Essay on Stonehenge

Thesis Statement: The Stonehenge is a complex work of art; as it has been built over different periods of time representing wide range of ideas and thoughts. It is a monument that encapsulates the identity of a collective society of an era. It portrays the belief and value system, status, faith, relationship with the supreme being (god), and technological knowledge of the citizens of a society that is associated with the making of the Stonehenge. The large span of time and ambiguity of the society related to the Stonehenge has made most archeological surveys uncertain and thus, creating a mystery about, why was a monument containing, just stones weighing thousands of tones, in a relatively isolated area built? What was the motivations and purpose behind building it? And, how all these elements give an account of the civilization existing around the area.

Stonehenge was built during three distinct periods. Each took centuries to built, its unknown why each stage ended abruptly

How did stone age people accomplish these vast amount of work? During a excavation, the Pearson’s team found a pick made of antler of red deer. Stone age people used these antler picks to dug the ditches and pits of the Stonehenge. But, how do they move stone to where they need to be? Some stones weight up 45 tons. The method is still unknown. Many archeologists have their guesses such as roller made of tree trunks, timber tracks with grease. A new theory was suggested by the Andrew Young in his Ph.D. thesis that stone age people might know how to use a ball-rolling technology to move large stones. Once stones were move to the location, they were carved to desired shape by hammer stones, which was found near the Stonehenge. The construction of Stonehenge is liked the space progrom for modern time

Stonehenge history is one of the unsolved mystery by itself because the size of the stones. 3000 B.C. was a rough age that’s the people didn’t had the technology to carry these rocks. Researchers found that the gigantic stone used to build Stonehenge were brought from different area. The assumption is that the stones were carried and brought from somewhere else not close.

No place has generated so much speculation and wild theories as the standing stones of Stonehenge. After traveling for miles through the rolling hills and plains of the English countryside the sight of this unusual structure made me gasp. A walk around it only provoked more strange feelings. There's a sense that this is something very important. For over 5000 years it has stood silent vigil over the

It is believed to have been built by people from all over Great Britain, based on archaeologists’ analysis of cows’ teeth found near Stonehenge. It is likely that these people travelled to the area specifically to work on the project (Feder 308). Construction on Stonehenge began about 5,000 years ago and was not completed until about 1,500 years later. Stonehenge was built in stages; the first step being to excavate a ditch (Feder 305). Once the ditch was perfectly circular, stones were carried in and arranged. To get some stones on top of others, it is believed a scaffolding and lever system was devised to raise the top stones high enough to be place over the others (Feder 306). The building of Stonehenge involved complicated planning and execution as far as designing it and engineering ways to move the large stones. This is evidence of social complexity because the people responsible were advanced enough to design and create this. Stonehenge also shows evidence of social complexity because elaborate burials suggest it was a place of ritual significance (Feder 308). The Amesbury Archer is the name given to the remains of a man found in what Feder describes as “the most impressive of the graves,” due to his adornment with “gold jewelry, copper knives, and flint tools” (Feder 308-309). Based on analysis of the Amesbury Archer man’s wounded leg and the isotopes in his teeth, archeologists believe Stonehenge may have been a

Although Stonehenge and the Pyramids are both marvels of the ancient world, the differ from each other in many ways. While the construction for both began around the same time period – construction for Stonehenge began around 3100 BCE (Dr. Senta German) while the pyramids began around 2580 BCE (The Great Pyramid of Giza) – the time spent building Stonehenge far exceeded the time spent building the Pyramids. Unlike the Pyramids, Stonehenge was built in three phases. The first phase of construction began “when a great circular ditch about six feet deep was dug with a bank of dirt within it about 360 feet in diameter, with a large entrance to the northeast and a smaller one to the south” (Dr. Senta German). Within this ditch, known as a henge, were 56 pits, known as Aubrey holes filled with either upright bluestones or upright wooden beams, whose original purpose is unknown. The second phase began approximately 100-200 years later and involved a circle of upright wooden posts in the center of this henge. More upright posts were also erected near the northeast and southern entrances. During this phase, the site of Stonehenge was used for burials; “at least 25 of the Aubrey holes were emptied and reused to hold cremation burials and another 30 cremation burial pits were dug into the ditch of the henge and in the eastern portion within the henge enclosure” (Dr. Senta German). During the third and final stage, occurring 400-500 years later, Stonehenge was completely remodeled. The central wooden beams from stage two

