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Archaeologist Rose Ferraby visits the Neolithic henge of Arbor Low in the Peak District. This dramatic monument continues to hold our fascination and draw communities together.

Rose Ferraby visits Arbor Low in Derbyshire, a monumental Neolithic henge. Although it’s hard to know exactly what went on at these henges when they were built, we do know that they were places of communal gathering. It remains a dramatic place within a ceremonial landscape, attracting people then and now. Rose reflects on the making and meaning of such a place, how community was cemented as a result of constructing the henge together. At a time when small groups shifted around the landscape with their animals, following cycles of seasons, such monuments seem to have provided the solid, static points at which to come together, allowing for rare moments of congregation. In the present, it continues to draw people in, its solid stones somehow creating a sense of firm grounding for the future.

Produced by Mark Smalley
A Reduced Listening production for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3

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14 minutes

Last on

Fri 14 Jul 2023 22:45

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