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Stonehenge

In Stonehenge
…remote origin of its smaller bluestones (igneous and other rocks) from 100–150 miles (160–240 km) away, in South Wales. The name of the monument probably derives from the Saxon stan-hengen, meaning “stone hanging” or “gallows.” Along with more than 350 nearby monuments and henges (ancient earthworks consisting of a circular…
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In Stonehenge: Speculation and excavation
…of its original sarsens and bluestones having been broken up and taken away, probably during Britain’s Roman and medieval periods. The ground within the monument also has been severely disturbed, not only by the removal of the stones but also by digging—to various degrees and ends—since the 16th century, when…
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In Stonehenge: First stage: 3000–2935 bce
…that they probably held Welsh bluestones. Human cremation burials were found within and around most of the holes, as well as within the encircling ditch and bank. (Of an estimated 150–240 cremation burials at Stonehenge, 64 had been excavated by the first decade of the 21st century.) The great majority…
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In Stonehenge: First stage: 3000–2935 bce
…of the surviving 45 original bluestones of Stonehenge are of spotted dolerite (also called diabase) from southwest Wales, specifically the Preseli Mountains. Other stones of rhyolite, rhyolitic tuff, volcanic ash, and dolerite are believed to be from the same region. A source for one of the rhyolites, however, was identified…
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In Stonehenge: Second stage: 2640–2480 bce
The bluestones were observed by Atkinson to have been arranged into a double arc, which, for convenience, he called the Q and R Holes. Atkinson’s records suggested that the Q and R Holes predated the sarsen circle and trilithons, but Darvill and Wainwright’s excavation in 2008…
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