Where is Stonehenge?
• Location: Wiltshire,
Southwestern England, West
of the Avon River on Salisbury
Plain
• Three Phases of Construction
– Stonehenge One
– Stonehenge Two
– Stonehenge Three
(Hamlin 910-911)
(“Stonehenge, England”)
Stonehenge One
• Began around 3100 B.C.
• First step – Dig circular
ditch
• Second step – Aubrey
Holes
• Third Step – Placement
of Slaughter Stones
• Fourth Step – Placement
of Heel Stone
(Hamlin 910-911)
(“Stonehenge”)
(“Stonehenge, England”)
Mystery of
Stonehenge One
Heel stone is level
with Horizon.
(Stonehenge decoded 58-59).
Mystery of Stonehenge One
(continued)
• Abandoned around 2900 B.C.
• Nearest site of bluestones: over 100 miles away
• Theories to Stonehenge One
– The stones were moved from Wales down the Avon River to
Stonehenge and then rolled on logs to construction site.
– The stones were brought way earlier by an iceberg. Workers rolled
these stones to the construction site.
(Hamlin 910-911)
(“Stonehenge”)
Stonehenge Two
• Construction began around
2600 B.C.
• New Generation of Druids
(Celts) were believed to have
completed this phase.
• In this phase of construction,
the Horseshoe trilithon is built.
• Trilithon - a setting of stones
where there are two stones
erected beside each other and
one stone laid on top of the
two standing stones to make
an arch-like setting.
(Hamlin 910-911)
(“Stonehenge”)
Stonehenge Two
• Construction of
Horseshoe shaped
trilithon
– Brought fifteen bluestones to
the edge of the site
– Beaten with hammers until
finally smooth
– Ten stones brought in and set
vertically in a horseshoe
shape facing the main
entrance
– The remaining five stones
were laid on top of the ten
vertical stones
• This created five separated
trilithons that created a
(“Stonehenge”)
(“Stonehenge, England”)
Mystery of Stonehenge Two
• First theory
– Dirt ramp was built to top of the vertical stones and
the stones were pushed to the top
• With so much pressure and weight on the
vertical stones, how did they not fall down?
• This is why this theory is not highly accepted.
(Hamlin 910-911).
First theory
Mystery of Stonehenge Two
(continued)
• Most widely accepted theory
– Workers pushed the stone on a platform at the base
of two vertical stones
– With hammers and wedges, workers lifted the stone
high enough to put another plaform underneath it
– After repeating this process over and over, the stone
would be at the height of the vertical stones
– Workers then slid the stone on top to create the
trilithon
– This process of setting stones on top was repeated
for all five groups of trilithons
(Stonehenge Decoded)
Stonehenge Three
• Started construction around 2300 B.C.
– This is the final stage of construction
– Like Stonehenge Two, a new generation of workers
built Stonehenge Three
• Built with Sarsen stones
– Quarry located twenty miles away from Stonehenge
– Weighed twenty-five tons and stood thirteen and a half
feet tall
• Sixty Stones carried from the quarry
– Before they were assembled inside of the circular
ditch; a large stone, called the Altar Stone, was laid in
the middle of the horseshoe
(“Stonehenge, England”)
(Hamlin 910-911)
Stonehenge Three
• Thirty sarsen stones were
stood vertically all facing
the horseshoe in a circle
• The other thirty sarsen
stones were laid on top of
the vertical stones
– Instead of being paired into
groups, the lintels “top
stones” shared base
stones to create a circle
(hint the name Sarsen
Circle)
(“Stonehenge”)
(Hamlin 910-911)
Stonehenge construction
• Gerald S. Hawkins
(Stonehenge Decoded)
(Beyond Stonehenge)
Gerald S. Hawkins (Continued)
Other Reasons for
Construction
Woodhenge
Religious Worship
Center for
Fertility
Alien Landing
Site
(Owens)
Video
http://www.history.com/flash/VideoPlayer.sw
f?vid=53144635701
(“Stonehenge”)
Bibliography
•
Hamlin, Christine. “Stonehenge.” World Book. Chicago: World Book Inc., 2011.
•
Hawkins, Gerald S. Beyond Stonehenge. New York: Harper and Row, 1973. Print.
•
Hawkins, Gerald S. Stonehenge Decoded. Garden City New York: Doubleday and Company Inc. 1965. Print.
•
Owens, James. “Scientists Try to Crack Stonehenge’s Prehistoric Puzzles—National Geographic.” Science and
Space Facts, Science and Space, Human Body, Health, Earth, Human Disease – National Geographic. National
Geographic. Web. 26 Jan. 2012.http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/stonehenge/.
•
“Stonehenge.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 2012.
Web. 12 Jan. 2012. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/567331/Stonehenge.
•
“Stonehenge, England.” Sacred Sites at Sacred Destinations – Explore Sacred Sites, Religious Sites, Sacred
Places. 12 Feb. 2011. Web. 12 Jan. 2012. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/stonehenge.