THE BIG BOOK OF MYSTERIES
FOR thousands of years, Stonehenge has been wreathed in mystery and myth. Its very existence continues to confound experts and defy explanation. But nothing about the giant stone circle that stands lonely sentinel on Salisbury Plain is as inexplicable or strange as the events of the 4th August1957. For that was the day that Stonehenge vanished off the face of the earth! It began as an ordinary day for the Wright family from Croydon. They had all been looking forward to a picnic in the shade of the prehistoric standing stones. Excitedly they packed their Morris Oxford and set off on the 90-mile trip. Mum Pat and dad Gerald were in the front, with kids Barry, 10, and 7-year-old Elaine in the back seat. The roads were quiet and with Pat reading the map and giving directions to her husband, the journey went quickly. The kids played I-Spy, spotting interesting sights along the route. After two and a half hours on the road, the Wrights arrived at their destination. Now everybody’s breath is taken away when they see Stonehenge for the first time, but the Wright family were truly staggered at what they saw ... nothing. For where the 5,000-year-old monoliths should have been standing, there was simply a herd of grazing sheep. Scarcely able to believe the evidence of their own eyes, the family got out of the car and went into the field for a closer look. Not only were the stones not there, there was no evidence that they had ever been there. There were no indentations in the ground, no patches of bare earth. There was not a single marking to indicate that an imposing circle of 50-ton stones had ever been there! Utterly bewildered and perplexed, the Wrights got back in their car and drove home, all the while pondering the mystery of the disappearing henge. They were so disturbed and unsettled by their experience that that night they resolved to return to Salisbury Plain the next day to make sure that what they had seen was real. The following day, they climbed back into the car and set off once more, this time with Pat driving and Gerald reading the map. Two-and-a-half hours and 90 miles later, they arrived back at the henge. To their amazement, there in front of them stood a circle of thirty giant standing stones. Stonehenge was back!
Facts or speculation? Conjecture
or reality? They are four sides of the same coin, and who of us can say which one is the truth? One thing is for certain, the mystery of the disappearing henge has never been satisfactorily explained, and I doubt that it ever will. I am Jonathan Ross’s less successful brother, Paul Ross. Until the next time I open my Big Book of Mysteries, goodbye.