Stonehenge

Stonehenge is not only the most famous stone circle in Britain, but also the best-known ancient monument in the World, with at least ½ a million visitors each year. Located on Salisbury Plain, north of Salisbury, England, it is famous for debate,mysterie and speculation surrounding it.



2. Construction and builders

Stonehenge was not build in one single step. Most historians divide the construction into three stages, each marking a change in the great monument.



1. 3000BC the First Period: A earthwork ditch was dug around the site, there were wooden buildings placed around the center and there was only one single entry point. The 56 Aubrey Holes (named after John Aubrey, who discovered them,) were dug at this point, and probably held wooden posts. Some experts claim that the four Station Stones were placed at this time as well. These ones form a perfect rectangle within the circle of the Aubrey Holes, which was probably used for astronomical alignments. Some historian also say that the Slaughter Stone and the Heel Stone were placed at this time. The Slaughter Stone is a gargantuan block just inside the ditch. The Heel Stone is one of the most recognizable stones at Stonehenge; it is the largest stone there, and it stands outside of the regular circle. The Slaughter Stone is 6.6 meters tall, 2.1 meters wide, and .8 meters thick, weighing 28 tons. The Heel Stone is 7.6 meters tall, 5.2 meters wide, and 2.4 meters thick, weighing 35 tons. Very little is known about Stonehenge at this stage in its development.


2700BC-2000BC The Second Period: Sarsen Circle was erected, as well as the grand horseshoe of Trilithons in the center of the Circle. The Sarsen Circle is the outer ring of the center part of Stonehenge, with seven-ton lintels hoisted nearly 14\' in the air, forming a near-perfect circle. The sarsens (the pillars supporting the lintels) each weigh 25-30 tons, and the highest of them reach 5.5 meters high. The circle of sarsens is roughly 108 feet across, consisting of 30 standing stones (although only 17 stand today.) The five Trilithons are the most impressive parts of Stonehenge; they form the central horseshoe, and are the tallest

1500BC The Third Period: At the height of the Bronze Age the construction of two new circles of menhirs (free-standing stones.) has been seen. Stonehenge settled into its normal place in prehistoric society, and it is basically in the same form now as it was then



Between the Sarsen Circle and the Trilithons, there is a circle of \"bluestones,\" They are made of spotted dolerite, a stone which is rather different from the sandstone-like makeup of the sarsens and Trilithons. Each of the bluestones is roughly 4 tons in weight, and form a circle with perhaps as many as 60 stones. Then, inside the Trilithons, closest to the center of the monument, there is a horseshoe of bluestones, consisting of 19 stones.

The Altar Stone dominates the view, originally surrounded by the Trilithons and all the rest of the circles. Each Trilithon consists of two standing stones, with a crosspiece at top.



The stones themselves came from different areas. The Trilithons and Sarsens from Marlborough Downs, which is 18 miles away.

The Bluestones and the Altar Stone are suggested to be from southwestern Wales, 200 miles away. It is assumed that glaciers could have deposited the stones during the Ice Age.




Layout today:




1.1 Builders

popular beliefs was that Stonehenge was built by the Druids. These high priests of the Celts, constructed it for sacrificial ceremonies.

But researchers have proven this age-old theory linking Stonehenge\'s construction to the Druids impossible. Through modern techniques, scientists have discovered that its builders completed Stonehenge over a thousand years before the Celts ever inhabited this region Usually Druids worshipped in marshes and forests, but it has been verified that they did use Stonehenge occasionally as a temple of worship and sacrifice when they moved into the region.

But according to the three buildings periods, scientists came to the conclusion, that there . must have been three different tribes which built Stonehenge at different times.

3000 B.C., it is believe the first people to work on the site were Neolithic agrarians. Archaeologists named them the Windmill Hill people These people were a blend of the local peoples and Neolithic tribe members from Eastern England. They were one of the first semi-nomadic hunting and gathering groups with an agricultural economy and contained a strong reverence for circles and symmetry.

The Beaker people, came from Europe at the end of the Neolithic Period and invaded Salisbury Plain around 2000 B.C. They showed more reverence for their dead people by placing them in small round graves marked by mounds called tumuli. They were a very warlike tribe, because they buried their people together with weapons. They were highly organized, industrious, used sophisticated mathematical concepts, and managed their society by using a chieftain system. They began using metal implements and living in a more communal fashion. Scientists believe they were sun worshipers who aligned Stonehenge more exactly with certain important sun events, such as mid summer and winter solstices.





