Can any of you give me more info on Stone Henge..?

Question

How Old..?
Why its there.
What was it used for..

My Kids are asking this and its now a school project.
( Iv got some nice pix of the stones , message me if you want to see them )

Thanks in advance.

wow.... you guys know your "Stones"..lol..Kevin , Thanks mate for the great links... the pix are very good.

Flamboy... You must be the owner..? great answer... ( I was on the A303 for 4 hours .!! ... ) take about busy.!!! the road was total HELL ...it took me 10 hours to get from "The Stones" back to Thurrock Essex....( M25... Dont Ask ..).. nuff said.

Answer 1

The best-known of all megalithic sites dates back 4000 years .
Certainly the best known of all megalithic sites, Stonehenge stands in isolation on the undulating chalk of Salisbury Plain, west of Amesbury, between the busy A303 and A344 roads. At first sight this unique and enigmatic site appears smaller than imagined, but the tallest upright stone is 6.7m (22ft) high, with another 2.4m (8ft) below ground.
The outermost element of the site is the Avenue that runs straight down a gentle slope for 530m (560yds) into Stonehenge Bottom. The Avenue consists of twin banks about 12m (40ft) apart with internal ditches, and it begins at the entrance to the earthwork enclosure. Here is the Heel Stone, a large upright unworked sarsen (hard sandstone) which lies immediately adjacent to the A344 road. It is worth noting that the nearest source of stones of the size represented by the large sarsens at Stonehenge is on the Marlborough Downs, about 30km (18mi) to the NE. It can only be assumed that these stones (the heaviest of which weighs about 45 tons) were transported on some type of sledge.
Moving inwards from the Heel Stone is an earthwork enclosure that consists of a ditch and an interior bank, the height of which was calculated by Professor Atkinson as being about 1.8m (6ft). It is known that there were at least two entrances, the one now visible (facing NE) and one to the south. Lying within the entrance is an unworked and now recumbent sarsen stone, stained a rusty red caused by rainwater acting on iron, and known as the Slaughter Stone. Arranged around the inner edge of the earthwork bank were originally four small uprights: the Station Stones, of which two are still visible. Immediately adjacent to the bank is a ring of 56 pits, known as the Aubrey Holes, marked by circular concrete spots. The area between the inner edge of the bank and the outermost stone settings includes at least two further settings of pits: the Y and Z holes.
On the central area of the site there are the stone settings, the sophisticated arrangements that set Stonehenge apart from any other prehistoric monument in Europe. In their construction two types of stone were used: sarsen and bluestone. The sarsens used in the central settings are much larger. The bluestone is a mixture of rocks found on the Preseli Mountains in SW Wales. The most widely accepted theory regards the arrival of the bluestones on Salisbury Plain as the result of human effort, with the route being partly overland and partly by water.
In its complete form the outermost stone setting consisted of a circle of 30 upright sarsens, of which 17 still stand, each weighing about 25 tons. The tops of these uprights were linked by a continuous ring of horizontal sarsen lintels, only a small part of which is now still in position. The stones in the sarsen circle are carefully shaped and the horizontal lintels are joined not only by means of simple mortice-and-tenon joints, but they are also locked using what is effectively a dovetail joint. The edges are smoothed into a gentle curve which follows the line of the entire circle.
The bluestone setting, concentric the outer sarsen circle, consisted originally of about 60 stones, but many have fallen, dissolved or been crushed. Inside these two circles lies the sarsen horseshoe, consisted originally of five sarsen trilithons (a Greek word that means three stones), each comprising two uprights with a horizontal lintel. Although now fragmentary, the arrangement shows the careful grading of the five trilithons, the tallest of which is 6.7m (22ft) high above ground level. Enfolded within this massive horseshoe lies a smaller horseshoe arrangement of upright bluestones.
Current archaeological research shows that this site was constructed and modified on various phases, spanning several centuries:

Pre-Stonehenge (9th-8th millennium BC): at least 4 mesolithic pits which originally contained big pine posts, in a line about 200m from the present henge site

Stonehenge 1 (from 3100 BC): construction of the circular bank, the ditch, and the 56 Aubrey Holes which probably originally contained timber posts

Stonehenge 2 (from 2550 BC): pottery, animal bones, and cremated human remains placed in ditch; cremations deposited in some of the partially filled Aubrey Holes; complex of posts in interior and in entrance causeway

