Stonehenge Essay -- essays research papers

in that respect are few ancient structures in the world that captivate the resourcefulness and the critical mind of both the scholarly and ordinary individual as Stonehenge. This intriguingly mysterious Neolithic monument is located near Amesbury in Wiltshire, England and draws thousands of spectators to its knowledge domain each(prenominal) year.The oldest part of Stonehenge, called Stonehenge I (constructed ca. 3100 BCE), consists of little more than a broadside ditch dug in the territory of the Salisbury plain, with the excess soil piled up to make an embankment approximately six feet tall. This area is approximately deuce-ace hundred thirty feet in diameter, and encompasses Stonehenge p lassor the familiar circles of massive stones that one time stood upright as well as the large horseshoe correspondence of standing stones near the center of Stonehenge. (Trefil 48)The outer ring of Stonehenge proper, also cognize as the sarsen circle, consists of several upright sarse n (gray sandstone) stones. According to the text of Art History, each stone in this circle constricts up to fifty tons and stands up to twenty feet tall, and was once capped by a continuous coping. To bring th jolting this architectural structure, the builders apply the technique of mortise-and-tendon joints to join and ensure the security of the heading sections. With this technique, a projecting pin (tenon) located on a lintel fits tightly into a hole designed for it (mortise) on an upright stone. (Stokstad 59) interior the sarsen circle was once a ring of bluestones. These special stones consisted of various grades of low-spirited dolerite, which (many individuals conclude) were only found one hundred fifty miles away in the mountains of southern Wales. The inner horseshoe arrangement of five paired lintel-topped uprights, or trilithons, dominates the center of Stonehenge. These sandstone trilithons range in height of up to twenty-four feet, weigh up to forty-five tons, and radiate the mysterious majesty of the megalithic structure. (Stokstad 59) whatever the method by which the stones arrived on Salisbury Plain, they were apparently set up in about 2800-2700 BCE in either the unfinished circle or the incomplete horseshoe open to the south-west. A century or so later, (ca. 2500 BCE) the great sarsen circle was constructed, and the bluestones were dragged from their holes only to be returned some centuries later to be the i... ...few miles from Stonehenge where there was a convenient glacial deposit of the only stones used for Stonehenge. (Burl 22)However, the view remains that the massive stones of Stonehenge were, indeed, headed hundreds of miles to Salisbury Plain. Assuming that the bluestones were brought from Wales by pass away and not transported by glaciers as Aubrey Burl has claimed (or moved by the wizardly hand of Merlin), various methods of moving them relying only on wood and rope have been suggested. During 2001, in an exercise of exp erimental archaeology, an attempt was made to transport a large stone along a land and ocean route from Wales to Stonehenge. Volunteers successfully pulled the massive stone on a woody sled over land, but it was ultimately lost in rough seas after being moved to a replica prehistoric gravy holder for its journey across the Bristol Channel. (Burl 21)As we have observed, legends about the origin and declare oneself of Stonehenge are many in number. It is quite possible that we may never discover the truth behind the mysterious circles of stones on Salisbury Plain, in so far it is also true that the intrigue and fascination that accompanies the existence of Stonehenge will sure enough remain.