Free Courses Sale ends Soon, Get It Now


Stonehenge

21st June, 2024

Stonehenge

Disclaimer: Copyright infringement not intended.

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