The Wessex Peoples are considered the third and final peoples to work on the Stonehenge site. They arrived around 1500 B.C. and were by far one of the most advanced cultures outside the Mediterranean during this period. They already were skillful and well-organized traders, controlling trade routes throughout Southern Britain. They were a very smart culture, wealthy, and used greater precision in their calculations and construction. It is felt they used these talents in finalizing Stonehenge

2. Legends

From the very beginning people wondered how Stonhenge was built and most of all, whatfor. So there have always been a lot of myths around Stonehenge. Probably the most famous legend of Stonehenge deals with King Arthur and Merlin the Wizard.

Long time ago there was King Vortigern, who ruled until the Saxon\'s, invaded England Vortigen married Hengist\'s , the leaders, daughter in hopes to stop the invasion but Hengist still planned to take over Briton.

One day near Salisbury, Hengist called a meeting of Britons and Saxons. During the meeting the Saxons attacked the Princes of Briton and \'cut the throats of about four hundred and sixty.\' This act lead to the battle of the Britons and Saxons at \'Mount Badon\' where King Arthur is mentioned for the first time.

One day Ambrosius Aurelianus, who was King Arthur's uncle, came to Salisbury where the Earls and Princes lay buried and was brought to tears. He wondered how to make the place memorable. Merlin told him of a holy stone building in Ireland, used for rituals and healing, which he should bring to this place and set it up round this plot in a circle.

They had to fight against the Irish people to get the circle but finally they won. Unfortunately it was impossible to move it, so Merlin had to use his magic powers to ship the stones back to Britain. There they were set up as they had been before, in a great circle around the grave of the murdered, where they should stand for always and ever.



Some also say, that the name "Merlin" is a corruption of the name of the ancient Celtic sky god "Myrrdin", who might have been worshiped at stone monuments.



Another tale says, that Stonehenge held, in the arrangements of its stones, a core of knowledge that sustained the lost Kingdom Atlantis.



It is also said, that its impossible to reckon the stones, without going insane or dying.



3. Original Purpose



3.1 Astronomy

The scientists say that Stonehenge was a sort of prehistoric calendar and an astronomical observatory. The stones were placed very precise on certain places so that the constructors could observe the beams of sun, moon and the stars by a sophisticated system of holes, station stones and imaginary axises. The use of such knowledge is partly obvious - recognizing the right moments for sowing and harvest, for preparing the stocks for winter and all the other things so important for agrarian societies. We can also presume that the significance of the system was used, for religious reasons - simple folks have never got to know how it works and had to believe in their Gods\' influence and the priests.



3.1 Temple

Another idea is, that it was used for ancient sacrifice by the peoples to there gods, due to the facts, presented by the construction of Stonehenge. The Alter Stone in the middle of the circle would have been perfect for a sacrifice of any kind, and the alignment of the stones look like pillars in a temple which means this could just as well been a temple.

Another evidence for sacrificing is, that there were a lot of skulls found, mainly in the Aubrey Holes not only animals, but also humans.

So, Stonehenge could have been a tomb for privileged people.



The priests saw those monuments as signs of their power, only they had so much influence on people, to make them build up such huge buildings.



4. Stonehenge and public

Stonehenge has always been to popular for its own good. The volume of visitors and the busy traffic in recent years has grown to such an extend it became a real problem and the building had to suffer a lot.



Now the Britain government planned a widening scheme for the A303 trunk road that would entail :

more than two kilometres of above ground road works, with dual carriageways, deep cuttings, slip roads and much more destructive actions through the 'most sensitive archaeological site in Europe'
a 200 metre viaduct over the floodplain of the River Till, part of the River Avon Special Area of Conservation, a site protected for its wildlife value in European law.
The WHS Management Plan,

tries to find solution for these problems, by a strategic framework to conserve and manage the site for future generations. Together with The Stonhenge Project History Organisation, they are planning to:


- Restorate the landscape for the conservation of the chalk grassland environment

- Abolishing the A344 and other current facilities, for grassing the land

- Within the area visible from the stones the whole place shall be grassed

- Removing of the facilities at the Stones and building a new visitor centre outside the World Heritage Site at Countness East

- Construction of a tunnel past Stonehenge










Stonehenge is a mysterie, that may never be solved.

Still it stands on its remote plain as an object of wonder and natural beauty melancholic, suffering time and immense popularity.