Jim Regan - Site Reviews
The Stone Pages
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Launched in February of 1996, The Stone Pages claims to be the "most comprehensive online guide to European megaliths and other ancient sites". Comprehensive may be an understatement, as the Web site currently catalogues over 280 'lithic' sites, from the famous, such as Stonehenge, and Skara Brae, (a 5000 year old settlement in Orkney) to the less celebrated -- but aptly named -- Hill O' Many Stanes (a collection of more than 200 stones fanned out over a hillside). Each location has been visited and photographed by the authors over 10 years of travel through France, Italy and the British Isles, and if 280 sites aren't enough, there are 150 more waiting to be added.
Each of these ancient sites can be accessed from several directions -- a Web site map, (especially useful for a site with over 700 pages) a search window, or by directory method, which divides the contents first by country, then by type (dolmen, hillfort, etc.).
Choosing a monument reveals a photograph (with a link to higher resolution copy) and some hyperlinked background information, ranging from the single sentence about St. Lythans Dolmen in Wales, to the essay that accompanies the photograph of Stonehenge. For those lucky enough to be planning a trip to the actual locations, information also includes the nearest town or village, whether the site is free to the public, and the degree of wheelchair access.
At all times an index frame offers such aids as a clickable Map, (to geographically locate the site being viewed) an extensive Glossary, and Site Evaluations -- a first-hand rating of an ancient site's General Impression, Ambience and Access. Last are the QuickTime VR files -- 25 panoramic images that share the view from such locations as the center of a stone circle, and the inside of a Neolithic home.
Stone Pages not only benefits from the appeal of the subject matter, but also from some exceptional photography (see the Stones of Stenness) and the wise use of bandwidth. Most QTVR files are under 100 Kb (I've had to sit through Welcome pages that were larger than that) and the high-res photographs are similarly frugal with file-size. This occasionally results in some 'banding' in certain parts of the still images -- usually the sky -- but it's a price gladly paid for the faster download. To further enhance the visual impact of the site, a grayscale is located on the home page for calibrating your monitor. (Many surfers don't realize how wildly images can vary on different machines, and using the grayscale increases the chances of seeing everything the site has to offer.)
The Stone Pages is an ironic name for something that exists only as electrical impulses in a virtual universe, and it's hard to ignore the fact that these already ancient sites will still be here long after the Web site that celebrates them (and the Web itself) has vanished. But, for this minuscule moment in time that the site endures, it's well worth the visit.
The Stone Pages can be found at http://utenti.micronet.it/dmeozzi/HomEng.html.
Jim Regan provides 'Today's Links' to the e-Monitor. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.