Page 41 - DK Eyewitness Travel Guides - The World's Must-See Places

GREAT BRITAIN 39

BUILDING OF STONEHENGE
Stonehenge's scale is astonishing given that the only
tools available were made of stone, wood, and bone.
The labor involved in quarrying, transporting, and
erecting the huge stones was such that its builders
must have been able to <Ommand vast numbers of
people. One method is explained here.
~ was packed tightly with Alternate ends of the
The pit around the base

A sarsen stone was moved With levers supported by stones and chalk. top stone, or lintel, were The lintel was supported The lintel was then
on rollers and levered down timber packing, the stone was levered up. by a timber platform. levered sideways onto
into a waiting pit. gradually raised by 200 men. the upright stones.

Bluestone Cir<le Horseshoe of Sarsen Trilithons
Erected around 2000 BC out There were originally five trilithons
of some 80 slabs quarried in (three stones) within the Sarcen and
Wales, it was never completed. Bluestone dr<les, each comprising
two upright sarcen (hard sandstone)
stones topped by a horizontal lintel.

Sarsen Circle
The central part of the
monument is made up
of four concentric
stone arr ang emen ts:
two d'rcles and two
A Finds
horseshoes. These 30 From a burial mound near
stones form the Stonehenge, these prehistoric
outermost circle. finds are now part of Devizes
/ ""-""''""~"~ museum's exceptional collection.

These stones are thought to
Winter Solstice Y
have been transported from There are many lunar and solar
Wales on a combination of alignments. The inner horseshoe
sledges and rafts. faces the winter solstice sunrise.

Restoration of Stonehenge >
Formal excavation and restoration work on
the site only began during the 20th century.

Y The Prehistoric Site
This was possibly a ceremonial area for
fertility, birth, and death rituals. Evidence
of burials and cremations exists nearby and
inside the circle.

A Stonehenge as it is today
The ruins of Stonehenge reflect the grand
structure that existed 4,000 years ago. Only
half of the original stones remain, due to
natural weathering and human destruction.