Stonehenge

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Context

• The UK police arrested two people, for spraying an orange substance on Stonehenge, the renowned prehistoric UNESCO World Heritage Site in England.

Details

• Stonehenge is a prehistoric megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England.

Description of Stonehenge:

• Located on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England.
• Outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around 13 feet high and weighing approximately 25 tons.
• Topped by connecting horizontal lintel stones.
• Inside the outer ring is a circle of smaller bluestones.
• Within the bluestone circle are free-standing trilithons, consisting of two bulkier vertical sarsens joined by one lintel.
• Aligned towards the sunrise on the summer solstice and sunset on the winter solstice.
• Set within earthworks amidst the densest complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England.

Construction Phases:

• Constructed in several phases from around 3100 BC to 1600 BC.
• Circle of large sarsen stones placed between 2600 BC and 2400 BC.
• Surrounding circular earth bank and ditch dated to about 3100 BC.
• Bluestones positioned between 2400 and 2200 BC, possibly present since 3000 BC.

Cultural Significance:

• Considered a British cultural icon.
• Legally protected scheduled monument since 1882.
• Added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986.
• Owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage; surrounding land owned by the National Trust.

PRACTICE QUESTION Q. What is Stonehenge? a) A medieval castle in Scotland b) A prehistoric megalithic structure in Wiltshire, England c) An ancient temple in Greece d) A Roman amphitheater in Italy

SOURCE: INDIATODAY