Stonehenge , group of standing stones on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, S England. Preeminent among megalithic monuments in the British Isles, it is similar to an older and larger monument at Avebury . The great prehistoric structure is enclosed within a circular ditch 300 ft (91 m) in diameter, with a bank on the inner side, and is approached by a broad roadway called the Avenue. Within the circular trench the stones are arranged in four series: The outermost is a circle of sandstones about 13.5 ft (4.1 m) high connected by lintels; the second is a circle of bluestone menhirs ; the third is horseshoe shaped; the innermost, ovoid. Within the ovoid lies the Altar Stone. The Heelstone is a great upright stone in the Avenue, northeast of the circle.

It was at one time widely believed that Stonehenge was a druid temple, but this is contradicted by the fact that the druids probably did not arrive in Britain until c.250 BC In 1963 the American astronomer Gerald Hawkins theorized that Stonehenge was used as a huge astronomical instrument that could accurately measure solar and lunar movements as well as eclipses. Hawkins used a computer to test his calculations and found definite correlations between his figures and the solar and lunar positions in 1500 BC However, as a result of the development of calibration curves for radiocarbon dates, Stonehenge is now believed to have been built in several stages between c.3000 and c.1500 BC, with the main construction completed before 2000 BC Excavation and testing in 2008 established a date of between 2400 and 2200 BC for the erection of the bluestones. Some archaeologists objected to Hawkins's theory on the basis that the eclipse prediction system he proposed was much too complex for the Early Bronze Age society of England.

Most archaeologists agree, however, that Stonehenge was used to observe the motions of the moon as well as the sun. Research by the archaeologist Alexander Thom, based on the careful mapping of hundreds of megalithic sites, indicates that the megalithic ritual circles were built with a high degree of accuracy, requiring considerable mathematical and geometric sophistication. More recent speculation on the Neolithic ceremonial and cultural functions of Stonehenge has included its possible use as a center for healing and as a burial ground for a local ruling family. Among the burials near the site have been found remains of a man who was raised near the Alps and a teenage boy raised near the Mediterranean. Evidence of a former stone circle with 25 bluestones has been found nearby beside the River Avon; the stones once used there may have been incorporated into Stonehenge.

Bibliography: See G. S. Hawkins, Stonehenge Decoded (1965); H. Harrison and L. E. Stover, Stonehenge (1972); A. Thom, Megalithic Sites in Britain (1967) and Megalithic Lunar Observations (1973).

Stonehenge (Wilts.) is the best-known archaeological site in the British Isles. It is spectacular—over 70 worked standing stones set in an incomplete circle, an inner horseshoe shape and various outliers, with capping stones used as lintels to link the standing stones at a height of up to 22 feet above ground—but what survives is but the ruin of the final phase of a structure, including earthen banks, set in a complex of other ritual and burial monuments and field systems dating from c.4000 to c.1500 bc. By what means and why Stonehenge was built has fascinated antiquarians at least from John Aubrey (1666); in 1740 William Stukeley firmly attributed the monument to the (Iron Age) druids—an anachronistic association which has persisted with modern ‘druids’ and New Age travellers visiting Stonehenge to observe the midsummer sunrise. The monument was orientated to mark sunrise at the midsummer solstice (and sunset at the midwinter solstice), but whether it has further astronomical significance is debatable. The stones of which it is constructed include ‘bluestones’ probably from Wales—memory of the transport of which may underlie Geoffrey of Monmouth's story that the magician Merlin moved a stone circle from Ireland to Salisbury.

Charlotte M. Lythe

Stonehenge A unique megalithic monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Its alleged connection with the Druids dates from the 17th century, when people's ideas about what constituted ‘the past’ were very vague. In the 12th century it was believed to be a monument over King Arthur's grave; other theories have attributed it to the Phoenicians, Romans, Vikings, and visitors from other worlds; modern theory inclines to the view that it was a temple. Scientific study and excavation have identified three main constructional phases between c.3000 BC and c.1500 BC, i.e. it was completed in the Bronze Age. The circular bank and ditch, double circle of ‘bluestones’ (spotted dolerite), and circle of sarsen stones (some with stone lintels), are concentric, and the main axis is aligned on the midsummer sunrise – an orientation that was probably for ritual rather than scientific purposes. It is believed that the ‘bluestones’ were transported from the Prescelly Hills, Pembrokeshire, Wales, a distance of 320 km (200 miles). In 1998, English Heritage announced that access to the megaliths by pedestrians would be improved and that the car park would be made less obtrusive.

