Every nation is home to historic places that speak volumes about its past. These landmarks represent their country’s heritage and culture while connecting people to their roots and providing them with a sense of pride in belonging.
However, these historic places tend to be visited more by tourists than local people. What could be done to encourage local residents to visit these historic locations more often?
Stonehenge
Stonehenge has long captivated visitors and scholars in England. Though much is unknown about it, what we do know is that it was part of a complex of funerary and ceremonial sites connected by circular banked enclosures with inner ditches known as henges – with an inner ditch surrounding its outer edge.
At the outset of Neolithic period, roughly 23,000 years ago, Stonehenge’s surroundings were forested with pine and birch trees; as temperatures warmed further, these gave way to grasslands that provided suitable conditions for cattle grazing and crop cultivation.
People began gathering massive sarsen stones around 2500 BCE. After dressing and placing these smooth stones into horseshoe-shaped formations containing five tall trilithons (paired uprights linked by lintels) plus 30 more sarsens arranged into rings; with an inner ring featuring a large, sloping altar stone as its centerpiece.
Inside the henge were 56 holes known as Aubrey holes after the 17th-century archaeologist who first discovered them. These Aubrey holes contained bluestones weighing up to five tons each; others may have contained timber posts which marked significant astronomical events or may have served as placemarkers. Their proximity and alignment with sunrise on summer solstice, Heelstone and Altar Stone suggest it was meant as a pilgrimage site or place for spiritual renewal.
The Great Sphinx of Giza
The Great Sphinx of Giza is one of the world’s most beloved monuments. A massive statue with human features and the body of a lion, this monument was hand carved over millennia ago using ivory tools by artisans from Egypt. Measuring 66 feet tall with eyes 6 feet tall and ears 3 feet long, its presence has drawn millions of visitors who visit its grounds annually.
Nobody knows exactly who constructed the Sphinx and Egyptian authorities readily acknowledge its enigma. No inscription from its time of construction exists to account for it – even though many monumental projects were carefully documented by their pharaohs; somehow this one somehow got missed!
The most widely held theory regarding its purpose is that Khafre, the Pharaoh who commissioned it, wanted the Sphinx to represent an embodiment of his father – thus leading to its lion-like features being added. Additionally, it could have originally served as a temple; remnants of its walls still can be seen today just in front of it – or Lehner has an alternative theory which proposes it was intended as a resurrection machine.
Bagan
At its height during the 11th and 13th centuries, Bagan, modern day Myanmar, was an impressive temple building center with over 10,000 religious monuments such as pagodas, stupas, and shrines erected – often at great cost – in order to gain spiritual merit for themselves or kings who ruled from there.
Though much of Bagan is in disrepair, there are still stunning temples worth seeing – such as Shwezigon and Shwesandaw with their impressive teak Buddha images inside, and Bagan Museum which displays many ancient objects from temples such as stone inscriptions and wood carvings.
Though Bagan is of outstanding universal value, its heritage site is under threat from modern-day pressures. Conservation interventions were not considered suitable by international experts and natural disasters are ever present threatening its preservation. A heritage zoning plan exists to restrict development while an interagency working group oversees its management.
