FREE ESSAY ON STONEHENGE

STONEHENGE

Whalon Herbert
Anthropology 108
17 November 2000
Dr. Ringle, Professor
Stonehenge is without a doubt the most interesting monument in Europe. The ring of stones
standing in the open vastness of Salisbury Plain is an evocative image of wonder and
mystery. (Scarre, 130) Stonehenge is both traditional and unique in Britain colorful
history. It is traditional in that it falls within a whole class of monuments
characterized by circular banks and ditches, or by rings of standing stones. Its
uniqueness is engulfed within the size of the stones, the complexity of their
arrangement, and the balancing of the lintels atop the uprights. There are three other
major monuments in Britain, and while they don't receive the same consideration as
Stonehenge, they too entice much scrutiny. While the unique characteristics of Stonehenge
only help to intensify its marvel, the ambiguities of its intention pose questions that
today are still not answered. This essay will discuss monumentality as it compares to the
four major henge enclosures in Britain. The monuments, namely Stonehenge, Avebury,
Marden, and Durrington Walls, will be used in conjunction with discussing what purposes
monuments can serve, as well as what the remains of a site can tell us about the culture
of a society.
Avebury
The best-known neighbor of Stonehenge, the Great Circles at Avebury, was built between c.
2,500 and 2,200 BC. Together the two sites illustrate two important general
characteristics of the culture of the Bronze Age: the large scale and self-confident view
of man's relationship with nature and the almost manic tenacity of a people gripped by an
obsession. (Castleden, 93) The Avebury site consists of 2 huge stone circles within the
frame of a larger circle spanning twenty-eight and a half acres. The stones of Avebury
are remarkable in two ways. They seem to have been shaped naturally with no tooled
dressing, such as distinguished the later Stonehenge stones, and they seem to have been
placed alternately in two basic shapes-tall with vertical sides, and broad, diamonded
shaped. (Hawkins, 83) It is thought that these two shapes symbolized the male and female
principles and that their careful selection and alternation show that the builders
honored some fertility cult. It has also been reasoned that Avebury was the most
important temple meeting place in the area and probably in the whole British Isles, until
Stonehenge surpassed it.
The source of the huge stone sarsens was site 17 miles south of Avebury. Although they
were already formed for the most part, they were half buried in soil, so the first task
was to lever them out onto sledges using timber beams. Ingenuity of this caliber
indicates the efficiency of the thought processes involved with the construction of
Avebury. Even factors like friction were taken into account.
Durrington Walls 
The large circular earthwork situated north of the town of Amesbury in south Wiltshire,
England has been one of the more neglected prehistoric monuments, overshadowed by the
visual impact of Stonehenge. A prehistoric ceremonial circle, Durrington Walls was
probably formed during the last glacial episode, between about 30,000 to 50,000 years
ago.
The bank that Durrington Walls is built on tells us much about the land in that part of
Britain. On the top of the soil and penetrating for a distance of about 7 cm is a rich
but localized deposit of refuse which produced pottery of earlier Neolithic type, flints,
bones, and charcoal. (Wainwright, 54) These items produced a radiocarbon date of 2450 BC.
The environmental evidence, based on an investigation of the soil profile preserved
beneath the bank of the enclosure and on an analysis of land snails and pollen from the
soils, demonstrates a distinct phase of prehistoric woodland clearance and possible
cultivation prior to the construction of the enclosure. (Wainwright, 54) 
The discovery of more pottery, stone tools, bone, and antler provides much insight as to
what resources were available to farmers and builders of this period. Their abundance and
distribution, especially in the ditches surrounding the Walls demonstrates how tools were
commonly used and discarded. The varying amount of artifacts found at different locations
denotes that supplies were not always in such abundance that they could always be
discarded at will. It is clear that the effort represented in the construction of Avebury
implies a society sufficiently stable, prosperous, and amply motivated for the project to
have been undertaken. 
Woodhenge
Woodhenge, as the name implies, is somewhat of a spin-off of Stonehenge. Lying about two
miles northeast of Stonehenge, it was originally a circular area roughly 200 feet in
diameter. The inside of this timber structure consisted of postholes that held the beams
that supported the dome-like roof. While its purpose is still debatable, varying ideas
include a temporary barrack for the workers who were building Stonehenge, or possibly it
was Stonehenge; that is until the actual Stonehenge was fully erected. 
Following the excavations at Durrington Walls in 1976, Woodhenge was of particular
interest to those who were researching into the archaeology and environment of henge
enclosures in southern England around 2000 BC. First, the relationship of Woodhenge to
the comparable timber structure excavated at Durrington Walls was unknown, but could be
clarified by radiocarbon dates. Secondly, it was clearly desirable to obtain soil samples
for molluscan analysis from the fossil beneath the bank and from the ditch. This provided
information relating to the environment of the time, which could be compared with that
from Durrington Walls. (Wainwright, 107) The mollusca from the fossil soil beneath the
enclosure bank indicated an early woodland environment followed by a forest clearance
phase. Finally, there was a period of dry grassland when the environment was free of
wooded vegetation. While the duration of this cycle cannot be determined conclusively,
knowing small pieces of information about what went on continues to aid scientists and
archaeologists in painting a picture of the past. 
Bibliography
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