Explanatory Materials Appear Below This Image - Please Scroll Down To View
| The Many Faces Of The Swindon Stone - North Elevation |
| 1 | The beautiful diamond shape allowed the sculptors to place vital thematic elements around the circumference of the monolith. This "block" faced deity (outlined magenta on my diagram), looks massively rightwards up into the western sky. This god or mythological character was created using a highly angular style, and probably depicts a male. This is in fact one of several such gargantuan stylised carvings bashed onto some of the largest and most important Avebury monoliths (see generally, here). The largest are associated with the stones guarding the north and south entrances to the Henge, although smaller versions exist in the Avenue. |
| 2 | This side of the monolith unusually hosts another very large stylised, probably male face, this time staring up to the left into the eastern sky. The style here is a little less pronounced, but has a distinctive "button" nose similar to that chiselled onto Stone 01, at the southern entrance to the Henge, visible here. |
| 3 | This pointed, left looking face can be interpreted as forming part of an Avebury "dual symbol" carving, which as such is paired with the magenta face described in point 1 above. Dual symbols can be found all over the site, and I discuss them generally here. |
| 4 |
The green lines show the eyes and nose of a gargantuan face, peering out of the stone, the overall effect here is reminiscent of a "green man". I have often seen this face driving past the monolith, it is very prominent to the naked eye, but can be elusive to the camera, particulalry if the sun is out and the light comes in from a tangent causing heavy shadowing. I am pleased to have captured it now. |
|
The entire surface of this northern elevation is marked by distinctive hollows in the stone, which I assume are largely natural [although the two main "block" face silhouettes (labelled 1 and 2 in the diagram above) are certainly artificial]. The sculptors of Avebury may have selected this stone partly because of its enormous size, and partly for these hollows which unnervingly echo the brows and eye sockets of skulls, dead spirits buried in the stone, bursting to get out. Once seen and understood, the effect is quite unnerving. The Swindon Stone was one of two gigantic paired "gateway" monoliths marking the northern entrance into the Henge, and as such would have faced neolithic pilgrims approaching Avebury. The complex northern elevation, with its silhouetted block faces and seething field of natural, inchoate skulls, would have been an awe inspiring sight attuning visitors' minds to the religious and ceremonial messages at Avebury's heart. The sheer weight, shape and detailing of this marvellous object demonstrate the incredible dedication and imagination of Avebury's builders. The monolith has stood undeterred for more than 4 millennia, I wonder how many of our own constructions will defy gravity for so long, and encode as much meaning. |
| Skull like features on this elevation: | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Image copyright David Baldwin Night Photography
