Free Essays on STONEHENGE

Stonehenge is hailed as one of the seven wonders of the world. But why is it called a â€Å"wonder† ? With science so advanced as to being able to clone mammals, one would thing their would be rarely any discoveries left to be made. However Stonehenge is shrouded in nothing more than merely theories and guesses based on little or no fact. Being that we do know very little, You have yo ask yourself a few questions. What was the purpose of Stonehenge being built, and that being said how was it constructed. There are thousands of ideas and speculations. The more likely correct and accepted theories may just surprise you. As you know, there has not been even one major structure built in the future nor the past that was ever completed by one man alone. Like Stonehenge they were major undertakings involving many people with many skills. Those who made Stonehenge succeeded in creating an incredibly complex and mysterious structure that lived on long after its creators had passed on. The many aspects of Stonehenge and the processes by which it was built delve into the levels of intelligence and sophistication of the civilizations used to designed and build massive the monument, despite the fact that it is difficult to find out who exactly these people were. They have left very little evidence behind with which we could get a better idea of their everyday lives, their culture, their surroundings, and their affairs with other peoples. The technology and wisdom that are inevitably required in constructing such a monument show that these prehistoric peoples had had more expertise than expected. The planning and assembling of Stonehenge took a very long time ( 1000 years, from 2900 B.C. to 1600 B.C.), and not one but many different groups of people were involved in the process. How they came about plays an important role in understanding them. Some of the first... Free Essays on STONEHENGE Free Essays on STONEHENGE Stonehenge Stonehenge, prehistoric ritual monument, situated on Salisbury Plain in south-western England and dating from the Neolithic (late Stone Age) and Bronze Age. It is the most celebrated of the megalithic monuments in England, and the most important prehistoric structure in Europe. Although its precise purpose is unknown, it is likely to have been a tribal gathering place or religious centre connected with astronomical observations. CONFIGURATION Stonehenge consists of four concentric ranges of stones. In the outermost range, large rectangular sandstone blocks (sarsen stones), 4 m (13 ft) high above the ground, form a circle 33 m (108 ft) in diameter; they were originally capped with lintel stones (only a few of which remain in place today) that also formed a continuous circle. Within this outer range is a circle of smaller bluestones (consisting mainly of dolerite, a coarse basaltic rock having a bluish colour). They enclose a horseshoe-shaped arrangement of bluestones capped with lintels. These trilithons (an assemblage of two uprights capped by a lintel) are 6.5 m (21 ft) high. Within the trilithons stands a slab of micaceous sandstone known as the Altar Stone. The entire assemblage is surrounded by a circular ditch 104 m (340 ft) in diameter. On its inner side the ditch rises into a bank within which is a ring of 56 pits known as Aubrey holes (after their discoverer, the antiquarian John Aubrey) and used at a later stage as cremation burial pits. On the north-eastern side, the bank and ditch are intersected by the Avenue, a processional causeway 23 m (75 ft) wide and nearly 3 km (2 mi) long, bordered by a ditch. Near the entrance to the Avenue is the Slaughter Stone, a sarsen stone that may originally have stood upright. Almost opposite, and set within the Avenue, is the Heel Stone, which may have played a part in sightings of the sunrise at the summer solstice. ... Free Essays on Stonehenge Stonehenge is hailed as one of the seven wonders of the world. But why is it called a â€Å"wonder† ? With science so advanced as to being able to clone mammals, one would thing their would be rarely any discoveries left to be made. However Stonehenge is shrouded in nothing more than merely theories and guesses based on little or no fact. Being that we do know very little, You have yo ask yourself a few questions. What was the purpose of Stonehenge being built, and that being said how was it constructed. There are thousands of ideas and speculations. The more likely correct and accepted theories may just surprise you. As you know, there has not been even one major structure built in the future nor the past that was ever completed by one man alone. Like Stonehenge they were major undertakings involving many people with many skills. Those who made Stonehenge succeeded in creating an incredibly complex and mysterious structure that lived on long after its creators had passed on. The many aspects of Stonehenge and the processes by which it was built delve into the levels of intelligence and sophistication of the civilizations used to designed and build massive the monument, despite the fact that it is difficult to find out who exactly these people were. They have left very little evidence behind with which we could get a better idea of their everyday lives, their culture, their surroundings, and their affairs with other peoples. The technology and wisdom that are inevitably required in constructing such a monument show that these prehistoric peoples had had more expertise than expected. The planning and assembling of Stonehenge took a very long time ( 1000 years, from 2900 B.C. to 1600 B.C.), and not one but many different groups of people were involved in the process. How they came about plays an important role in understanding them. Some of the first...