The Guardian of Stonehenge

Jonathan Jones, art journalist for The Guardian [a British daily newspaper], has turned his critical eye on modern Pagans for their tradition of gathering at sacred Stonehenge to revel in the sun's rising on the day of the Summer Solstice.  In his blog post, Save Summer from Midsummer Madness, Jonathan questions why such a "daft festival" should even be allowed.  He claims "There is not even a theological justification, for no connection exists between Stonehenge and modern paganism."


I'm a bit taken aback to have found an unlikely expert on all things Stonehenge--  not in the archaeological, astronomical or anthropological fields [as one might have guessed] but rather in the field of journalism.  And what credentials can you boast, Mr. Jones, that offer a more accurate historical record of Britain's beloved sacred circle than those in previously stated fields who have studied its origins and possible purposes? 


Because it is experts in said fields, such as American astronomer Gerald Hawkins, who believed that ancient peoples used the monument to anticipate a wide range of astronomical phenomena, including solstices & eclipses [About.com Space/Astronomy].  It is probable that early architects were sun worshipers since the axis which divides Stonehenge is oriented towards the midsummer sunrise.  


Investigations of Stonehenge over the past 100 years have revealed the ancient structure was built in several stages between 2800BC to 1800BC, predating the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England.  Because modern paganism is a connection to the spiritual worship of a pre-christian world, it is more than a little pretentious of a newspaper journalist to state that there is no connection between Pagans today and ancient rituals once held at the mysterious site [as documented by invading Romans, including Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico].