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Reading Passage 4
Read the passage and answer the following questions.
"Building Stonehenge: A New Timeline Revealed"
Ancient people probably assembled the massive sandstone horseshoe at Stonehenge more than 4,600
years ago, while the smaller bluestones were imported from Wales later, a new study suggests.
The conclusion, detailed in the December issue of the journal Antiquity, challenges earlier timelines that
proposed the smaller stones were raised first.
"The sequence proposed for the site is really the wrong way around," said study co-author Timothy
Darvill, an archaeologist at Bournemouth University in England. "The original idea that it starts small and
gets bigger is wrong. It starts big and stays big. The new scheme puts the big stones at the center at the
site as the first stage."
The new timeline, which relies on statistical methods to tighten the dates when the stones were put into
place, overturns the notion that ancient societies spent hundreds of years building each area of
Stonehenge. Instead, a few generations likely built each of the major elements of the site, said Robert
Ixer, a researcher who discovered the origin of the bluestones, but who was not involved in the study.
"It's a very timely paper and a very important paper," Ixer said. "A lot of us have got to go back and
rethink when the stones arrived."
Mysterious monument
The Wiltshire, England, site of Stonehenge is one of the world's most enduring mysteries. No one knows
why prehistoric people built the enigmatic megaliths, although researchers over the years have argued the
site was originally a sun calendar, a symbol of unity, or a burial monument.
Though only some of the stones remain, at the center of the site once sat an oval of bluestones, or igneous
rocks (those formed from magma) that turn a bluish hue when wet or freshly cut. Surrounding the
bluestones are five giant sandstone megaliths called trilithons, or two vertical standing slabs capped by a
horizontal stone, arranged in the shape of a horseshoe.
Around the horseshoe, ancient builders erected a circular ring of bluestones. The sandstone boulders, or
sarsens, can weigh up to 40 tons (36,287 kilograms), while the much smaller bluestones weigh a mere 4
tons (3,628 kg).
Past researchers believed the bluestone oval and circle were erected earlier than the massive sandstone
horseshoe. But when Darvill and his colleagues began excavations at the site in 2008, they found the
previous chronology didn't add up. The team estimated the age of new artifacts from the site, such as an
antler bone pick stuck within the stones. Combining the new information with dating from past
excavations, the team created a new timeline for Stonehenge's construction.
Like past researchers, the team believes that ancient people first used the site 5,000 years ago, when they
dug a circular ditch and mound, or henge, about 361 feet (110 meters) in diameter.
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But the new analysis suggests around 2600 B.C. the Neolithic people built the giant sandstone horseshoe,
drawing the stone from nearby quarries. Only then did builders arrange the much smaller bluestones,
which were probably imported from Wales. Those bluestones were then rearranged at various positions
throughout the site over the next millennium, Darvill said.
"They sort out the local stuff first, and then they bring in the stones from Wales to add to the complexity
of the structure," Darvill told LiveScience.
The new dating allows the archaeologists to tie the structure to specific people who lived in the area at the
time, Darvill said. The builders of the larger sandstone structures were pig farmers found only in the
British Isles. In contrast, the bluestone builders would've been the Beaker people, sheep and cow herders
who lived throughout Europe and are known for the distinctive, bell-shape pottery they left behind.
The new timeline "connects everything together, it gives us a good sequence of events outside, and it
gives us a set of cultural associations with the different stages of construction," Darvill said.
1. The new study described in this article suggests which sequence of events for the building of
Stonehenge?
a) The bluestones were arranged in the horseshoe configuration and then accented with the larger stones.
b) Ancient peoples first arranged the small bluestone configuration and later ringed it with large, imported
granite slabs.
c) The sandstone horseshoe was developed first, thousands of years ago, and the smaller bluestones were
imported later from Wales.
d) All the stones were brought in at the same time and slowly arranged over centuries.
2. Which type of methodology does the new study rely on to discern Stonehenge's timeline?
a) Mineralogy
b) Statistical analysis
c) Carbon dating
d) DNA analysis
3. According to the article, a sarsen could weigh how much?
a) 38 tons
b) 42 tons
c) 56 tons
d) 41 tons
4. Until the study that is discussed in the article, what was the accepted sequence of Stonehenge's
construction?
a) Bluestone horseshoe, then sandstone oval
b) Bluestone square, then sandstone square
c) Bluestone square, then sandstone circle
d) Bluestone oval, then sandstone horseshoe
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5. None of the following were known artifacts in constructing the new Stonehenge timeline
EXCEPT…
a) arrowheads of the nearby civilisations
b) skeletons of ancient peoples
c) an antler bone wedged between stones
d) stone eroded clearly enough to be dated
6. It is agreed between old and new studies that Stonehenge was first used by civilizations?
a) 5000 years ago
b) 6000 years ago
c) 7000 years ago
d) 8000 years ago
7. The later bluestones, believed to be imported from Wales…
a) were originally arranged to outline the horseshoe shape of the sandstone boulders.
b) were arranged to outline the horseshoe shape of the sandstone boulders.
c) were actually recovered from local quarries.
d) were settled in their pattern within a year.
8. According to Darvill, what effect did the bluestones have upon Stonehenge?
a) They allowed the dimensions of Stonehenge to be more aesthetically pleasing.
b) They provided an added complexity to the structure by using foreign material.
c) They represented strong cultural ties with the Welsh culture.
d) They were symbols of conquest of foreign lands.
9. According to Daville, what is the most important piece of knowledge obtained from this new
timeline?
a) That sandstone and bluestone were both native to the region.
b) That Stonehenge became the model for future Scottish architecture.
c) That the people who built Stonehenge were wealthy enough to acquire rare stones.
d) That the original builders of Stonehenge were different types of animal herders.
10. What is the conclusion that Darville draws in the quote in the final paragraph?
a) Stonehenge remains an inspiration for modern artists and architects.
b) The mysteries of Stonehenge are entirely clarified by the new research and timeline.
c) Previously timelines for Stonehenge may have given us a flawed interpretation of the civilizations and
materials they had access to at the time.
d) Stonehenge was really a foreign project, made from materials outside of the country, and influenced by
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civilizations other than those who lived there locally.
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