Main content

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鈥檚 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 大象传媒 Radio 3

Available now

14 minutes

Last on

Fri 14 Jul 2023 22:45

More episodes

Next

Coming soon

See all episodes from The Essay

Broadcast

  • Fri 14 Jul 2023 22:45

Death in Trieste

Death in Trieste

A 1760s murder still informs ideas about aesthetics, a certain sort of sex, and death.

Watch: My Deaf World

Watch: My Deaf World

Five compelling experiences of what it is like to be deaf in 21st-century Britain.

The Book that Changed Me

Five figures from the arts and science introduce books that changed their lives and work.

Download The Essay

Download The Essay

Download all the episodes from the series and listen at your leisure.

Podcast