Search

Avebury. 23 June 2020. 3:30 am. Awaiting the sunrise. Our purpose? To ascertain the effect of the solstice dawn on the stones of the Cove, also known as the Devil’s Brandirons. The Cove is at the c...

There are well-established links between mental health and the environment. Mental illness is a global issue, and international policies increasingly focus on promoting mental health well-being through community-based approaches, including non-clinical initiatives such as therapeutic landscapes and the use of heritage assets. However, the empirical evidence-base for the impact of such initiatives is limited. This innovative study, known as Human Henge, used a mixed-methods approach to investigate the impact of immersive experiences of prehistoric landscapes on the well-being of participants with mental health issues. Uniquely, the study followed participants for a year after their participation in the project to explore the long-term impact of their experiences on their mental well-being. Findings highlight that, overall, participants experienced improved mental health well-being from baseline to mid- and end-of programme (p = 0.01 & 0.003), as well as one-year post-programme (p = 0.03). Qualitative data indicated the reconnection of participants with local communities, and with other people, in ways that improved their mental health well-being. These data highlight the effectiveness of using heritage as a means of improving the well-being of people with mental health issues.

Topographical and geophysical surveys carried out in August 2002 at three monuments in the Preseli Hills of Pembrokeshire are reported: Bedd Arthur, Gors Fawr and Meini Gwyr. Previously unrecorded features were revealed at all three sites, most spectacularly at Meini Gwyr which, from the evidence of geophysical survey, appears to be a multi-phase monument that includes a double pit-circle, hengi-form monument and embanked enclosure with an internal stone circle. Comparisons are made with plans prepared by Flinders Petrie in 1926, published here for the first time. A viewshed analysis of the surveyed sites and others of similar kind in the area allows an appreciation of landscape setting and intervisibility. It is suggested that the stone circles are sited in relation to upland stone sources. All the monuments considered here are compared with contemporary structures recorded elsewhere in the British Isles. It is concluded that while the stone circles and oval setting fit comfortably within a distribution pattern that extends across most of the British Isles, the later phases of Meini Gwyr at least belong to a more localized tradition of monument building focused on the Irish Sea region.