Stonehenge 3 (from 2100 BC): sequence of stone-related structures. A close dating is not possible, but the sequence was probably as follows:
Bluestones from Wales erected in q and r holes and then dismantled
Sarsen circle and trilithons erected, possibly also a bluestone setting which may have included trilithons, this latter then dismantled
Bluestone circle and oval setting
Arc of bluestones removed from oval to leave present horseshoe setting
Y and Z holes dug, probably for stones which were never erected; during this phase the avenue was also constructed.
Early mention of Stonehenge was made in 1135 by chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, who claimed that it was brought by a tribe of giants from Africa to Ireland, and from there flown by the wizard Merlin across the sea. Another legend claims that the stones were stolen from an Irish woman by the Devil, and re-erected on Salisbury Plain by Merlin for Ambrosius Aurelianus, the King of Britons.
Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site owned by English Heritage. This conservation organization, along with the National Trust (which owns 587ha of land surrounding the monument), is working towards removing the A344 road and improving the landscape around the stones. Their aim is to restore Stonehenge to its isolated dignity. In fact, as one of the most visited monument in England, the site is always overwhelmed with tourists. The best approach is early in the morning or in the evening, when it is not open to the public. There are magnificent views of the monument coming by car from the A303. In the Salisbury Museum are objects found during excavations at Stonehenge and an original William Turner painting of the site.

Answer 2

Stonehenge
'
Stonehenge is a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument located near Amesbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury. Its geographical location is 51.179 North, 1.8265 West [1]. It is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones and is one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world. Archaeologists think that the standing stones were erected between 2500 BC and 2000 BC although the surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986 in a co-listing with Avebury henge monument, and it is also a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument. Stonehenge itself is owned and managed by English Heritage whilst the surrounding downland is owned by the National Trust.

Development of Stonehenge

The Stonehenge complex was built in several construction phases spanning 2,000 years, although there is evidence for activity both before and afterwards on the site.

Dating and understanding the various phases of activity at Stonehenge is not a simple task; it is complicated by poorly-kept early excavation records, surprisingly few accurate scientific dates and the disturbance of the natural chalk by periglacial effects and animal burrowing. The modern phasing most generally agreed by archaeologists is detailed below. Features mentioned in the text are numbered and shown on the plan, right, which illustrates the site as of 2004. The plan omits the trilithon lintels for clarity. Holes that no longer, or never, contained stones are shown as open circles and stones visible today are shown coloured.

YOU CAN ALSO FIND MORE IN: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Henge

Answer 3

I do not know exactly how old it is but I think it goes back to the pre-Christian era since it was created by the Druids, the Celtic people who settled in Britain before the coming of the Anglo-Saxons. The Druids valued magic, mystery, the imagination, and the linking of human and natural cycles. I think the stones are arranged to respond to and cast the shadow of the sun in revealingly different patterns at different times and seasons. The summer soltice may have been religiously significant. Some associate the Druids with the practice of ritual human sacrifice. Thomas Hardy seems to glance at this in his novel "Tess," where the sleeping heroine is arrested at Stonehenge by the police as the sun rises for a murder for which Hardy feels she is not spiritually responsible: a modern human sacrifice. When I visited it in 1974 you could walk right up to the stones--there is more than one arrangement of stones but one is central--you could walk right up to them but now they are roped off (rather like the Mona Lisa) in part because of the fear of vandalism and damage and in part because there are modern groups which wish to practice Druidic ritual on or very near the stones. Stonehenge is very impressive because it is in a bleak and desolate area in the west of England. It remains a mystery: its construction and meaning has been explored by at least one physicist (Gerald Hawkins). Many have sought to decode Stonehenge and lay bare its real meaning.

Answer 4

I think I read somewhere that the stones have meaning to mark the precession of the equinox. Maybe it was just astronomical and used for the study of the stars. Some say it was a place the Druids met to perform human sacrifice. As far as it lining up and matching another point, I read that in the earth are energy lines that travel like a stream underground called Ley lines. Supposedly you can find them with a dowsing rod or pendulum. I imagine they probably were used by a very ancient culture for some sort of worship of their god(s).

Answer 5

Looking to find out about Stonehenge and other ancient stone henge sites and stone circles within Britain?

Or for practical information to make your visit easier.

Find it here, at Stonehenge.co.uk

Answer 6

I think you may find this amusing. Go on limewire or some similar download file sharing facility and search Flanders and Swann. When you come across the title' At The Drop of Another Hat', look for the track 'Built up Area'......wonderful Stonehenge monologue.

Answer 7

Go to wikipedia.com - they should give you great details - all i know is their form a circle - are near salsibury and i think the stones came from wales.

Answer 8

1) Pretty old.
2)Too hard to move.
3) Attract tourists.

Answer 9

take a look here: http://www.google.ro/search?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGGL,GGGL:2006-34,GGGL:en&q=stonehenge