Stonehenge stands near the top of a gently sloping hill on the Salisbury Plain. It is about thirty miles from the English Channel and eighty miles west of London. Two miles away is River Avon, an important river-way in ancient times. It also played an important role in the building and use of Stonehenge.

The road used in construction for bringing giant stones curves two and a half miles "from the river before it approaches the standing stones" (Roop 17). It then passes the Heel Stone, which is believed to play an important role in the summer solstice. Stonehenge I was a circular ditch and bank enclosure (the actual Stonehenge). "Two rings of Earth and a shallow ditch, measuring three hundred feet in diameter, surrou

Co,1992.

Although the Romans possessed skill and knowledge they did not enter England until sixty A. D. "The Druids were not skilled in architecture, did not know mathematics, and could not read or sculpt" (41). The main reason for this is that Stonehenge was built in the fifteen hundreds B.C. This was long before the Druids came to Britain. However, scholars do believe that the Druids did worship there. "The temple, dedicated to the worship of the sun horseshoe, opened northeast toward the summer solstice sunrise" (54). The alignment of the Altar Stone, Heel Stone, and the Avenue all point toward the rising midsummer sun, which indicated a place of worship.

By these storm-sculptured stones while centuries fled?

Stonehenge consisted of the final construction and erection of huge lintel Sarsen Stones. "Once the stones were at Stonehenge they were cut and shaped" (83). They had to be stood on end and firmly fixed into the Earth. First, the builders shaped the bottoms of the stones into a dull point. After the position of the stone within the monument was marked, a hole was dug. "The holes varied according to the length of the stones so they would all be level" (84). Three sides of each hole were vertical; the fourth side was at a forty-five degree angle. The side opposite the sloped side was lined with timbers to keep it from being ruined as the stone was slid in. The stone was then tipped into the hole, and slid down the ramped side.

The most laborious work followed. The sharpened antler picks were "hammered into the hard chalk of the ground at the site" (74). "By turning and twisting the antlers, chunks of chalk were pried loose" (74). The broken chalk was then shoveled into baskets with the ox-shoulder shovel and carried to the bank and dumped inside.

Souden, David. Stonehenge. New York: Facts on File, 1997.

In 1950 carbon dating of charcoal was done from Aubrey Holes, which dated from 1848 B. C. within 275 years. In 1953 "the shapes of Axes carved into stones typical of Bronze Age 1600 to 1400 B. C. were found" (59). This showed the influence of the Greeks on Stonehenge, which was an uncanny similarity to daggers unearthed in royal graves of Greece.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Sarsen Stones, National Trust, Greeks Romans, Heel Stone, Stone Avenue, Salisbury Plain, Greeks Stonehenge, Heritage Site, Stonehenge Wales, Helios Stone, altar stone, heel stone, salisbury plain, aubrey holes, summer solstice, antler picks, fifteen thousand ireland, river avon, tied cord, ring stones, stonehenge york,
Approximate Word count = 2405
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)