Overview
This lecture explores the origins, construction, and purpose of Stonehenge, using recent archaeological findings to shed new light on its builders, engineering, rituals, and cultural significance.
Construction and Features of Stonehenge
- Stonehenge was built in stages beginning around 3000 BC on Salisbury Plain.
- The earliest phase included a ditch, bank, and a ring of 56 pits (Aubrey Holes), likely for blue stones from Wales.
- Around 2500 BC, massive sarsen stones (up to 45 tons) were added and precisely fitted with woodworking-like joints.
- Construction required sophisticated stone-shaping, transport, and teamwork, possibly using sledges, rollers, or ball-bearing technology.
- Blue stones were moved over 150 miles, and later rearranged among the sarsens.
Archaeological Discoveries and Techniques
- Recent excavations examine Stonehenge’s landscape, surrounding monuments, and burial sites.
- The site contains nearly 60 cremation burials, mostly adult males, indicating selective and possibly royal or elite burial.
- Tools like red deer antler picks and hammer stones were used for digging and shaping stone.
- Experimental archaeology tests theories of stone movement and construction.
Purpose and Cultural Context
- Archaeologists suggest Stonehenge was a ceremonial center for rituals related to life, death, and ancestry.
- The monument aligns with sunrise at the summer solstice and sunset at the winter solstice, marking important seasonal rituals.
- Stonehenge and the nearby timber circle at Durrington Walls may have represented realms of the dead (stone) and living (wood), connected by processional avenues and the River Avon.
- Feasting and gatherings at these monuments marked significant times, likely tied to funerary rites and social cohesion.
New Theories and Discoveries
- Natural landscape features under Stonehenge’s Avenue align with the solstices, possibly influencing site selection.
- Discovery of “Blue Stonehenge” by the river reveals another stone circle, suggesting a ceremonial route between monuments.
- The movement of blue stones may represent ancestral connections and the transfer of identity to the new site.
Stonehenge in Broader Historical Context
- Stonehenge is one of the final large communal monuments of Britain’s Neolithic era.
- The arrival of metalworking (Copper, Bronze) shifted social focus to personal wealth and individual burials, ending the era of communal stone monuments.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Sarsen stones — Large local sandstone blocks used for Stonehenge’s main structure.
- Blue stones — Smaller stones transported from Wales, used in Stonehenge and nearby circles.
- Aubrey Holes — The 56 pits forming Stonehenge’s earliest circular boundary.
- Henge — A circular earthwork usually consisting of a ditch and bank.
- Solstice alignment — Orientation of monuments to sunrise or sunset at the longest or shortest day of the year.
- Durrington Walls — A large henge and settlement near Stonehenge, with evidence of timber circles.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review notes on Neolithic burial practices and monument construction for next class.
- Read assigned chapter on prehistoric monuments and their cultural context.