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Theories regarding the purpose of Stonehenge include all listed
Essay themes on stonehenge
Essay themes on stonehenge
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One of the most mysterious places in the world, Located in Wiltshire, England in a wide open grassy field sits Stonehenge a lard circle of randomly placed rocks. Sometime around 1300 BC the first stage of construction began, many experts argue the different times of when Stonehenge was constructed (Historykings, 2011). The most controversial thing about Stonehenge is its use. There are many thoughts of what Stonehenge was used for, some thoughts may be based on their religious and spatial beliefs. That Stonehenge was used for different reasons, depending on their religious beliefs they may have different views.
Alien landing place or a burial ground? Could Stonehenge have been used as either of these or was it astronomical calendar for people of ancient times. Till this day many scientist still do not know exactly what Stonehenge was used for. After a lot of research scientist found evidence that Stonehenge was built in six different stages (Historykings, 2011). Stonehenge was abandon for nearly five hundred years or more in between each different stage of building. Stage one of Stonehenge began in 3000 BC and the completion was in 1520 BC, however it’s still changing ever day (Hayes, 2011).
Stage one of Stonehenge was built by native Neolithic people way before any modern things could have been used to help moving these huge bluestones. The Neolithic people dug a circle three-hundred feet in diameter; these ditches were known as Aubrey holes. These holes were discovered in 1666 by a man named John Aubrey. Scientist found evidence that the Aubrey holes that were dug the ditch with deer antlers which were found in the ditches as well as very old cow remains that are centuries old. The Aubrey holes were twenty f...
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...from weathering; however no construction has been done to it. Some bluestone has also been taken during the medieval times by the Romans. During the 16th century George Villagers dug a lard deep hole within Stonehenge looking for treasure. However he didn’t find any treasure but he found ashes and pieces of burn bone. Also many stones now have holes drilled in them from the river side project conducting test on the rocks. Recent evidence found shows that the ditches or Aubrey holes dug were filled with wooden post that help welsh blue stones that were part of the cremation process. Riverside project also found the area around the holes and the circular bank contained one hundred fifty to two hundred forty cremation remains. These remains found closer to the Stonehenge may have been people of higher social status feeling that they were to be closer to the monument.
Cahokia also constructed Ethagy mounds that were shaped like animals when viewed from the air. They also created the “American Woodhenge.” This woodhenge was constructed of 5 circles made from 12-60 wooden posts. These posts would likely have been used as a calendar of sorts marking the solstices, equinoxes and festivals important to the residents.
Stonehenge was built in several different phases beginning with the large white circle, 330 feet in diameter, surrounded by an eight foot-high embankment and a ring of fifty-six pits now referred to as the Aubrey Holes.(Stokstad, p.53; Hoyle) In a subsequent building phase, thirty huge pillars of stone were erected and capped by stone lintels in the central Sarsen Circle, which is 106 feet in diameter.(Stokstad, p.54) This circle is so named because the stone of which the pillars and lintels were made was sarsen. Within the Sarsen Circle were an incomplete ring and a horsesho...
The content of this project is based on the largest and most complete megalithic structure in Europe, The Stonehenge. It resides in center of the southern England; on the wide spread Salisbury Plains. It is said to be old approximately four thousand years, and it is even considered older than the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Standing there over such a long time, it has been the subject of research and mystery in general, for a really long time. Dozens of notable scientists, emperors and others expressed their admiration and interest through different means of explorations and excavations. There have been various theories on how it was built, and what the purpose of it was, and some of them are really intriguing and interesting such. Some thought it was built as a solar-lunar calendar, some said that it had medical purposes for the giants that had built it, it was considered a ceremonial place, temple of veneration, a portal and lastly but not less important, there were some associations of Stonehenge to the aliens. The two specific theories on the Stonehenge’s importance will be discussed and summarized in this essay. First theory comes from an astronomical stand point interpreted by Mr. Chris Witcombe, and the second theory might sound unusual when said the Stonehenge represents the human vulva, and this theory is interpreted by Anthony Perks(PhD) and Darlene Bailey(BA).
There is an ongoing debate on whether the Parthenon Marbles, now located in London, England, should be returned to their original homeland of Athens, Greece. The marbles were removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin from 1801-1812 and transported to England. They were sold to the British government in 1816 and put in the British Museum where they have been for the last 200 years. I believe that the marbles should now be returned to Greece, not only because of the method and circumstances surrounding their removal, but because they are original pieces of the oldest and most symbolic structure in Greek history that epitomizes the pinnacle of Ancient Classical Greece and the beginning of western democracy through artistic ingenuity.
