They are part of the landscape, yet separate from it; they command the landscape the way actors command a stage.
Some are clearly burial sites or tombs, some seem to have been ritual spaces. Did some function as clocks or astronomical calendars? Are they markers that map the earth’s energy or Ley lines?
I found that each site here had its own unique character. Avebury has a different energy than Stonehenge. Some sites seemed welcoming, while others were foreboding. Some are famous and easily accessible, ringed by highways and car parks; others, hidden in remote fields, are obscure and difficult to find. Often, I felt the character of the place influenced my process of photographing it, and the resulting images.
My goal in photographing landscape is always to reveal the “imminence” of a particular spot, to somehow reveal the essential spirit that inhabits it.
For me, these sites stand as great creative works, statements of our ancestor’s hopes and aspirations, testaments to their ingenuity, resourcefulness and imagination. As human creativity writ large, they inspired me with awe, hope – perhaps even cheer – for our human story. On the best days, I’d leave a site thinking: “Put me on a hill with 5000 year old rocks and I’m happy.”