Stonehenge a megalithic monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. Completed in several constructional phases from c.2950 bc, it is composed of a circle of sarsen stones surrounded by a bank and ditch and enclosing a circle of smaller bluestones. Within this inner circle is a horseshoe arrangement of five trilithons with the axis aligned on the midsummer sunrise, an orientation that was probably for ritual purposes.

Stonehenge is popularly associated with the Druids, although this connection is now generally rejected by scholars; the monument has also been attributed to the Phoenicians, Romans, Vikings, and visitors from other worlds. Geoffrey of Monmouth says that the main stones were brought from Ireland by the magic of Merlin.

The second element of the name may have meant something ‘hanging or supported in the air’. A spurious form Stanhengest is found in some (a.1500) Latin chronicles, with a story associating Stonehenge with a massacre of British nobles by the Saxon leader Hengist (see also night of the long knives).

Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a prehistoric circular monument on Salisbury Plain in southern England. It has been associated with ancient Celtic* religious rituals and with the Arthurian legends* of early Britain.

Constructed of ditches, earthen mounds, and immense blocks of stone, Stonehenge is now a protected archaeological site. Scientists have not unraveled the mysteries of its origins and purpose, but they do know that it was created in stages. Stonehenge probably began with a wooden structure sometime around 3000 b.c., and the standing stones were set in place between 2100 and 1500 b.c. Construction ended long before the time of the Celtic priests called Druids, but these religious leaders may have used Stonehenge and other ancient monuments in their rituals.

ritual ceremony that follows a set pattern

archaeological referring to the study of past human cultures, usually by excavating ruins

For many centuries, Stonehenge has awed and puzzled visitors. Geoffrey of Monmouth, an English historian writing in the 1100s, accounted for the monument by calling it the work of Merlin, the wizard associated with King Arthur. According to legend, Merlin used magical powers to take apart a ring of standing stones in Ireland, ship them to England, and reassemble them on

* See Names and Places at the end of this volume for further information.

Salisbury Plain. Over time the story grew more elaborate, until one version in the 1700s said that Merlin had harnessed the Devil to carry the stones to England in a single night. Other tales associated with Stonehenge explain that the stones were owned by a race of giants from Africa and had special healing powers.

See also Celtic Mythology; Druids; Merlin.

Stonehenge Circular group of prehistoric standing stones within a circular earthwork on Salisbury Plain, s England, 13km (8mi) n of Salisbury. The largest and most precisely constructed megalith in Europe, Stonehenge dates from the early 3rd millennium bc, although the main stones were erected c.2000–1500 bc. The large standing bluestones were brought from sw Wales in c.2100 bc. The significance of the structure is unknown.

http://www.stonehenge-avebury.net

Stonehenge (Wilts.) is the best‐known archaeological site in the British Isles. It is spectacular, but what survives is but the ruin of the final phase of a structure dating from c.4000 to c.1500 BC. The monument was orientated to mark sunrise at the midsummer solstice (and sunset at the midwinter solstice), but whether it has further astronomical significance is debatable.

Stonehenge, Australia, UK UK (England): a monument formerly called in Latin Circea Gigantum ‘The Giants' Ring’ and the Anglo‐Saxon Stanenges. It is said to mean either ‘Hanging Stones’ from the layout of the stones or ‘Stone Gallows’ from stān and hengen because of the apparent resemblance to gallows.

Stonehenge Wilts. Stanenges c.1130. ‘Stone gallows’ (from a fancied resemblance of the monument to such). OE stān + hengen.

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