Although evidence from the second phase of Stonehenge construction is no longer visible, the abundant amount of post holes that date to the early 3rd millennium BC would suggest that the enclosure housed a timber structure within this period (Morner and Lind 2015). The postholes are comparatively smaller than Aubrey holes (measuring only 16inch in diameter and are not spaced as regularly). If recreated, it is evident that posts were placed in the northeast entrance with a parallel alignment of posts following from the southern entrance (Lawson 1997). During this process, the bank was reduced in height by the builders and the ditch continued to deposit upwards. Eventually it was made clear that the purpose of the holes, initially, changed into a funerary function sometime during this period (Morner and Lind 2015). As it was discovered afterwards, more than 25 Aubrey holes at the time of its commencement housed cremation burials after. Stonehenge’s eastern half houses more than thirty other cremations within the sites ditch and throughout other areas within the monument (Lawson 1997). It has been widely concluded based on this phase …show more content…
This sarsen circle enclosed five standing sarsen trilithons that were placed in a horseshoe plan (Lawson 1997). Approximately thirty kilometres north of Stonehenge, residing on the Marlborough Downs, rests a quarry. It is from this locale that the thirty massive sarsen stones are suspected to be brought from (Morner and Lind 2015). Of all the sarsen stones, eight are perceived to contain prehistoric carvings (Lawson 1997). The stones that have the most clearly visible engravings “…are representations of unhafted axe blades, probably indigenous flanged bronze axes… it seems most likely that these carving were added after the erection of the stones” (Morner and Lind 2015:
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...
...ncyclopedia of Archaeology, Ed. Deborah M. Pearsall. Vol. 3. Oxford, United Kingdom: Academic Press, 2008. p1896-1905. New Britain: Elsevier, Inc.
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).
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.
in the uneducated minds of popular culture from tie seventeenth century to the present. It
Powell, Eric A. "Solstice at the Stones." Archaeology 56.5 (2003): 36-41. JSTOR. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. .
One of the most obvious and famous forms of evidence for a social hierarchy in Iron Age Britain is Stonehenge. This structure can be seen as a communal effort, which it most certainly was. However, given the sheer size of the stones and the detail in which they are laid out, something as significant as Stonehenge suggests that there was an underlying purpose in the structure. (Riverside, P.4).
5. Howe, Helen, and Robert T. Howe. From the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. N.p.: Longman, 1992. Print.
However, the artefacts brought to England from Benin in 1897 were an anomaly. The craftsmanship and sophistication were such that some were reminiscent of the beautiful figures in the Hofkiche, Innsbruck 1502-1563 (plate 3.1.12. Visited...
Clarke, D., & Maguire, P. (200). Skara Brae: Northern Europe's best preserved neolithic village ; (p. 14). Edinburgh: Historic Scotland.
The Bronze Age ended at the beginning of the twelfth century in a collapse that appears to have been both sudden and difficult to define. A key reason that the cause of this collapse is so difficult to identify is because the collapse was so wide spread and complete. The groups we would look to for evidence on this event ceased existing, from the residents of Crete to the Greek mainland, removing their recording capabilities. We have archeological evidence, in the form of ruined cities, but most written records that provide insight into the collapse of the Bronze Age and the events of the world are Egyptian in origin, and thus are limited in their scope and reliability. In fact, these Egyptian records at
White, John B. Afterword. Stonehenge Decoded. By Gerald S. Hawkins. New York: Doubleday, 1965. 191-197.
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.
There are several theories as to what Stonehenge was. These ideas range from a calendar to an astronomical observatory to sacred grounds. These inferences are based upon the shape and positions of the stones that make up the monument. Stonehenge is made up of megaliths, or giant rocks. There are two kinds of these rocks at the structure, bluestones, which are about 8,000 pounds each, and sarsen stones, which can weigh up to 100,000 pounds each (Rattini, 2008). These rocks make up a henge, a group of circular ritual structures unique to the Late Neolithic era in Britain (Pitts, 2008). The first ring is a sarsen stone circle, the next ring a smaller circle of blue stones, then an even sm...
Third, the builders worked with more than 2 million pieces of stone, all of different shapes and sizes. This makes accurate building much more difficult. In spite of this, the upper chamber is perfectly horizontal and vertical up to one