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| Stonehenge |
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 Stone Formations news, views, gallery and archive brought to you by Weird Wiltshire Introduction Latest News News Archive Stonehenge Stonehenge Project Stonehenge 360 Avebury Saviours Stones Village Solstice Wayland Smithy Long Barrow Woodhenge Gallery Summer Solstice Gallery 2002 Summer Solstice Gallery 2004 Postcards Wallpaper Links  |
THE distinctive silhouette of Stonehenge is known the world over.
It exudes a mystery that has enthralled successive generations.
Protected as a world heritage site, it is arguably Britain's greatest prehistoric monument. Today's visitor to Stonehenge will see the substantial remains of a sequence of monuments erected between around 3050 and 1600 BC. Each was a circular structure, aligned along the rising of the sun at the summer solstice. 
Built in three phases, it stands on Salisbury Plain at the centre of a ceremonial landscape containing 450 ancient
monuments of national importance.Five massive trilithons form the inner core of Stonehenge, the third and final stage of which began around 2100 BC. The lintels on top of the sarsen stones were fixed in place using a complex system of mortise and tenon joints. According to English Heritage, some 80 bluestone pillars were imported with the intention of creating two concentric circles within the henge. This bluestone must have been transported 386 km (240 miles) from the Preseli Mountains in South Wales, an incredible feat of both will and engineering. This suggests a particular significance for bluestone, which is not yet known. The stones were arranged in such a way as to align the site's entrance with the rising sun at the summer solstice. Why did Neolithic man choose these particular stones? And, more importantly, how did he transport them so far? We have yet to discover the answers to these questions. At the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, thousands of people gather to celebrate at Avebury and Stonehenge. See our Summer Solstice page to find out more and view our gallery. If you want to find out what's in store for this great monument in the near future, go to our Master Plan page. |
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