In the pre-dawn darkness, a procession of white-robed druids raises flags near the monoliths of Stonehenge, an ancient site in England. The scent of burning sage fills the air, the sound of bagpipes can be heard in the distance, and the frenetic beat of drums fills the air as dawn approaches. If you haven't yet felt the power of the stones at this summer solstice celebration, there's no denying the physical vibration you feel as the sun rises in a line with the stone circle.
Stonehenge is owned by the British Crown and looked after by English Heritage, a nonprofit that manages more than 400 historic sites in the UK, but for the most part visitors must buy a ticket to visit and stay away from the stones, which are usually roped off. But since 2000, the ropes have been removed four times a year, on the summer solstice and winter solstice and spring equinox, allowing visitors to wander the circle of stones all night and after sunrise if they wish.
On Thursday, to mark this year's summer solstice, the monument opened at 7 p.m. as people began arriving on shuttle buses from nearby Salisbury. Traffic jams meant the journey took nearly an hour. The rules are strict: picnics and warm blankets are permitted, but no camping gear or chairs. Snacks are OK, but no alcohol.
The crowds ebbed and flowed, with early evening picnickers leaving before nightfall. Those who stayed overnight found it difficult to find shelter from the rain as evening temperatures reached about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Those who stayed drummed, chanted and spoken to the stones lit by a near-full moon and purple floodlights, many with flower crowns on their heads. The intensity grew throughout the night, and as the sky lightened just before 4 a.m., the drumming and chanting sped up and became even more intense.
There were also food trucks selling wood-fired pizza, french fries, curry, donuts, and more, as well as souvenir tents.
Arthur Pendragon, 70, a modern-day Druid (ancient Druids were Celtic priests), wore a white robe embroidered with red dragons, a thick silver ring and a silver dragon crown. He called the stone a “cathedral.” Charlotte Pulver, 45, a pharmacist from Hastings who specializes in naturopathic medicine, has been visiting the site for 12 years. She said it felt “special to come together as a community to honor this tide and the alignment of the earth.” Some American tourists who were in the UK to see Taylor Swift's Eras Tour “decided to stop by.” In total, about 15,000 people visited.
The crowd walked inside the circle and touched the sarsens (a reference to the type of sandstone used in Stonehenge) that were placed here about 4,500 years ago, and some performed a ritual to welcome the new season with chants of “heart to heart, hand to hand.” Some placed their hands on the stones and closed their eyes, appearing to draw power from them. The grey, uneven surface is covered with Bronze Age graffiti, including the signature of Christopher Wren, who designed St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Orange powder that had been sprinkled on the stones during Wednesday's climate change protests had already been washed off.
The site has been attributed to various historical groups, including the Phoenicians, Druids and Romans. Jennifer Wexler, a historian at English Heritage who specializes in prehistoric sites, said archaeology suggests Stonehenge was built in stages over thousands of years, from the Late Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age, meaning between about 3000 BC and 1500 BC, and had various uses.
The Druidic connection is vague, but it's certainly part of Stonehenge's modern identity: in the 17th century, one of the early excavators suggested that the builders were likely Druids, and even after this was disproved (the oldest records of Druids date back to the 4th century BC, long after research suggests Stonehenge was built), the idea stuck.
It's not surprising that modern groups inspired by the past have adapted Stonehenge for their own purposes: “Every age has its own Stonehenge,” archaeologist Jacquetta Hawkes wrote in her 1967 essay “God in the Machine.” Poet William Blake called it “the edifice of eternal death.”
The reverence for the sun and the summer solstice has endured in England for centuries, appearing in Anglo-Saxon literature, medieval mystery plays and, of course, Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Due to the UK's relative northern location, we get less than six hours of daylight in midwinter, but on the summer solstice the sun rises before 5am and doesn't set until almost 9.30pm.
Dr Wexler, the English Heritage historian, said the location of the summer solstice was central to Stonehenge's design – perhaps unsurprising given how important the rhythms of the sky and the seasons were to the Late Neolithic, when the movements of the sun and stars governed life.
Chris Park, 51, a Druid from Oxfordshire, a bard, obet, druid, artist and beekeeper, said he believes the summer solstice transcends religion and nationality because it is something everyone can take part in and therefore “can bring us together in a meaningful moment of peace and celebration”.
At 4:52 a.m. on Thursday, standing in a field on Salisbury Plain with white-robed druids and blanket-wrapped tourists, we were all looking in the same direction at the same time (albeit some through cell phone screens). Our collective attention to the sun was a connection to each other and to people who stood in this place 5,000 years ago, gazing at the sun from the same angle, rejoicing as darkness gave way to light.
