Colegiul National Dragos Voda, Sighetu Marmatiei

Lucrare scrisa pentru obtinerea atestatului

STONEHENGE

Coordonator : prof. Hotea Claudia Candidat : Manaila Mihaela Alina

-2012-

TABLE OF CONTENT

I.
II. III.

V.

Introduction..3 Approach to Stonehenge..4 The structure of Stonehenge5 III.1. Who built Stonehenge?.........................................7 III.2. The Druids7 IV. The techniques of construction9 IV.1. What they used?...................................................10 IV.2.The Bluestones..10 IV.3.The Arrival of the Sarsen Stones...12 IV.4.The Construction of the Outer Ring..13 Possible uses of Stonehenge...14 V.1. Stonehenge observatory..14 V.2.Stonhege a calendar..15 VI. Legends...17 VI.1. Arthurian legend17 VI.2. Heel Stone..18 VII. Conclusion...19 VIII. Bibliography20

I.Introduction

Stonehenge is a great peace of architecture which can be found in the English country of Whiltshire.One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks.It is at the centro of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several houndred burial mounds.The true meaning of this ancient, awe-inspiring creation has been lost in the mists of time.Was Stonehenge a temple for sun whorship, a healing centre, a burial site or perhaps a huge calendar?How did our ancestors manage to carry the mightly stones from so far away and then, using only the most primitive of tools, build this amazing structure?Surrounded by mystery Stonehenge never fails to impress.

II.Approach to Stonehenge

Stonehenge stands on Salisbury Plain, about eight miles north of Salisbury and a little more than two miles west of Amesbury.To the visitors who approaches the monument for the first time, particulary from the direction of Amesbury, the first glimpse is often keenly disappointing, for the stones, vast though they are, seem entirely dwarfed by the even vaster background of rolling Wiltshire download.It is not until one approaches more closely, so that the stones are silhouetted against the sky, that the true size of the place becomes apparent, and begins to communicate to even the most casual and unfeeling visitor something of the awe and wonder with which it has for so many centuries been invested. The monument stand on a slight eminence of the chalk downs, but its position was evidently not chosen to command a particulary wide view.To the west the ground rises slightly; in all other directions it falls, though gently, the steepest slopebeing on the east, where the surface declines to the floor of a dry valley.In the immediate neighbourhood of the stones the ground is almost level.The details of the sourrounding landscape are almost wholly man-made: the buildings of Larkhill Camp to the north; the sunlit hangars of Boscombe Down aerodrome on the eastern skyline.

III.The structure of Stonehenge

There are two main types of stone, the Sarsen and Bluestones, which form an outer and inner ring; the latter have also been placed in a central horse-shoe arrangement. While there are bigger stone circles in the world, Stonehenge is unique because the Sarsen stones had lintels connecting each other, forming a complete, joined up ring. Stonehenge wasn't built in one phase, but was created over a period of 1500 years. Over the centuries some of the stones were lost to builders, decay and tourists who chipped pieces off. Despite the best efforts of archaeologists, who have pinpointed when the structures of Stonehenge were built, a lack of sources means we aren't fully sure why they were created. The site was built with a ritual purpose it's built in alignment with the Midsummer sunrise - but we dont know what rituals or why. There is also great debate over how. One thing modern experts have established is that Stonehenge had nothing to do with 'druids', a common myth about the site. Construction: Phase 1: The first phase of construction occurred during the Neolithic period, around 3100 BCE, and was carried out by the Windmill Hill culture. They built a henge, a circular bank of earth with a ditch, although even at this stage the site was unusual as the ditch was outside the bank, rather than inside. Instead, fifty-six holes the Aubrey holes, named after the man who rediscovered them were dug, each a metre wide and deep; some contain cremated remains. The site's entrance is aligned with the midsummer sunrise and we believe the Aubrey holes had a ritual purpose: they are not post holes. 5

Over the next few centuries wooden structures were added, including a circle of timbers making a wooden henge. We dont know for sure what these structures were, whether they were buildings or some sort of markers. Construction: Phase 2: The most dramatic and controversial phase occurred between 2600/2500 BCE, carried out by the Beaker People. 80 blue stones, named because they look blue when wet, were arranged upright in a circle and used to rebuild the wooden henge. These stones are of a type from the Preseli Mountains in South Wales, and the traditional interpretation is that they were quarried in Wales, 240 miles away, and dragged and floated to the site. If true, it was a massive achievement. However, Aubrey Burl argues that the stones were actually glacial deposits left on Salisbury Plain, and that the Beakers didnt move them as far. Construction: Phase 3: After a period of abandonment, new work began in the early Bronze age, around 2300 BCE by the Essex People . Sarsen stones were quarried from the Marlborough Downs 19 miles away and erected as a new stone circle, each connected to two others by lintels forming a continuous ring, exhibiting relatively sophisticated wood/stone working techniques. Each stone weighed over 25 tones and was dragged to the location, probably by teams of over 600 people, although we dont know how the stones were raised into position. Five trilithons (two standing stones with a lintel), were erected inside the circle. The bluestones were dug and rearranged several times, eventually ending up in 1500 BCE as an inner ring and a horse-shoe shape within that, focusing on one stone now (like many on the site) now fallen called the Altar stone.. More work may well have been planned as a series of empty holes, the X and Y holes have been found in a circle outside the outer ring.

III.1. Who built Stonehenge?

The question of who built Stonehenge is largely unanswered, even today. The monuments construction has been attributed to many ancient peoples throughout the years, but the most captivating and enduring attribution has been the Druids. This erroneous connection was first made around 3 centuries ago by the antiquary, John Aubrey .Julius Caesar and other Roman writers told of a Celtic priesthood who flourished around the time of their first conquest ( 55 BC).By this time, through the tones had been standing for 2,000 years, and were, perhaps, already in a ruined condition. Besides, the Druids worshipped in the forest temples and had no need for stone structures. The best guess seems to be that the Stonehenge site was begun by the people of the late Neolithic period ( around 3000 BC) and carried forward by people from a new economy which was arising at this time. This new people, called Beaker Folk because of their use of pottery drinking vessels, began to use mental implements and to live in a more communal fashion than their ancestors.Some think that they may have been immigrants from the continent, but that contention is not supported by archaeological evidence.It is likely that thay were doing the same old things in new ways. III.2. The Druids What is known is that Druidry was a pantheistic belief, drawing many parallels with Hinduism. Over 400 gods were worshipped , and gods tended to carry their own cult following; much like the Ancient Egyptian religions which preceded it by some 3,000 year. The Druids pagan faith permeated many areas of local life, yet not much is known about specific practices due to the word-of-mouth nature of the religion. Yet what is known is that the beliefs centred on nature, and many Druid sacraments were based in secrecy, in forests or caves. Caesar even noted that is would take some twenty year for an apprentice Druid to complete his training. One of the faiths most controversial practices was human sacrifice, and the Roman historian Tacitus noticed in 61 AD that the altars of the Druids of Anglesey were drenched with the blood of prisoners .As a localized and ostensibly

barbaric religion Roman Britain and Gaul saw the banning of Druidry - to suppress the sense of nationalism it invoked in its followers. Druids also belief in reincarnation, and insist that after life, the immortal soul reaches another land known simply as the Otherworld, which draws parallels with the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians. Frequently either the single or multitudinous Sun God is worshipped, so stone circles and several practicing of their faith. And the foremost of these sites is Wiltshires famous Stonehenge. The famous antiquarian John Aubrey, who located his eponymous holes in the Stonehenge complex in the 17th century, suggested, rather spuriously most scholars agree, that the Druids were in fact responsible for the building of the monument. Then, at the beginning of the 18th century, William Stukeley an expert on sacred history - would take Aubreys exclamation and run with it; claming that Stonehenge and its related sites at Avebury were manifest in the prehistoric traditions of ancient Druids, and that many of the local monuments appeared to form the shape of a serpent. Thus, in conjuction with his 1717 founding of the first Order of Druids on Londons Primrose Hill, Stonehenge became a centre for Druid worship, and pilgrimages to the site of worship during the equinoxes and solstices became a tradition.

