| agent |
unknown (European builder) |
| culturalContext |
British; European |
| date |
ca. 3200- ca. 1600 BCE (inclusive) |
| description |
Visitors see today the remains of the final stage of Stonehenge, a prehistoric temple
used as a place of worship and burial. In its first stage it was a large earthwork--"henge"--a
bank and ditch enclosing the Aubrey holes (named after their 17th century discoverer)
arranged in a circle. Later (around 2100 BCE) 80 bluestones were brought from the
Preseli mountains in Wales and arranged in a double circle in the center. Somewhat
later sarsen stones were arranged in an outer circle with continuous lintels and five
trilithons were arranged in a horseshoe, the axis of which pointed to the midsummer
sunrise. Even later (1550 BCE) the bluestones were rearranged in the horseshoe and
circle.
Digital Imaging Project; Mary Ann Sullivan, Bluffton University; http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/
(accessed 2/23/2009) [description source] |
| inscription |
|
| location |
Stonehenge (Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom) [site]
on the Salisbury Plain [location note] |
| material |
stone; sarsen (sandstone); bluestone |
| measurements |
29.7 m (diameter); 6.7 m (height, tallest stone); 45.2 ton (weight, largest stone) |
| relation |
|
| rights |
|
| source |
Core 4 Sample Database (VCat) |
| stateEdition |
|
| stylePeriod |
Late Bronze Age; Neolithic |
| subject |
death or burial; timekeeping; Astronomy, Ancient; Sun Rising and setting; prehistoric
stone circle; megaliths; lunar temple; solar temple; standing stones; religion and
mythology; ceremonial site; post-and-lintel
|
| technique |
construction (assembling) |
| textref |
|
| title |
Stonehenge [cited, true, en]
Stone Henge [cited, false, en] |
| worktype |
buildings; religious buildings; temples; buildings; research buildings; observatories;
built works; monuments
|
|
|
|
| image courtesy Mary Ann Sullivan |
|
