Stonehenge is a ruin of a stone building. Stonehenge is the oldest pre-historic structure in western Europe. The name "Stonehenge" is Saxon in origin and means hanging stones. Stonehenge is visible from around one to two miles (Chippindale 12). It has a plain structure and at first glance Stonehenge appears to be a large pile of rocks. But when looked at more closely, it is a structure of great mystery. (Abels 5).

Stonehenge contains close to one hundred and sixty-five stones. All of the stones are arranged in a plain and simple manner. Stonehenge is not very large. It is only about thirty five paces or eighty feet wide. Stonehenge is three hundred and thirty feet above sea level and is eighty miles west of London. Stonehenge is located in Wiltshire in south central England. The closest town to Stonehenge is Amesbury. It is in the center of Salisbury Plains (Chippindale 10).

The pillars at Stonehenge are extraordinary. All of the stones appear gray in color, but their natural

The uses for Stonehenge has always been a vast mystery. No one knows for sure what Stonehenge uses were. A few possible uses for Stonehenge are as a temple, a burial site, and as a sundial. Some scientists believe that Stonehenge was once used as a temple. The scientists came to this conclusion due to the circular shape and the towering stones. Many people consider Stonehenge a holy place.

colors vary from mostly orange to brown or blue. Many lichens grow all over the stones. About one half of the original stone pillars are missing today. All of the joints that join the stone pillars together are dry stone joints. There was no wet sand or clay used to join the pillars together (Chippindale 12).

There are a few theories of how stones at Stonehenge were moved. Two possible ways that the stones at Stonehenge got there, are that the stones were rolled on logs and also, the stones were moved on rafts. Some scientists believe that the gigantic stones were rolled on logs. The appearance of the logs might resemble a sled that we could possibly see today. Other scientists assume that the stones were moved by rafts or boats down the river (Roop 78).

Just inside the inner sarsen trilithon is the inner bluestone horseshoe. The stones start out at around six feet and increase in size moving south-west until they reach a maximum of eight feet. Six of the original nineteen stones that made the horseshoe are still in place (Chippindale 15). Towards the apex of the inner bluestone horseshoe is a single large slab of gray-green sandstone. This stone is called the altar stone. It is approximately sixteen feet long and lies on its side. It is broken into two pieces. The stone was believed to have once stood upright. The stone has been given nicknames like "Slaughter", "Heel", and "Station" (Chippindale 16).

The diameter of the ditch was about three hundred and twenty feet. Only a small portion of the bank still remains today. The present day bank is two feet tall and it was originally about six feet tall (Atkinson 25). The final phase of Stonehenge, Stonehenge III, was completed at about 2100 B.C. (Wiltshire).

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