IV. The techniques of construction

There is little or no direct evidence for the construction techniques used by the Stonehenge builders. Over the years, various authors have suggested that supernatural or anachronistic methods were used, usually asserting that the stones were impossible to move otherwise. However, conventional techniques using Neolithic technology have been demonstrably effective at moving and placing stones of a similar size. Proposed functions for the site include usage as an astronomical observatory, or as a religious site. More recently two major new theories have been proposed. Professor Geoffrey Wainwright OBE, FSA, president of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and Professor Timothy Darvell OBE of Bournemouth University have suggested that Stonehenge was a place of healing the primeval equivalent of Lourdes.] They argue that this accounts for the high number of burials in the area and for the evidence of trauma deformity in some of the graves. However they do concede that the site was probably multifunctional and used for ancestor worship as well. Isotope analysis indicates that some of the buried individuals were from other regions. A teenage boy buried approximately 1550 BC was raised near the Mediterranean Sea; a metal worker from 2300 BC dubbed the "Amesbury Archer" grew up near the alpine foothills of Germany; and the "Boscombe Bowmen" probably arrived from Wales or Brittany, France. On the other hand, Professor Mike Parker Pearson of Sheffield University has suggested that Stonehenge was part of a ritual landscape and was joined to Durrington Walls by their corresponding avenues and the River Avon. He suggests that the area around Durrington Walls Henge was a place of the living, whilst Stonehenge was a domain of the dead. A journey along the Avon to reach Stonehenge was part of a ritual passage from life to death, to celebrate past ancestors and the recently deceased. It should be pointed out that both explanations were mooted in the 12th century by Geoffrey of Monmouth (below), who extolled the curative properties of the stones and was also the first to advance the idea that Stonehenge was constructed as a funerary monument. Whatever religious, mystical or spiritual elements were central to 9

Stonehenge its design includes a celestial observatory function, which might have allowed prediction of eclipse, solstice, equinox and other celestial events important to a contemporary religion.

IV.1.What they used?

The stones we see today represent Stonehenge in ruin. Many of the original stones have fallen or been removed by previous generations for home construction or road repair. There has been serious damage to some of the smaller bluestones resulting from close visitor contact (prohibited since 1978) and the prehistoric carvings on the larger sarsen stones show signs of significant wear. In its day, the construction of Stonehenge was an impressive engineering feat, requiring commitment, time and vast amounts of manual labor. In its first phase, Stonehenge was a large earthwork; a bank and ditch arrangement called a henge, constructed approximately 5,000 years ago. It is believed that the ditch was dug with tools made from the antlers of red deer and, possibly, wood. The underlying chalk was loosened with picks and shoveled with the shoulder blades of cattle. It was then loaded into baskets and carried away. Modern experiments have shown that these tools were more than equal to the great task of earth digging and moving.

IV.2.The Bluestones

About 2,000 BC, the first stone circle (which is now the inner circle), comprised of small bluestones, was set up, but abandoned before completion. The stones used in that first circle are believed to be from the Prescelly Mountains, located roughly 240 miles away, at the southwestern tip of Wales. The bluestones weigh up to 4 tons each and about 80 stones were used, in all. Given the distance they had to travel, this presented quite a transportation problem. 10

Modern theories speculate that the stones were dragged by roller and sledge from the inland mountains to the headwaters of Milford Haven. There they were loaded onto rafts, barges or boats and sailed along the south coast of Wales, then up the Rivers Avon and Frome to a point near present-day Frome in Somerset. From this point, so the theory goes, the stones were hauled overland, again, to a place near Warminster in Wiltshire, approximately 6 miles away. From there, it's back into the pool for a slow float down the River Wylye to Salisbury, then up the Salisbury Avon to West Amesbury, leaving only a short 2 mile drag from West Amesbury to the Stonehenge site.

IV.3. The Arrival of the Sarsen Stones

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The former bluestone arrangement was dismantled and huge sarsen stones were erected,forming a circle. They were about 4 metres in height, with a continuous lintel of stone blocks (about 1 metre thick) places on top. The lintels were shaped with curved surfaces, to form a circle. The top of this circle was almost horizontal despite the fact that the monument was situated on a slightly sloping ground. The stones were joined together using techniques such as mortice-and-tenon and tongue-and-groove joints. Inside this circle, 5 pairs of trilithon sarsens with a lintel stone on top of each pair were set in a horseshoe formation, with its opening towards the North Eastern entrance.It is important to note that the centre of this sarsen stone circle is different from that of the central point of Phase 1 and 2. In fact, it became a few degrees further east, and the new axis was the central line of the Avenue- (a pair of parallel earthen banks with a ditch on the outer side of each, running from the River Avon to the North Eastern entrance.) It was thought that the Avenue was the route, which the original bluestones were brought from the river to the site. The width of the Avenue gradually decreases as it approaches the monument..

