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Partygoers Greet Solstice at Stonehenge

By NARDINE SAAD

posted: 14 HOURS 19 MINUTES AGO

comments: 414

filed under: World News

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STONEHENGE, England (June 21) - Pagans and partygoers drummed, danced or gyrated in hula hoops to stay awake through the night, as more than 35,000 people greeted the summer solstice Sunday at the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge.

Despite fears of trouble because of the record-sized crowd, police said the annual party at the mysterious monument was mostly peaceful.

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"It's the most magical place on the planet," said antique salesman Frank Somers, 43, dressed in the robes of his Druid faith.

"Inside when you touch the stones you feel a warmth like you're touching a tree, not a stone. There's a genuine love, you feel called to it," he said.

The prehistoric monument in southern England is the site of an annual night-long party — or religious ceremony, depending on perspective — marking the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.

Warm weather and the fact that this year's solstice fell on a weekend helped draw a record crowd.

"There has been a great atmosphere and where else would you want to be on midsummer's day?" said Peter Carson of English Heritage, the body in charge of Stonehenge.

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Camera flashes bounced off the stones through the night until patchy rays of sunlight peeked through the clouds at 4:58 a.m. BST (0358GMT). A weak cheer went up as dawn broke over the Heel Stone, a pockmarked pillar at the edge of the stone circle that is aligned with the rising sun.

"You can feel the energy from your feet climb up your body," said Diane Manuel, 50, a supply company director from Middlesbrough in northern England. "It's like having heart palpitations."

Stonehenge, which sits on Salisbury Plain about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of London, is one of Britain's most popular tourist attractions, visited by more than 750,000 people a year. It was built in three phases between 3,000 B.C. and 1,600 B.C.

Mystery surrounds the monument's original purpose. Some theories hold that the stone circle was a grave site because 350 burial mounds surround the structure.

In May, archaeologists found evidence indicating that pilgrims perceived the stones to have healing powers. Some other experts assert that the structure was part of an ancient astronomical calendar.

But because it was built so long ago, there is no record of why the monument was erected, said archaeologist Dave Batchelor of English Heritage.

"All of that sort of stuff we don't have, so when it comes to ascribing a modern-day reason depends on the viewpoint ... that's the fascination," Batchelor said.

Solstice celebrations were a highlight of the pre-Christian calendar, and in many countries bonfires, maypole dances and courtship rituals linger on as holdovers from Europe's pagan past.

Libby Davy, 40, an Australian living in Brighton, southern England, was attending the solstice for the first time with friends and her 8-year-old daughter. She wore sparkling dust on her face and wrapped a monkey doll around her neck as she embraced the festive mood.

"It's kind of a pilgrimage," she said. "As a sculptor, I can't help being interested in the stones — they're historic, spiritual — people went to a huge effort to put them here not anywhere else. Why here? And why this configuration? It's fascinating."

The solstice is one of the few times during the year that visitors can get close enough to touch the rocks.

English Heritage closed the site at the solstice after clashes between police and revelers in 1985. It began allowing full access again in 2000 and the celebrations have been largely peaceful.

Police said Sunday they had made about 30 arrests for drug and public-order offenses.

With problems at a minimum, the crowd reverted to a carnival atmosphere. Some revelers used hula hoops to stay awake until the sunrise; other simply clapped and danced among the stones.

Gaisva Milinkeviciute, 30, a yoga instructor originally from Lithuania, came with two friends, who like many in the crowd, wore wreaths in their hair.

"This place actually gives people so much energy and thoughts, things that we kind of neglect in the daily lives and wish for," Milinkeviciute said. "We can come here and make them come true."

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Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2009-06-21 08:28:38

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TRUWRITER

07:50 AMJun 22 2009

Most magical monument is the one that the Russian people gave up that stands in New Jersey in eyesight of the WTC ground zero. It is amazing in its art and its statement from the Russian people, and yet not many know that it is even there because the media decided to not tell us that during that past election. You can find it online and it will startle you and then alarm you that this wonderful thing has never been shown to the country on the US propaganda press.

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dxxy4u

07:15 AMJun 22 2009

Dnieve5 02:05 AMJun 22 2009Pagens, Christians. Same shit. >>>>>>>>>>>>> You are looking in the WRONG Direction my dear Friend. Looking at man, you are going to see the same thing rather Christian or Pagan. God dwell not in stones or houses. What stone or house large enough to contain God, the CREATOR of all things? God dwells in the Heart of man. A place that only you can visit, your own inner Heart (inner self) Look deep inside of yourself, he's waiting on you. But you can't find him if self doubt or unbelief lies in the way. Clear your inner path of all Hatred and meet GOD.

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Kdwheeler101

03:44 AMJun 22 2009

Thank you CLOSERTOTHENIGHT------before I even saw this story I was in the shower wondering about god, if there is a god, if there is not? Thinking about all the things I have done, great and small (mostly small, lol) that have hurt others or myself, I told myself I must forgive myself for the things that I have done and let them go, I wondered if there is a god if I will be forgiven for wondering rather than having absolute faith, and I promised myself that I will try tomorrow to be a better person than I have been today or in the past, and thought for a moment that somehow there must be a god or something out there, even if I do not know it's name or what it asks or intends for me, if anything at all. Otherwise what is the point!

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DennyN95

02:58 AMJun 22 2009

write to iUniverse.com and order your copy of 'Have Wavelength, Will Travel' - it explains Stonehenge as well as the pyramids and other age-old mysteries.

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Dnieve5

02:05 AMJun 22 2009

Pagens, Christians. Same shit.

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Hope700

02:01 AMJun 22 2009

Hey is a 60's hippie's reunion? http://www.SomeCoolStuff.net

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AJGORM

01:53 AMJun 22 2009

Stone Hedge how do I say it--it is the connection between man and earth and the universe in a time where they used the power of the stone that links modern time leaving to the past the unknown questions as to why it was put there and the fact we dont know why. Why did they leave it there and why are we not smart enough to connect the dots. This is the scary part they were smarter than us and connected to the universe in an odd way we dont yet understand. a significant meaning between earth, man,time and space, They advanced in a way that mirrors ours. It is amazing that these calendars are so precise. Where did these people disappear to what happened to them. Will the mystery ever be solved as to how the rocks actually got there. Maybe some event took place that collapsed their society into extiction or caused wide spread destruction.Stone hedge the mystery still unsolved..

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HINDELSMYTHE

01:47 AMJun 22 2009

WARNING...you see those ads on TV for the low price DIRECT TV service, DON'T be FOOLED ! IT'S a SCAM!!! they change you full price...If you are thinking of getting DIRECT TV...DON'T!

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JArlieWilson

01:20 AMJun 22 2009

Sixeyess4dinner said - saw JArlieWilson at the Stonehenge party. I surreptitiously obtained video footage (high definition media) of him just prior to his arrest. He was naked, wearing a swimfin on his right foot and an Aladdin slipper on the left....Complimented with oversized butterfly wings, a snorkel and a 5th of Absolute.................................Actually, that was my twin brother on assignment to investigate the Mesolithic gathering practices of the Nords. I told him he was about 500 years off and way too far south, but he was distracted by all the lights, singing, and well, the hula hoops were too hard to resist. He told me the 5th of Absolute was only a cover to "blend in with THEM". The snorkel, I admit was WAY over the top. And I will forever live in grevious embarassment.

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Chedar888

01:19 AMJun 22 2009

Nobody needs to look up to the sky and ask for help from some supernatural forces for the most powerful forces lies within your self (your own mind)!

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