August 2008
A blessing of the archaeological dig at Stonehenge was due to commence. However, the evening before, Arthur had been tipped off that the dig manager had no intention of returning the human remains to the grave once fully researched. All the druid orders who had turned up to attend the blessing joined together to object and refused to do the blessing. The large circle of approx 200 people of all faiths, stood united and called for the bones to be returned to Stonehenge once the dig had finished.
Several newspapers publish articles written by Arthur regarding "The Giant Grave robbers"
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Listen-spirits-stones/article-285379-detail/article.html
THE "grave robbers", sorry archaeologists, have been back this summer, theorising and arguing over the whys and wherefores of Stonehenge, and our televisions focus on how marvellous the ancients were who created it.
But what of it now?
Well, after spending £37 million and taking 11 years over public consultation and inquiry, our Government, like a petulant child, ignored all the findings and dismissed with the stroke of a pen all plans for road improvements in and around Stonehenge and forced English Heritage, the Government's own watchdog looking after our national monuments, to begin anew with plans and public consultations.
You may be forgiven for a feeling of deja vu, for we have indeed been here before.
It has been described as "a step in the right direction…" by Robert Key, the Conservative MP for Salisbury. But I say it is a step backwards... back to square one.
The current situation all-round is a rip-off. The tourists are being ripped off, as the current visitor centre is a national disgrace.
What is supposed to be a World Heritage Site is served by temporary toilets and a prefab visitor centre that was temporary when it was built 40 years ago.
The locals are being ripped off, too. They are not getting their road improvements.
And anyone who thinks of Stonehenge as a sacred temple is being ripped off. Divorced from the sacred landscape, this once proud and majestic temple sits like a snared animal amid the tacky trappings of the 21st century.
So what now? More rounds of talking shops and the inevitable "gravy train" of jobs for the boys, with English Heritage doing all it can to turn Stonehenge into a third-rate theme park with a visitor centre, cafe and all the other franchises and marketing practices that this entails.
Perhaps it is time to return to the true spirit of the place.
Scholars will argue over who built it and when, whether it was the proto-Druids or members of a very different faith. But one thing remains certain. It was people of great faith who erected the mighty stones.
The logistics of such an operation, the transporting of the stones over such great distances, through the many domains of different tribal chieftains and peoples, would have needed enormous diplomatic skills and co-operation.
The fact that it is still a place of reverence to certain beliefs shows an unequalled continuity of faith in what was once and still could be the Isle of the Mighty.
Stonehenge was never a centre of commerce but of spirituality.
The need for a visitor centre has been brought about in recent times by the way English Heritage has marketed it so aggressively both at home and abroad.
Many people will remember when Stonehenge meant little more than a few ancient stones standing in the middle of Salisbury Plain. It should have been left like that.
In recent times, it has changed from a place of spirit to a place of confrontation over freedom of access for religious observances at the solstices and equinoxes.
Many other groups protested to have the bones returned… no answer has been forthcoming…… the countdown has ended, time for lift off and phase two of the Stonehenge picket
PRESS RELEASE:
D DAY IS DRUID DAY
MID-DAY, 6TH JUNE 2009
PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
STONEHENGE
Senior Druids, King Arthur Pendragon and Frank Somers will be present at the Stonehenge visitor centre to launch a new campaign for the return to Stonehenge of the ancestors removed last year from Aubrey Hole 7 by the Riverside Project under the direction of Mike Parker Pearson.
These ancestors disturbed from their rest twice now by archaeologists are claimed by Mike Parker Pearson to most likely be of the royal line of ancient Britain from the period when Stonehenge was first constructed as a monument to them, the ancient dead.
Arthur first picketed Stonehenge in 1990 and after a lengthy (fourteen year) campaign and a European Court case, helped the free and open access for the Summer Solstice. He returned in June of last year and helped to raise awareness for the desperate need for a new visitor centre at Stonehenge, the present facility being a national disgrace condemned by UNESCO.
Frank has been a leader among the Stonehenge Druids for several years and is noted for his positive approach leaning towards co-operation with archaeologists and authorities rather than protest. He officiated as senior Druid at both the Wainwright and Darvill digs and some of the Riverside project digs in 2007.
Both Frank and Arthur believe that it is the honourable and decent thing to do to return these ancestors to the earth, back in Stonehenge where they came from and where they belong. They argue that Stonehenge would be an empty place without these ancestors who are still revered today by many modern pagans as ancestral spirits and guardians.
For more information on this campaign please see the dedicated section on the Stonehenge Druids website www.stonehengedruids.org/news1 or the Loyal Arthurian Warband website www.warband.org.uk
Arthur has vowed to be present at Stonehenge until the ancient cremated human remains of the Guardians are returned and re-interred. He says "The 65th anniversary of D Day is an auspicious occasion to start this particular battle, as the principle architect of operation Overlord, (The D Day landings) Winston Churchill, was himself a Druid.