IV.4. The construction of the Outer Ring

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The giant sarsen stones (which form the outer circle), weigh as much as 50 tons each. To transport them from the Marlborough Downs, roughly 20 miles to the north, is a problem of even greater magnitude than that of moving the bluestones. Most of the way, the going is relatively easy, but at the steepest part of the route, at Redhorn Hill, modern work studies estimate that at least 600 men would have been needed just to get each stone past this obstacle. Once on site, a sarsen stone was prepared to accommodate stone lintels along its top surface. It was then dragged until the end was over the opening of the hole. Great levers were inserted under the stone and it was raised until gravity made it slide into the hole. At this point, the stone stood on about a 30 angle from the ground. Ropes were attached to the top and teams of men pulled from the other side to raise it into the full upright position. It was secured by filling the hole at its base with small, round packing stones. At this point, the lintels were lowered into place and secured vertically by mortice and tenon joints and horizontally by tongue and groove joints. Stonehenge was probably finally completed around 1500 BC.

V. Possible uses of Stonehenge

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Other than the origins of Stonehenge, another important aspect of the monument, which is under constant argument and controversy, is the purpose of the monument. What was it used for? This is the question many tried and are still trying to explain. Despite not being able to come up with a definite answer, we hope that by examining various theories, we can reach a higher level of understanding and a more realistic conclusion, not just of the purpose of Stonehenge, but also about the society that existed then. V.1.Stonehenge Observatory It is undeniable that Stonehenge has certain astronomical or celestial implications. Its main entrance faces northeast, the direction of the midsummer rising sun. In fact, most of the barrows, henges and cursuses within the Stonehenge region face the rising sun in the east or northeast. Directly opposite, to the southwest, is the direction of the midwinter sunset, when the suns rays shine between the two huge uprights of the great trilithon in the inner horseshoe of Stonehenge. Between Phases 2 and 3 of Stonehenges construction, the main axis on which the monument is aligned was shifted to place it more squarely in the direction of the rising midsummer sun. This suggests that its northeastern aspect was considered crucial at that time. The Avenue, Stonehenges approach route,built as part of the monument, also approaches on this northeastern line. In fact, Stonehenge is famous for the enchanting view when the sun rises beside the Heel Stone at the midsummer solstice, when viewed from the centre of the stone circle. This is made possible by the structures particular alignment. It is believed that there was another stone in the past, forming a pair with the Heel Stone. This pair of standing stones, ifboth were still in place, would have framed the suns first appearance and the light would have shone down a stone corridor, into the centre of the monument.Another possible alignment can be seen through the Station Stones. The axes of the monument, if drawn through the positions of the four Station Stones, seem to indicate the direction of midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset. Moreover, the Station Stones themselves may be related to lunar observations. Their positions form a rectangle, with the longer sides of the rectangle pointing in the direction of

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moonrise and moonset at their furthest points. Thus, the exact position of Stonehenge is reckoned to be significant as well, since the solar and lunar alignments, marked by the Station Stones, meet at right angles only at this latitude. This could account for the choice of this site for the building of Stonehenge. It seems nearly impossible that such alignments could occur by change. In any case, all these proved Stonehenges connections with celestial observations. However, is Stonehenge an observatory?

V.2. Stonehenge a calendar? Most students of Stonehenge believe that the general orientation of the axis of the monument at various stages in its development was towards sunrise at the summer solstice in one direction, and towards sunset at the winter solstice in the other, and that this may well have been deliberate. The Heel stone defined the direction of solstitial sunrise more precisely. Statistical arguments and theories regarding Stonehenge states that the number of astronomical alignments between pairs of points selected are of possible significance.

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There is also a proposed theory that the 56 Aubrey holes, named after John Aubrey, a seventeenth century discoverer of these holes, could have been used as an eclipse predictor, if markers were removed from one hole to another. A region around Stonehenge appears to have a shift from lunar to solar symbolism since the development progressed from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. There are evidences that a group of post holes situated in the north-eastern entrance may represent the original construction of the axis oriented on an extreme rising position of the Moon, although this interpretation remains controversial. According to some researchers, drawings of spirals all around the monument depict a spiral galaxy. That claim remains controversial as well. Although the modern astronomer could use such a structure at Stonehenge to predict eclipses, there are archeological evidences that the prehistoric users had no idea about such things. There are numerical flaws in the probability calculation. Also, except in hilly regions, a line that roughly points towards midsummer sunrise in one direction will automatically point towards midwinter sunset in the other. It seems that Stonehenge will continue to baffle us for centuries to come because there is simply not enough evidence to draw any strong conclusions about its original purpose and use. While there is evidence that it could have been used for astronomical observations, there is no evidence that it was actually used for that purpose. Given that it took several centuries to complete, maybe it was started as a type of calendar and finished for religious reasons. Although we can probably rule our magic or extraterrestrials as being involved in its construction, we cannot say much more than that.

