universe of Britain's early inhabitants. It's an art to search for in the countryside, perhaps even to discover unknown examples of. Don't you just want to put on your hiking boots and go looking?
I will never forget how awesome it was to walk amongst the standing stones when I had a chance to visit Avebury, imagining the people who put them there 5000 years ago. I was also remembering the crazy Children of the Stones series that scared the tar out of me when it ran on Nickelodeon when I was a kid, but that's a story for another post.