Astronomical observations would have indeed taken place, However rather than being for the sake of accumulating data regarding the movement of celestial bodies, like modern observations, it was solely for the purpose observations that were most likely intended to indicate the appropriate days of the yearly ritual cycle.Stonehenge was most likely primarily used as a ritual site, while its secondary purpose was an astronomical observation site in service to these rituals, rituals that were performed by account civilisations that act as a renewing and connecting process, thereby connecting the people to the land. (The Stonehenge: Stonehenge rituals) The set of ring and horseshoe shapes on the empty Salisbury Plain, are approximately 4,000 years

The oldest part of Stonehenge, called Stonehenge I (constructed ca. 3100 BCE), consists of little more than a circular ditch dug in the soil of the Salisbury plain, with the excess soil piled up to make an embankment approximately six feet tall. This area is approximately three hundred thirty feet in diameter, and encompasses “Stonehenge proper” – the familiar circles of massive stones that once stood

Stonehenge was build by 3 different tribes. Stonehenge was build 5,000 years ago when the 3 tribes created Stonehenge. We excavated bones from humans and animals. In between 3100 B.C and 1600 B.C the Stonehenge was growing up. I think the Stonehenge was build by the England group.

Located in Wiltshire England, Stonehenge is a World Heritage site consisting of 4,500 year-old stones with some reaching heights up to 4.5m (15ft). Ever since the Middle Ages, the site has been one of the greatest mysteries in Europe being subject to multiple speculations and theories.

Stonehenge has always been questioned for what it is by people around the world for generations. What is it? what does it represent? Who built it? Was it aliens? Ok, maybe not the last question, but even today there are many different ideas for what it was used for. Just recently, at a site called Blick Mead, David Jacques, an archaeologist at the University of Buckingham, discovered a house that could be one of England’s earliest, dating back to 4,300 B.C.. The area of Blick Mead is about a mile from Stonehenge. Even though when this house was in use, Stonehenge was not even close to becoming erected, it still plays a role in Stonehenge. Stonehenge is the most iconic monument and is listed as one of the wonders of the world, but it is

Over a span of 2,000 years, monuments have been added to Stonehenge. While most are buried today, they are still visible and well preserved. Stonehenge’s features include the Aubrey Holes, 350 burial mounds, Cursus, Woodhenge, Durrington Walls Henge, Stonehenge Avenue, and West Amesbury Henge. The Aubrey Holes were the first monuments in Stonehenge, built around 3,000 BCE. The Aubrey Holes were 56 pits inside of a circular enclosure formed by a bank and a ditch. Its main purpose was to store cremated ashes of dead bodies. After the Aubrey Holes were made, bluestones and sarsens were dragged from long distances to construct the circular stone monument. The 350 burial mounds were long barrows meant to cremate and bury the dead. The Cursus, built from 3600 to 3400 BCE, were two long earthwork enclosures. Both Woodhenge and Durrington Walls Henge were timber circle monuments built in 2,300 and 2,500 BCE, respectively. Stonehenge Avenue was an ancient road that lead to Stonehenge monument and was built from 2,500 to 1,700 BCE. Finally, West Amesbury Henge was a stone circle monument built in 2,400

A lot of these stone circles no longer stand, like the ones at Carnac. Stone Henge, the most famous of the megaliths, is located in Wiltshire, England, and was built around 3000 – 2000 BC. The biggest stones at Stone Henge are the sarsen stones, averaging height about 30 feet and weight 25 tons. The sarsen stones make up the posts and lintels at the site, meaning that upright stones hold the flat stones on top of them. Smaller stones, known as bluestones, make up the inner circle of Stone Henge, usually weighing around 4 tons. Stone Henge's architecture lines up with astronomical events, like the Summer Solstice. On the Summer Solstice, the sun rises behind a marker stone, known as the Heel Stone. The sun's rays shine through the posts that align perfectly with the Heel Stone, creating a powerfully aligned image. A ditch surrounding the megalithic site contains human remains, some of which have been identified as humans from other places, not just people native to the area. There are remains of a metal worker that4 lived in Germany around 3000 BCE and a little boy from the Mediterranean that was buried around 5000 BCE. This suggests that people may have pilgrimaged here as a place for burial. It seems that the neolithic people that built Stone Henge had a vast knowledge of astronomy, architecture, and engineering. It is largely believed that this colossal site was primarily used for religious ceremonies that took taking place with astronomical

If the rocks were ever repainted in the past, it is unknown as the weather would have wiped off all remnants of other possible hues. The stone circles are built from two types of rock. The massive sarsens, a sandstone and smaller igneous rocks, known as the bluestones. The sarsen stones are from Marlborough, U.K., 30 kilometers north of Stonehenge while the bluestones are from the Preseli Hills in north Pembrokeshire, Wales. The stones helped to transform the layout of the monument so that it was aligned on the sunrise on the longest day of the year; and sunset on the shortest day.