VI.Legends
VI.1. Arthurian legend

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In the 12th century, Geoffrey of Monmouth included a fanciful story in his work Historia Regum Briannie that attributed the monument's construction to Merlin Geoffrey's story spread widely, appearing in more and less elaborate form in adaptations of his work such as Waces Norman French Roman da Brut Layamons Middle English Brut and the Welsh Brut y Brenhinedd According to Geoffrey, Merlin directed its removal from Ireland, where it had been constructed on Mount Killarausby Giants, who brought the stones from Africa. After it had been rebuilt near Amesbury, Geoffrey further narrates how first Ambrosius Aurelianus, then Uther Pentragon, and finally Constantine III were buried inside the ring of stones. In many places in his Historia Regum Britannie Geoffrey mixes British legend and his own imagination; it is intriguing that he connects Ambrosius Aurelianus with this prehistoric monument as there is place-name evidence to connect Ambrosius with nearby Amesbury. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, the rocks of Stonehenge were healing rocks, called the Giant's dance, which giants brought from Africa to Ireland for their healing properties. Aurelius Ambrosias (5th century), wishing to erect a memorial to the 3,000 nobles, who had died in battle with the Saxons and were buried at Salisbury, chose Stonehenge (at Merlin's advice) to be their monument. So the King sent Merlin, Uther Pendragon (Arthur's father), and 15,000 knights to Ireland to retrieve the rocks. They slew 7,000 Irish but, as the knights tried to move the rocks with ropes and force, they failed. Then Merlin, using "gear" and skill, easily dismantled the stones and sent them over to Britain, where Stonehenge was dedicated. Shortly after, Aurelius died and was buried within the Stonehenge monument, or "The Giants' Ring of Stonehenge". In another legend of Saxons and Britons, in 472 the invading king Hengist invited Brythonic warriors to a feast, but treacherously ordered his men to draw their weapons from concealment and fall upon the guests, killing 420 of them. Hengist erected the stone monumentStonehengeon the site to show his remorse for the deed.

VI.2. Heel Stone

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The Heel Stone lies just outside the main entrance to the henge, next to the present A344 road. It is a rough stone, 16 feet (4.9 m) above ground, leaning inwards towards the stone circle. It has been known by many names in the past, including "Friar's Heel" and "Sun-stone". Today it is uniformly referred to as the Heel Stone or Heelstone. When one stands within Stonehenge, facing north-east through the entrance towards the heel stone, one sees the sun rise above the stone at summer solstice. A folk tale, which cannot be dated earlier than the seventeenth century, relates the origin of the Friar's Heel reference. The Devil bought the stones from a woman in Ireland, wrapped them up, and brought them to Salisbury plain. One of the stones fell into the Avon, the rest were carried to the plain. The Devil then cried out, "No-one will ever find out how these stones came here!" A friar replied, "Thats what you think!," whereupon the Devil threw one of the stones at him and struck him on the heel. The stone stuck in the ground and is still there. Some claim "Friar's Heel" is a corruption of "Freyja's He-ol" from

the Nordic goddess Freyja and the Welsh word for track. The Heel Stone lies beside the end portion of Stonehenge Avenue.A simpler explanation for the name might be that the stone heels, or leans.The name is not unique; there was a monolith with the same name recorded in the 19th century by antiquarian Charles Warne at Long Bredy in Dorset.

VII.Conclusion

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Stonehenge is such a magnificent monument that it would impress no matter where it is. The astonishing scale and beauty of the stones, the great care and labor in construction, and the mystery that surrounds its original purpose are just some of the reasons Stonehenge is one of the most popular sights in England. is one of the most impressive prehistoric megalithic monuments in the world on account of the sheer size of its megaliths, the sophistication of its concentric plan and architectural design, the shaping of the stones, uniquely using both Wiltshire Sarsen sandstone and Pembroke Bluestone, and the precision with which it was built. I believe that this piece of art will always be something about English people would be proud of.Its absolutely amazing how people thought in that period of time and more important how they managed to build such a big monster of stone which nowadays everybody would want to visit.

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VIII. Bibiography

1. Stonehenge by BYR. J. C. ATKINSON

2. about.com/European history
3. http://www.britannia.com 4.heritage-key.com 5.http://www.britannia.com 6.http://www.math.nus.edu.sg 7.http://www.sacred-destinations.com

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