You don't have to be a Pagan or a Druid to believe in common decency. There is something almost voyeur-like about looking at Human remains behind glass. No let those we lay at rest, stay at rest."
Frank says "If it is our civilization for which these people provided the foundations, we now owe them nothing less than to show them that our civilization today hasn't lost its ability to honour its ancestors. I would like to see them reburied with full pagan honours as 'ancestors and with state representation as befitting royalty of the ancient Britons. That would be the right thing to do. It would be an act of compassion and respect"
"Hail!
I can forgive anyone who turns their back on me. I can forgive anyone who turns their back on CoBDO. What I can not and will not forgive is anyone who turns their backs on the Guardians of Stonehenge. I will accept nothing less than your full support for my renewed campaign for their return.
Blessed Be.
Arthur /|"
|
ROLL OF HONOUR AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE STONEHENGE PICKET Campaigning for the return of our ancestors remains Lammas 2009 A big thank you to all those who have bought a badge to support the new Stonehenge Picket, and the Arch Druids of Avebury, Cotswold and Glastonbury for their support. And a big thank you to the members of the following Pagan and Druid Groups for signing our petition: - The Druid Order - London - Dobunni Grove - (Bristol) OBOD - The Cotswold Order of Druids - The Washington Witches - USA - S.W.O.R.D - Avebury - The Circle of Pagans - Liverpool And a Huge thank you to all the members of other faiths that have signed our petition. "All Hail the irregulars, who back our cause from the following Faiths." Agnostic Anglican Atheist Asatru Baptist Buddhist Catholic Celtic Christian Church of England Church of Latterday Saints Christian Druid Eastern Orthodox Earth Centred Eclectic Episcopal Evangelical Goddess Hari Krishna Herbalist Hermetic Hindu Islam Jewish Jedi Kabala Lutheran Methodist Muslim Nilest Non-denominational None Oglala Orthodox Pagan Pantheist Pentecostal Presbyterian Protestant Quaker Roman Catholic Scientologist Sikh Southern Baptist Spiritualist Taoist Unitarian Wiccan Witch Zoroastrian Many thanks to one and all and may your Gods look favourably upon you….. |
More information here http://www.stonehenge-druids.org/news1.html#WhatUnitesPeople
King Arthur Pendragon
Titular Head and Chosen Chief
Loyal Arthurian Warbands
L /|" W
John Glen MP
(Salisbury)
3rd July 2010
Re your letter of 2nd July 2010
Ref /LL/Stonehenge
Hail John,
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
I find the Ministers response wholly unacceptable and quite frankly an insult to my (if not your) intelligence. He has failed to reassure me over a single point and has in fact told me nothing I did not know, save the duration of the extension to the licence sought, which mysteriously has gone from two to five years since I was informed of the original application by both Sheffield University and his Dept'.
In his sixth, and repeated in your second paragraph he asserts that due consideration will be given to any opposition to the deferring re-interment. His Dept' have however said all along that there is no mechanism in place for the stating of any such opposition.
Who then speaks for The Great British Ancestors? And what right of address and recourse do they have?
Quoting, from a flawed survey by EH he states as fact that the Great British public are behind the scientific community (which it self is split on this issue). What then of the thousands of signatories to our petition, who speaks for them?
When we met over this issue, I went to some lengths to explain how reasonable we had been throughout our campaign and how we had gained the respect of a large section of the Scientific community and members of many differing faiths and Nations, and how this was an International issue of some importance.
So, I ask again, who speaks for the Great British Ancestors?
Not the Dept' of Justice, Not English Heritage and Not Sheffield University.
I hold them equally culpable for the wonton vandalisation and Desecration of a world Heritage site and vehemently oppose any extension to the terms of the current licence.
I see it as the Druids duty to speak for the Great British Ancestors and will, in concert with my colleges seek redress from the decision making policy that allows this unacceptable position to continue.
This is, as I have said a World wide issue and believe me, it is now my intention to bring it to the attention of the worlds press.
I thank you again for your assistance in this matter and would ask that you pass my comments on to the Minister with some urgency as the clock is very much ticking on the expiry of the original licence, and I fear the Dept' of Justice compounding the problem and leaving me with no option other than that of legal redress, through Judicial review, UNESCO and the European Court.
Arthur Pendragon
Battlechieftain
Council of British Druid Orders
3rd July 2010
Cc by email:
CoBDO
Stonehenge Druids
English Heritage
Sheffield University
Dept' of Justice
Legal Dept' LAW
Press Office LAW
Click here to read the 36 page pdf document of the Official Response to Dept of Justice regarding their decision to withold the remains indefinitely