Foamhenge

Foamhenge is a model of the ancient British monument Stonehenge, but made of polymeric foam.  It is located in Virginia, just off U.S. route 11 between Natural Bridge and Lexington.  The parking lot is basically a short dirt road, part of which had turned to mud because of recent rains (as indicated in my earlier post today).  Even so, I was able to find a feasible place to park, as did a family in a vehicle that showed up less than a minute after I did. 

Between the sign and parking lot (such as it is) is a sign indicating that Stonehenge was built over 1500 years by thousands of people using stones from the local area or other part of Britain, while Foamhenge was built by "4 or 5 Mexicans" and "one crazy white guy" who transported the foam pieces from Winchester, VA over several months.  The foam monument is a short walk uphill from the parking lot.  Here's a view, looking uphill, of part of the foam circle, including three lintels (horizontal stones, or in this case fake stones, that sit on top of two adjacent vertical fake stones).

On the other side of the ring are these three vertical fake stones, with another lintel sitting on two of them, thus forming a fake trilithon.  The stones on or partially in the ground are real.  The blue figure behind the trilithon will be explained below.

The figure and the fake stone on which it stands illustrates one theory about how Stonehenge was built.  According to this theory, the stones were moved magically by Merlin the magician.  Serious archaeologists, of course, know that Stonehenge was built far earlier than the time when Merlin and King Arthur were supposed to have lived.

Here are two more vertical foam pieces of different sizes, with the hills of Virginia in the background.

Another theory of how Stonehenge was built is that the stones were lifted with wooden structures similar to those shown here.  The two adult humans behind it give some idea of perspective.

Before leaving, I caught another shot of Merlin.