How Was Stonehenge Built?
What were the different stages of the construction of Stonehenge?
Stonehenge is a monolithic monument that is situated in Wiltshire, an English county 13km north of Salisbury. It is composed of earthworks surrounding larger standing stones in a circular setting. One of the most famous stone sites ever created, it is the centre of a complex site of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments, including several hundred burial mounds. Stonehenge was constructed in three stages, with each stage being an ‘improvement’ to the site. Recently, there have been efforts to restore destroyed or stolen sections of the monument.
Theories have been made concerning what Stonehenge was used for. Many people believe it was used as a temple of Sun-worship for various Sun-cults. Modern scientific beliefs state that it may have been used as a burial site. Professor Michael Parker Pearson, the leader of the Stonehenge Riverside Project, agrees with this hypothesis. He said in an interview with Washington AFP: “Stonehenge was a place of burial from its beginning to its zenith in the mid third millennium B.C. The cremation burial dating to Stonehenge 's sarsen stones phase is likely just one of many from this later period of the monument 's use and demonstrates that it was still very much a domain of the dead.”
The tools and building methods for constructing Stonehenge all those years ago must have been the height of building technology of the time. The ditches that the huge stones were placed in were dug from tools made from the antlers of red deer, and possibly wood. The underlying chalk on the stone were loosened with picks and shovelled with the shoulder blades of cattle. It was then loaded into baskets and carried away. Timber A-frames were erected to raise the stones, and that teams of people then hauled them upright using ropes. The topmost stones may have been raised up on timber platforms and slid into place or pushed up ramps. The carpentry-type joints used on the stones imply
Stonehenge is a monolithic monument that is situated in Wiltshire, an English county 13km north of Salisbury. It is composed of earthworks surrounding larger standing stones in a circular setting. One of the most famous stone sites ever created, it is the centre of a complex site of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments, including several hundred burial mounds. Stonehenge was constructed in three stages, with each stage being an ‘improvement’ to the site. Recently, there have been efforts to restore destroyed or stolen sections of the monument.
Theories have been made concerning what Stonehenge was used for. Many people believe it was used as a temple of Sun-worship for various Sun-cults. Modern scientific beliefs state that it may have been used as a burial site. Professor Michael Parker Pearson, the leader of the Stonehenge Riverside Project, agrees with this hypothesis. He said in an interview with Washington AFP: “Stonehenge was a place of burial from its beginning to its zenith in the mid third millennium B.C. The cremation burial dating to Stonehenge 's sarsen stones phase is likely just one of many from this later period of the monument 's use and demonstrates that it was still very much a domain of the dead.”
The tools and building methods for constructing Stonehenge all those years ago must have been the height of building technology of the time. The ditches that the huge stones were placed in were dug from tools made from the antlers of red deer, and possibly wood. The underlying chalk on the stone were loosened with picks and shovelled with the shoulder blades of cattle. It was then loaded into baskets and carried away. Timber A-frames were erected to raise the stones, and that teams of people then hauled them upright using ropes. The topmost stones may have been raised up on timber platforms and slid into place or pushed up ramps. The carpentry-type joints used on the stones imply
Bibliography: Books Chamberland, Andrew, The Archaeology of Death and Burial, Bronze Age Britain (Texas, 1999) Burl, Aubrey, A Brief History of Stonehenge: One of the Most Famous Ancient Monuments in Britain (Running Press, 2007) Websites http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/history.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page Stonehenge - http://www.megalithia.com/stonehenge/history.html Stonehenge - Phases - http://helios.acomp.usf.edu/~ssmagala/stonehenge/phases.html Stonehenge Construction Periods, Phases, and History - http://www.aboutstonehenge.info/index.php?pg=stonehenge-construction-periods Construction of Stonehenge - http://www.christiaan.com/stonehenge/index.php?pg=stonehenge-construction