Standing with Stones
Posted by Greg at 14:19, 10 Jun 2008One of my dreams would be to do a tour of the megalithic monuments of the world. The next best thing, though, stuck here in the Daily Grail Dungeon, is to take a video tour in HD. And now, that's possible - at least for the megaliths of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Standing with Stones is a newly released DVD, which takes you through the numerous stone monuments which usually sit in the shadow of Stonehenge's fame:
There are about 1000 stone circles in the British Isles. If you include other megalithic monuments such as stone rows, long barrows, cairns, cists, standing stones and others, the number runs to tens of thousands. Yet most people can only name one.
This DVD is an exploration beyond Stonehenge, a discovery of the wealth that is megalithic Britain. Written and presented by explorer and naturalist Rupert Soskin, this film takes the viewer on a 2 hour prehistoric pilgrimage, visiting more than 100 of the less familiar (but no less extraordinary) sites up and down the country, from Cornwall to the Scottish Isles.
There are two trailers for the DVD on the website, as well as sample videos from a number of the sites (click on the locations in the map at the top). Looks like it has top class production and photography, and the DVD is only £17.99 (shame about that pound sign...damn exchange rate!) - a real find. Not only does it give a great run-down of the circles, but it puts you right there in the landscapes, which to me is half the magic. Thanks Marcus for the heads up.


Comments
25 November 2004
3 weeks 5 days
I saw producer Michael Bott speak at this year's Megalithomania conference in Glastonbury, where I bought the DVD (and picked his brains on the topic of film production!).
It is beautifully produced, expertly presented, contains quite a few surprises - even for those who think they know megalithic Britain & Ireland well, and has a huge feel-good factor. Hours of extras on the DVD, too.
(I also linked to this a while back in the news)
Recommended.
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I don't believe in belief!
Perceval
5 June 2006
1 day 12 hours
Right now it appears they just have the PAL version which won't play on most DVD-players in North America.
It looks great though, sounds like it will be available soon for all regions.
2 May 2004
3 hours 9 min
I've been to a stone circle in a dream, many years ago. I was on a tour bus, and we were driving through a quaint English town in the countryside. I got separated from the bus, it took off, and I was left wandering around. The stones were small, knee-high at most, arranged in a circle in a vacant block of land on the town's outskirts, nestled amongst lush green grass.
One day, I'll go there physically. ;-)