Standing with Stones

When on the topic of ancient stone circles, Stonehenge is the one that inevitably springs to most people's minds. In fact, I would challenge anyone to name another henge in the UK, which is precisely what Standing with Stones presenter Rupert Soskin plans to remedy, taking us on a journey through the majestic megalithic monuments, burial sites and even houses of the British Isles. Travelling over 8,000 miles, Soskin shows us some incredible sites that are frequently overlooked, such as Avebury, the largest stonehenge in England, and Silbury Hill, the biggest man made mound in Europe. Not only does Standing with Stones provide a beautiful tour of these historical sites but Soskin takes us through some of the archaeological hypotheses surrounding their purpose in the times they were built. Could a henge, for example, have been an arena for bloodspots? Or could they have been wooden buildings that have rotted away, leaving only the stone doors and windows. Nobody is completely sure and the documentary serves mostly to demonstrate the many theories archaeologists have come up with. In a lengthy interview accompanying the film presenter Rupert Soskin and director Michael Bott discuss the making of their sprawling documentary down to the smallest details. It's interesting to hear them talk lovingly about each site and the adventures they went on to get the footage they needed, often coming up with shot lists and scripts in their camper van by the roadside. Also in the special features is a detailed slideshow of pictures taken along the way, accompanied by journal entries, lots of outtakes, a mildly interesting blooper reel, feature commentary and the original pilot film. During the interview Michael Bott states that out of the hundreds of stone circles they visited all except six were deserted, though Stonehenge was teeming with tourists. This imbalance seems to have been their main reason for making the documentary, and I must say that with the rich historical information and beautiful cinematography they make an impressive case for the thousands of deserted circles all over these magical Isles.