Clonehenge - The 10 Most Fascinating Stonehenge Replicas
The "henge" portion in Stonehenge's name has given its name to a class of prehistoric monuments known as 'Henges', amongst others Stonehenge's relative 'Woodhenge' at Wiltshire, but has also inspired quite a few more contemporary monuments, works of art and Stonehenge parodies. Here are the 10 best:
10. Butterhenge
An installation erected by artist David Prince at the Grant Park in Chicago.
Although 'Foodhenges' are far from rare - mostly they come in the form of a 'Cheesehenge', they are not often categorized as art, nor are they presented with a skyline in the back.
Hence we figured this dairy based henge definitely deserves it's spot in the top 10.
9. Cellphonehenge
There are quite a few - far fetched, unless you believe the X-files is reality TV - theories about Stonehenge serving as a landing area for Unidentified Flying Objects. Of course, a way to communicate with incoming alien vehicles and their extraterrestrial crew would still be needed, and this is where Simon Burrow's Cellphonehenge comes into play:
"An aerial view of cellphonehenge. Note that the phones in the outer ring are older and therefore it is assumed that it pre-dates the inner ring and the altar phone." As of today, the exact use for the Avenue of Pagers remains unknown.
8. Doorhenge
The process of creating Doorhenge, documented in this time-lapse video, is fairly amusing, and the ethnic graffiti on the doors (scientists think this refers to the Flower Power cultus) is lovely and colourful. But it's the modern version of the Archer arriving exactly at the point of celebration of the completion of the build that gives this installation its little 'prehistoric' touch. Our new theory: The Archer was murdered because he was not very appreciative about the effort that goes into building a Doorhenge. Yes, we do realise horseback riding wasn't 'invented' until 4000BC, but still, one of our favourites.
7. Solhenge
Part of the Burning Man 2004 exhibition by Sol Systems this 'multi media' henge might just be a symbol of how tribes gather in the 21st century, and could represent a new religion:
"8 towering speaker pilings precisely placed in a circle with a diameter of 120 feet. Forearm-thick black cables descended from the speaker stacks into the soil like oily roots searching for power from the amplification racks housed behind the stage."
If Stonehenge was indeed constructed to impress rivaling tribes, this amazingly well-lit build surely would have done the trick! To get an impression, take a look at this photograph by Adam Willis, or read all about how "Solhenge" came to be.
Another Burning Man based henge is this "PC henge", dating 2006 AD. (Photography by Dale East)
6. Tamponhenge
One can only assume that the strange building materials chosen for this henge have something to do with an ancient Czech fertility cults. Most fascinating is that opposed to our little knowledge about the building techniques used for Stonehenge, the construction of Tamponhenge is well-documented so that in 25,000 years time whatever mankind evolves into won't have to wonder "How on earth did they do this?!!" We do thank the Gods that there is no bloody sacrifice stone present.
5. Bamboohenge
Amsterdam artists Antoon Versteegde and Rini Biemans decided that reconstructing Stonehenge out of bamboo (we just don't have the muscle mass we had 25,000 years ago) would be a great project to unify the people and help bonding within their own tribe:
"With unified forces we will try to a evoke a mythical dream, a collective memory that will bind us with each other and the generations that went before us. It will become a moment of reflection regarding the future, a marker in time. BambooHenge will show that building together, talking together, dreaming together collectively comes down to sharing together."
How the bamboo got the Holland remains as much of a mystery as how the bluestones got to Wiltshire. Go here for more images & video.
4. Autohenge
There are plenty of henges based on the vehicle type we often refer to as "a car" - amongst others Carhenge (awesome photograph!) by Jim Reinders, 1987 AD and Dubhenge by the Hugh Jart artist collective that consists solely of Volkswagen cars, 1996 AD. But the first known "Autohenge" was created 1986 AD by William Lishman for the Chrysler tribe company.
Built to the exact same scale as Stonehenge - but probably a bit less heavy despite the cars' iron carcasses - 'Autohenge' surely deserves a place in our top 10.
Sadly enough, Autohenge was destroyed in 2001 AD.
3. Loohenge ('a pile of crap')
"A lot of monuments are a bit rubbish," says Banksy, "but this really is a pile of crap." On June 21st 2004 (AD, of course) Banksy - probably Britain's most famous 'urban guerilla' artist - created Loohenge - druid included - and probably enraged Britain's entire druid-population.
Loohenge was located at the Glastonbury Music Festival and SuperTouch reports that, just as with the real Stonehenge, latter generations added their own touch to the contemporary monument:
"Since being erected, the reveling, mud-caked masses have taken to adding their own graffiti and otherwise trashing the site in true euro-hippie fashion." Photo credit Andy Crowe.
2. Legohenge
When you're driving from London to Stonehenge, you are most likely to pass by Legoland Windsor, where you'll find this mini-Stonehenge made out of Lego bricks. We've got to give the Lego bricks kudos for "authenticity", as these megaliths aren't just boringly square and they even include the protests that take place at Stonehenge regularly. If these little folks were demanding free access to the stones - the usual reason for protest - or the Summer solstice to be agreed on to be March 22nd in stead of March 21st, is not known, but this photograph taken by Russell Davies certainly grasps the spirit of New Age religious protest.
More or less related, National Geographic had a contest for kids, where they were asked to recreate Stonehenge, the prize being a trip to Legoland. You can take a look at the entries, and if you really love them, are even invited to use them as a desktop background. I strongly advice the Rice Krispies design by Elizabeth Leighty for that purpose, not in the least because it features R2D2.
1. Spinal Tap's Henge
There's no debate possible on this, Spinal Tap's "Stonehenge replica" is definititely the most famous. The fictional hard rock band wants to have an exact replica of the ancient monument with them on stage, but sadly enough (sadly for them - for the viewer it's hilarious) they make one little mistake when placing their order:
You've enjoyed this overview of the world's most fascinating replicas of the ancient megalithic monument? Check out more Stonehenge replicas and clones, or suggest your own to be added, at the Clonehenge blog maintained by Nancy Wisser at replicahenge.wordpress.com.
Read one comment, or leave your own
videos
Comments
If you've enjoyed these Stonehenge parodies, you might also enjoy Xtreme Stonehenge Theories for the Slightly Insane, with options such as 'Product Placement Gone Bad', 'The 1ste Symbol of Peace' and 'A Giant's Hoax'. ( At least, I enjoyed writing it! ;))
Post new comment