Stonehenge in better days, circa 1966

We went south that year, Liverpool to Bournemouth, the route took us close to Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain, of course we parked our cars and had a look. Entry was free, I think a guide was there to advise what we were supposed to be looking for. I later attended a course at Warwick University on the mystery of Stonehenge and its hidden outer rings, I have been able to learn  a lot more since then.

Rob and Doreen McBride, picture by Roy?

In some ways the past was better, I am informed the public cannot get near the place now ?

R McB

http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/

Stonehenge is probably the most important prehistoric monument in the

whole of Britain and has attracted visitors from earliest times. It stands as a timeless monument to the people who built it.

The Stonehenge that we see today is the final stage that was completed about 3500 years ago, but first let us look back 5000 years.

 
The first Stonehenge was a large earthwork or Henge, comprising a ditch, bank, and the Aubrey holes, all probably built around 3100 BC. The Aubrey holes are round pits in the chalk, about one metre wide and deep, with steep sides and flat bottoms. They form a circle about 284 feet in diameter. Excavations have revealed cremated human bones in some of the chalk filling, but the holes themselves were probably made, not for the purpose of graves, but as part of the religious ceremony. Shortly after this stage Stonehenge was abandoned, left untouched for over 1000 years.

The Second Stage


The Arrival of the Bluestones

The second and most dramatic stage of Stonehenge started around 2150 BC. Some 82 bluestones from the Preseli mountains, in south-west Wales were transported to the site. It is thought these stones, some weighing 4 Tonnes each were dragged on rollers and sledges to the headwaters on Milford Haven and then loaded onto rafts. They were carried by water along the south coast of Wales and up the rivers Avon and From, before being dragged overland again to near Warminster in Wiltshire. The final stage of the journey was mainly by water, down the river Wylye to Salisbury, then the Salisbury Avon to west Amesbury.

This astonishing journey covers nearly 240 miles. Once at the site, these stones were set up in the centre to form an incomplete double circle. ( During the same period the original entrance of the circular earthwork was widened and a pair of Heel Stones were erected. Also the nearer part of the Avenue was built, aligned with the midsummer sunrise.)

For lively debate and alternative views on this please see: - http://www.brianjohn.f2s.com/enigma1.html

http://www.brianjohn.f2s.com/bluestonesimp58.html