Virtual Travel-Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England, 3 km (2 mi) west of Amesbury. It consists of a ring of standing stones, each around 4.0 m (13 feet) high, 2.1 m (7feet) wide, and weighing around 25 tons.
The stones are set within earthworks in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred tumuli (burial mounds).
Archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the first bluestones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC,although they may have been at the site as early as 3000 BC.
Archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the first bluestones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC,although they may have been at the site as early as 3000 BC.
Computer render by Jlert Joseph Lertola
The site and its surroundings were added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986.
Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. Deposits containing human bone date from as early as 3000 BC, when the ditch and bank were first dug, and continued for at least another 500 years.
The site and its surroundings were added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986.
Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. Deposits containing human bone date from as early as 3000 BC, when the ditch and bank were first dug, and continued for at least another 500 years.
Folklore from Wikipedia
Heel Stone
The Heel Stone lies northeast of the sarsen circle, beside the end portion of Stonehenge Avenue. It is a rough stone, 16 feet (4.9 m) above ground, leaning inwards towards the stone circle. It has been known by many names in the past, including "Friar's Heel" and "Sun-stone".
At summer solstice an observer standing within the stone circle, looking northeast through the entrance, would see the Sun rise in the approximate direction of the heel stone, and the Sun has often been photographed over it.
A folk tale relates the origin of the Friar's Heel reference.
A folk tale relates the origin of the Friar's Heel reference.
The Devil bought the stones from a woman in Ireland, wrapped them up, and brought them to Salisbury plain. One of the stones fell into the Avon, the rest were carried to the plain. The Devil then cried out, "No-one will ever find out how these stones came here!" A friar replied, "That’s what you think!", whereupon the Devil threw one of the stones at him and struck him on the heel. The stone stuck in the ground and is still there.Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable attributes this tale to Geoffrey of Monmouth, but though book eight of Geoffrey's Historia Regum Britanniae does describe how Stonehenge was built, the two stories are entirely different.
Arthurian legend
In the twelfth century, Geoffrey of Monmouth included a fanciful story in his Historia Regum Britanniae ("History of the Kings of Britain") that attributed the monument's construction to the wizard Merlin. Geoffrey's story spread widely, appearing in more and less elaborate form in adaptations of his work such as Wace's Norman French Roman de Brut, Layamon's Middle English Brut, and the Welsh Brut y Brenhinedd.
According to Geoffrey, the rocks of Stonehenge were healing rocks, called the Giant's dance, which giants had brought from Africa to Ireland for their healing properties. The fifth-century king Aurelius Ambrosius wished to erect a memorial to 3,000 nobles slain in battle against the Saxons and buried at Salisbury, and, at Merlin's advice, chose Stonehenge.
According to Geoffrey, the rocks of Stonehenge were healing rocks, called the Giant's dance, which giants had brought from Africa to Ireland for their healing properties. The fifth-century king Aurelius Ambrosius wished to erect a memorial to 3,000 nobles slain in battle against the Saxons and buried at Salisbury, and, at Merlin's advice, chose Stonehenge.
The king sent Merlin, Uther Pendragon (King Arthur's father), and 15,000 knights, to remove it from Ireland, where it had been constructed on Mount Killaraus by the Giants. They slew 7,000 Irish, but as the knights tried to move the rocks with ropes and force, they failed. Then Merlin, using "gear" and skill, easily dismantled the stones and sent them over to Britain, where Stonehenge was dedicated. After it had been rebuilt near Amesbury, Geoffrey further narrates how first Ambrosius Aurelianus, then Uther Pendragon, and finally Constantine III, were buried inside the "Giants' Ring of Stonehenge".
In another legend of Saxons and Britons, in 472, the invading king Hengist invited Brythonic warriors to a feast but treacherously ordered his men to draw their weapons from concealment and fall upon the guests, killing 420 of them. Hengist erected the stone monument—Stonehenge—on the site to show his remorse for the deed.
#stonehenge #england #uk #wiltshire #standingstones #stonecircle
More about Stonehenge from History.com:https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/stonehenge
More photos from my visit to Stonehenge and Salisbury: https://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/Great-Britain-2017/Stonehenge-Salisbury/
In another legend of Saxons and Britons, in 472, the invading king Hengist invited Brythonic warriors to a feast but treacherously ordered his men to draw their weapons from concealment and fall upon the guests, killing 420 of them. Hengist erected the stone monument—Stonehenge—on the site to show his remorse for the deed.
#stonehenge #england #uk #wiltshire #standingstones #stonecircle
More about Stonehenge from History.com:https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/stonehenge
More photos from my visit to Stonehenge and Salisbury: https://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/Great-Britain-2017/Stonehenge-Salisbury/
Take a virtual tour through some of my photos: https://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/Travel-Photography
We'll get through this together. We're all connected.
#StayatHomeSavesLives
#StopTheSpread
We'll get through this together. We're all connected.
#StayatHomeSavesLives
#StopTheSpread