Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Though Stonehenge is iconic of the entire Mysteries of the ancient world genre of speculation, it isn’t a mystery at all. Stonehenge is a reflection of the spectacular capacities of human beings to produce monumental structures through collective labor.
Stonehenge is certainly the most elaborate and complex of the megalithic stone circles and appears to have been a pilgrimage site, not just for the ancient farmers who lived in the south of England but perhaps for people across the breadth of western Europe.
Construction of Stonehenge
Construction of Stonehenge began sometime around 5000 years ago with the inscription of a circular ditch about 330 feet (100m) across in the chalky soil of the Salisbury Plain. At about the same time or soon thereafter, the builders erected a massive monolith called the “heelstone” outside the circular ditch. Then, about 700 years later (about 4300 years ago), a new spurt of construction was commenced, and builders transported about 80 hard, dense stone to the site. These are the so-called bluestone from the Preseli Hills in southern Wales. The easiest way of transporting the stones, each weighing about 9,000 of pounds (4000 kg), involved a route that included land, river and coastal segments for a total distance of about 250 miles (400kilometers). The remaining bluestones and the empty sockets left where bluestones had been erected but were then removed much later, show that the builders erected them in two concentric semicircles, which were, in turn, concentric with the monument’s large original circle.
About 10 years later (4200 years ago), the monument started taking its iconic form when the builders began erecting the 30 massive sarsen stones. The sarsens are from sandstone outcrops in the area of Avebury, about 30 kilometers distant. Each of the sarsens stands nearly 3 meters above the ground and the weight about 22.5 tons. Following the already established theme of the monument, the sarsens were
Though Stonehenge is iconic of the entire Mysteries of the ancient world genre of speculation, it isn’t a mystery at all. Stonehenge is a reflection of the spectacular capacities of human beings to produce monumental structures through collective labor.
Stonehenge is certainly the most elaborate and complex of the megalithic stone circles and appears to have been a pilgrimage site, not just for the ancient farmers who lived in the south of England but perhaps for people across the breadth of western Europe.
Construction of Stonehenge
Construction of Stonehenge began sometime around 5000 years ago with the inscription of a circular ditch about 330 feet (100m) across in the chalky soil of the Salisbury Plain. At about the same time or soon thereafter, the builders erected a massive monolith called the “heelstone” outside the circular ditch. Then, about 700 years later (about 4300 years ago), a new spurt of construction was commenced, and builders transported about 80 hard, dense stone to the site. These are the so-called bluestone from the Preseli Hills in southern Wales. The easiest way of transporting the stones, each weighing about 9,000 of pounds (4000 kg), involved a route that included land, river and coastal segments for a total distance of about 250 miles (400kilometers). The remaining bluestones and the empty sockets left where bluestones had been erected but were then removed much later, show that the builders erected them in two concentric semicircles, which were, in turn, concentric with the monument’s large original circle.
About 10 years later (4200 years ago), the monument started taking its iconic form when the builders began erecting the 30 massive sarsen stones. The sarsens are from sandstone outcrops in the area of Avebury, about 30 kilometers distant. Each of the sarsens stands nearly 3 meters above the ground and the weight about 22.5 tons. Following the already established theme of the monument, the sarsens were