Rock Story

I have a master’s in archaeology. I got it at the University of Sheffield in Sheffield, England. After the pieces of this bracelet were assembled, the shapes and colors reminded me of Avebury. The shiny flecks of Pyrite on the Quartz rectangles, the stark, coldness of the White Agate coins, and the imperfect shapes of the grey freshwater pearls stirred my memories of the Upper Kennet Valley.

During my coursework, we went on a 2 week long field trip all over England and Wales visiting archaeological sites. We must have seen and investigated 18 different places, including the infamous Stonehenge. Avebury was the one that we visited that astonished me. It was electrifying. Standing in that stone circle, I got goose bumps on my arms and the little hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I can still feel that wonder and awe writing about it now. Without a doubt, this henge held deep significance for whoever created and used it. Someone (or ones) was compelled to upright theses gigantic rocks, some weighing as much as 40 tons. There must have been a damn good reason. Even with all of our modern science and technology we can only speculate. And after more then 5,000 years, 27 of the 98 stones are still standing – mocking gravity and defying psychics.