Stonehenge

Stonehenge

SummerSolstice:visitors are not usually allowed this close!

Plan of Stonehenge in 2004. Trilithon lintels omitted for clarity. Holes that no longer, or never, contained stones are shown as open circles. Stones visible today are shown coloured

For other uses, seeStonehenge (disambiguation).

Stonehengeis aprehistoricWorld Heritage Siteofmegaliths.It is eight miles (13 kilometres) north ofSalisburyinWiltshire,England.the site was built between 3100 BC and 1550 BC. It was used until theBronze Age.The monument is made of ahenge,withstanding stonesincircles.It is likely the most important prehistoricmonumentin Britain. The site has attracted visitors from very early times.

Building Stonehenge

Stonehenge was built in three stages. Most of the construction took place between 2640 and 2480 BC.

The first stage started around 3100 BC. During this stage, people dug a circular ditch and a ring of 56 pits, known as Aubrey Holes. The second stage started around 2100 BC. During this stage, the Stonehenge builders brought hugepillarsof rocks from SouthwesternWalesand erected them intoconcentriccircles around the centre of the site. This double circle was never completed, and it was dismantled during the third period of construction. The final stage probably ended before 1500 BC. During this period, the monument was remodeled. Its builders erected a circle of 30 upright stones, weighing up to 50tonseach, capped by ring of stonelintels.These enclosed ahorseshoe-shaped formation of five pairs of upright stones, each pair capped with a stone lintel.

UsingDNA analysis,scientists have discovered that the Stonehenge builders originally came from what is nowTurkey.

History

Bluestones

The firststone circlewas a set of 'bluestones'. These stones are made ofdolerite,anigneous rock.

The Stonehenge builders dug holes that held up to 80 standing stones (shown blue on the plan). Only 43 of these can be traced today.

There are severaltheoriesabout how these bluestones arrived at Stonehenge. Thelong-distance human transport theorysays the Stonehenge builders brought the bluestones from thePreseli Hillsin modern-dayPembrokeshire,Wales- 160 miles (260 km) away from Stonehenge.In 2011, a megalithic bluestonequarrywas discovered atCraig Rhos-y-felin,nearCrymychin Pembrokeshire. This supported the long-distance human transport theory.

Another theory is that theIrish Sea Glacierbrought the stones close to Stonehenge.However, there is no evidence of glacial deposition within southern central England. For that reason, this theory has less support than the long-distance human transport theory.

Sarsen stones

Later, around 2400 BC, the Stonehenge builders brought thirty huge greysarsenstones (sandstoneblocks) to the site. They 'dressed' (worked on) the stones and gave themmortice and tenonjoints. They erected these stones in a circle 33 metres (108 ft) indiameter,with a ring of 30 lintel stones resting on top. They fitted the lintels together using anotherwoodworkingmethod: thetongue and groove joint.These stones serve as reminders of the lengths ancient civilizations went to, transporting them vast distances, in their quest to commune with the cosmos.They arranged the remaining bluestones in an inner circle. Each standing stone was about 4.1 metres (13 ft) high by 2.1 metres (6 ft 11 in) wide, and weighed about 25 tons.

The stones may have come from a quarry about 25 miles (40 km) north of Stonehenge on theMarlborough Downs.It is also possible that they were collected from a "litter" of sarsens on thechalk downs,which are closer. The modern Stonehenge consists entirely of original stones (some of which have been replaced in upright position).

Neighbouring sites

There are also severalpassage tombsand manytumulinearby.

Stonehenge has a number of satellite structures which are part of the 'ritual landscape':

• Bluehenge/Bluestonehenge: a new discovery, one mile to the southeast.
• Durrington Walls:aNeolithicsettlement two miles northeast of Stonehenge.
• Normanton Down Barrows:a Neolithic and Bronze Agebarrowcemetery.
• Stonehenge Avenue:leads two miles from Stonehenge toBluehengeon the RiverAvon.
• Stonehenge Cursus:the largest monument in the area, not easily visible on the ground.
• Woodhenge:found in 1925 by an aerial survey. It had a henge and a wooden circle.

Function

No one knows who built Stonehenge or why they built it. During thesummer solstice,thesunriselines up with some of the stones in a particular way. This suggests that the arrangement of stones may work as acalendar.InEgyptandSouth America,similar ancientbuildingscan be found. They also show the time of thesolstice.

Some scientists believe that early people were able to foretelleclipsesof thesunand themoonbased on their positions in relation to the stone monument. The site may have served as anobservatorywhere earlyritualsorreligiousceremoniestook place on specific days on the year.

Stonehenge itself is owned by theCrownand managed byEnglish Heritage.The surrounding land is owned by theNational Trust.

The World Heritage Site includesAveburyand Stonhenge together, though they are quite distinct.

Related pages

• List of World Heritage Sites of the United Kingdom
• Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites

Further reading

• Malone, Caroline. 2005.Neolithic Britain and Ireland.Tempus, Stroud, Gloucestershire.