Young adults from Mendip YMCA, Frome and Devizes Explorer Scouts had a rare opportunity to get behind the scenes and the stones on an after-hours visit to Stonehenge and Wiltshire Heritage Museum this month. The visit is part of the Heritage Lottery funded  ‘Measuring the Land’, introducing young adults to the ancient and more recent heritage of the Wessex Landscape, and the geometry that underlies it. The group included the team responsible for the extraordinary Yatesbury crop circle created in July this year.

Led by museum director David Dawson, the group had the chance to visit the museum and see some of the extraordinary Bronze Age treasures unearthed from the local landscape. Highlights were evidence of ancient tatooing, piercing and rituals more reminiscent of North American Indians.

The group then went on to Stonehenge, with a chance to step off the path and go into the centre of the circle. “It was cool (well really cold actually!) to get to go inside the famous circle at Stonehenge. Shame we couldn’t touch the stones, although apparently people used to be given hammers to knock off a bit of stone to take home!” said Luke from Mendip YMCA.

Measuring the Land is the final phase of Break 3: a project devised by Rook Lane Arts Trust and Frome Community Learning Partnership to bring maths to life through creativity and now heritage.

Next task for the Measuring the Land team in Frome will be to interview people with links to crop circles; landowners, makers,  witnesses. If you would like to be involved, click on the get involved button at the top of the page.