Newsillustrator - Rich Johnson
Standing stanes
In Scotland we have a series of archeological features built between 500-4,000 years before Christ. We treasure these as the irreplaceable historical artifacts they are. Nah, we leave them out in fields offering shelter to sheep and cows. Just to clear then, anywhere up to 6,000 years ago a bunch of folks, who had way better things to do, set about moving around and standing up the biggest pieces of stone they could find. It is amazing to stand in the wind and snow and put your hands on something that was erected by other hands 300 generations or so ago. And they are everywhere. Which doesn't mean they are always easy to get to. I had to bushwhack my way to the Machar stones, arriving about an hour before dark, and the Dunruchan Stones were protected by Highland Cows. I plan to return with these to try a little watercoloring.
Standing stanes
In Scotland we have a series of archeological features built between 500-4,000 years before Christ. We treasure these as the irreplaceable historical artifacts they are. Nah, we leave them out in fields offering shelter to sheep and cows. Just to clear then, anywhere up to 6,000 years ago a bunch of folks, who had way better things to do, set about moving around and standing up the biggest pieces of stone they could find. It is amazing to stand in the wind and snow and put your hands on something that was erected by other hands 300 generations or so ago. And they are everywhere. Which doesn't mean they are always easy to get to. I had to bushwhack my way to the Machar stones, arriving about an hour before dark, and the Dunruchan Stones were protected by Highland Cows. I plan to return with these to try a little watercoloring.