Stonehenge Summarised Useful Facts For The Attention Of Visitors


Each statement is furnished with a reference to the particular pages

in this book, where fuller information and arguments for and against

may be found.





I. WHEN AND BY WHOM STONEHENGE WAS BUILT



(a) Stonehenge was erected about the year 1700 B.C. (See page 51.)



(b) It was built by a race or men who had only a slight knowledge

of the use of bronze, and no knowledge o
iron. (See pages 40-49.)





II. STONEHENGE CONSISTS OF



(a) A circular earthwork, 300 feet in diameter. (See page 34.)



(b) An avenue bounded by earthworks approaching it on the

north-east. (See page 34.)



(c) One large unworked Sarsen Stone, called the Hele Stone, or

Friar's Heel. (See page 28.)



(d) A recumbent slab within the earthwork called the Slaughtering

Stone. (See page 31.)



(e) Two small unhewn Sarsens lying north-west and south-east of the

Circle of Stones. (See page 27.)



(f) A ring of hewn Sarsen stones with imposts or lintels mortised

to them. The lintels are fitted together with toggle joints. Sixteen

out of the original thirty uprights of these Trilithons are now

standing.



The diameter of this circle is about 108 feet, or that of the dome of

St. Paul's. (See page 12.)



(g) A ring of less perfectly hewn Foreign Stones (i.e. stones

not to be found in Wiltshire at the present day).



These numbered between thirty and forty. Only seven are standing

to-day, nine are overthrown. (See page 20.)



(h) Five great Trilithons, arranged in a horseshoe, with the opening

to the north-east. These Trilithons rise gradually in height towards

the south-west. The largest group of stones fell A.D. 1620. Those next

to the great Trilithon on the north-west, fell on January 3rd, 1797.



To-day only two of the Inner Trilithons are standing. One upright of

the great Trilithon (raised and made secure in 1901) is erect. (See

page 17.)



(i) A horseshoe of less perfectly hewn Foreign Stones. Originally

there were fifteen or more of these monoliths averaging eight feet

high. (See page 20.)



(j) A simple recumbent slab of micaceous sandstone called the Altar

Stone. (See page 14.)





III. WHERE THE STONES CAME FROM



(a) The Sarsen Stones are the remains of a cap of Tertiary Sandstone

which once covered the plain. (See page 17.)



(b) The Foreign Stones are still a matter of debate. They have

assuredly been brought from a distance. This is unusual; megalithic

structures are usually built of materials found close at hand. (See

page 20.)



[Illustration: Stonehenge. Looking towards the South East.]





IV. HOW THE MONUMENT WAS ERECTED



The large monoliths of Sarsen Stone were first of all roughly shaped

as they lay in situ on the Plain and then transported to the chosen

site.



The Foreign Stones were also dressed on the spot before erection.



The entire work was performed with stone tools of the roughest

description, weighing from half a pound to over sixty pounds. (See p.

40.)



The only trace of metal discovered in 1901, was a small stain of

bronze on one stone, caused by contact with the stone of some very

small bronze object, possibly an ornament. (See page 53.)



The large Trilithons were erected from the centre of the site.



The Foreign Stones were placed in position afterwards. (See pages

45-49.)





V. STONEHENGE AND THE SUMMER SOLSTICE



It is a notable fact that the sun rises immediately over the summit of

the Hele Stone, in a line with the axis of Stonehenge on the Summer

Solstice.



Sir Norman Lockyer and Mr. Penrose, working on astronomical grounds,

fix the date of the circle at 1680 B.C., with a possible error of 200

years on either side.



Much has been said as regards Sun Worship at Stonehenge. The exact

use to which the circle was put is at present a matter of conjecture.

(See page 57.)





VI. STONE CIRCLES GENERALLY, AND STONEHENGE



1. Stonehenge is probably the latest, and is certainly the most

elaborate, stone circle in England.



2. It is the only one in which the stones are squared, dressed, and

provided with lintels or imposts.



3. It is the only circle which contains a horseshoe arrangement of

stones.



4. Most of the stone circles in the South of England face towards the

north-east. Stonehenge is one of these.



5. Monuments of the Stonehenge type, but ruder, are found in the

following neighbouring counties in South Britain: Cornwall,

Devonshire, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire.



6. Though Wiltshire only contains four such monuments, two of them,

Avebury and Stonehenge, are the most remarkable in the kingdom.



Avebury, the older of the two, has been almost destroyed, but when

perfect was one of the largest.



Stonehenge, the later, is the most finished example of a megalithic

circle in England.





VII. DRUIDS



There seems to be no valid reason for supposing that Stonehenge was

erected by the Druids. (See page 67.)





VIII. THE BARROWS NEAR STONEHENGE



The Barrows round Stonehenge were the burial places of a bronze-using

race, of almost the same date as the Circle; they were erected mostly

after the building of Stonehenge, and are more numerous in this spot

than in any other part of England. (See page 73.)



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