Stonehenge is located in Southern England on what is known as the Salisbury Plain. The structure looks different than it once did, however. Today, Stonehenge suffers the effects of time and pernicious acts by people. Originally, in the years after completion, the structure was made up of “several concentric circles of megaliths, very large stones.” (5) Stonehenge consists a circular layout of approximately one hundred megaliths. On the tops of them another flat stone was placed to make a continuous ring of horizontal stones. These structures are known as trilithons.
Because of the scarcity of the archaeological record at the stone rings, any attempts to
Powell, Eric A. "Solstice at the Stones." Archaeology 56.5 (2003): 36-41. JSTOR. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. .
Stonehenge is located on Salisbury Plain in Southern England. Although it is not the largest henge (circle of stones) of the Neolithic Period, it is a remarkable site because it is one of the most complicated megalithic sites. Stonehenge was repeatedly reworked from 3100 to 1500 B.C.E. (Encyclopedia Brittanica 287). Each new major building phase added new elements to the site. The present-day arrangement at Stonehenge is the result of the last building phase which ended nearly 3,500 years ago.
Recent research from the Stonehenge Riverside Project suggests that when Stonehenge was first assembled (c2500 BC), its main purpose was to serve as a burial ground. However, it seems clear that for those who came in possession of it later on, it would have been used as a statement of power – "These are my lands, this is my construction and is an example of my wealth in resources". (Riverside, P.4).
Woodhenge is a circle of wooden posts that had been put into the ground, forming what is believed to be a calendar. Some people believe that this solar calendar was formed to possibly help the people of Cahokia with knowing when to plant and harvest their crops that they grew. (Hurst, 1994) There is evidence that these large wooden stakes had been replaced multiple times which could be evidence that there could have been some sort of conflict that took place in Cahokia that had lead to the destruction of Woodhenge at some point in the history of the
Although nobody knows what Stonehenge was intended for or how it was created, there are many contradiction beliefs about who designed it, how Stonehenge was built and the purpose of the ancient group of standing stones on Salisbury Plain. Stonehenge seems to have been in continuous human use from about 3100BC to 1100BC. The name Stonehenge was recorded in literature from the 12th century and is thought to relate to the idea of stones hanging in the air.
As Stonehenge is approached, the forty giant stones seem to touch the sky. Most of the stones stand twenty-four or more feet high. Some stones weigh as much as forty tons. Others are smaller, weighing only five tons. At first glance, the stones may seem to be a natural formation. But a closer look shows that only human imagination and determination could have created Stonehenge.
Behind every great structure in the world, there are the people who made them, and who took the time and effort to design them. Those who made Stonehenge succeeded in creating an incredibly complex and mysterious structure that lived on long after its creators were dead. The many aspects of Stonehenge and the processes by which it was built reveal much about the intelligence and sophistication of the civilizations that designed and built the monument, despite the fact that it is difficult to find out who exactly these people were. They have left very little evidence behind with which we could get a better idea of their everyday lives, their culture, their surroundings, and their affairs with other peoples. The technology and wisdom that are inevitably required in constructing such a monument show that these prehistoric peoples had had more expertise than expected.
The Parthenon is an amazing Greek temple that was built 2,500 years ago. Even the architects of today have numerous questions about how it was constructed and how it has held up through its eventful past. The Parthenon's detailed appearance is not its only meaningful quality. The Parthenon was constructed as a temple to the goddess, Athena, and as an icon of the Greek people themselves. The Parthenon represents the Greek ideals of humanism, idealism, and rationalism.
Stonehenge, the most famous Neolithic monument, had a great significance to the ancient people of England. The monument, which is located in the Salisbury Plain, was built and reconstructed many times starting in about 3200 BC to about 1650 BC. The stones that were used to construct the monument weighed anywhere from 25 to 50 tons apiece, in some cases the stones had to be dragged to the plain from up to 20 miles away.(Marvin Perry,19) Stonehenge went through three major phases, the first of which was when the ancient people created a bank of chalk and a ditch, inside the bank there was 56 pits. The second phase was when 82 blocks of bluestone, about 4 tons each, were brought to the site. Using the bluestone the ancient people made a double circle in the bank and they formed an avenue leading to the River Avon. The third phase was the ancient people removed the bluestone and replaced it with sandstone, weighing 25 to 50 tons each.(Stonehenge,1) The main reason for Stonehenge being built by the ancient people of England was as a calendar because they needed a way of keeping track of important dates.