Post 5: Stonehenge and Bath

Yesterday, we took a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath! It was truly beautiful. Stonehenge, as one of the most famous sites in the world, has the remains of a ring of giant standing stones. To me, it appears almost like an altar or a worship site. Archaeologists believe they were built anywhere from 3,000 B.C. to 2,000 B.C. Stonehenge was constructed by a culture that left no written records,  so its purpose is a mystery. It appears that the people dragged (how??) these stones from as little as five miles to as far as 20 miles away - some of the stones weighing as much as 40 tons! That's twice as much as the bus we took to get there!

Bath, the location of England's only hot spring, was even more amazing. There is a legend that Bath was founded in 860 B.C. when Prince Bladud, father of King Lear, caught leprosy. He was banned from court and forced to look after pigs. The pigs also had a skin disease, but after they wallowed in hot mud, they were cured. Prince Bladud followed their example and was also cured. Later, he became king and founded the city of Bath.



The Romans then built a temple at Bath dedicated to Sul, a Celtic god and Minerva, the Roman goddess of healing. They also built a public bath, which was supplied by the hot springs. I touched the water and not only was it surprisingly warm, but my fingers felt tangibly smoother afterward. It was really interesting. We also got to drink the water but...  it tasted like metal, so I only gave it a quick sip.




Afterwards, I bought my parents little gifts from the gift shop, because I wanted to bring them something from somewhere as unique as Bath. I bought soothing lavender aromatherapy incense for my dad and a silver bracelet modeled after the twisted Roman torc for my mom. Torcs were originally worn around the neck, the arm, or the wrist. It's like our modern bangle, and I thought it was pretty. I got one for myself, too!