Page 104 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - England's South Coast

102  ENGLAND ’ S SOUTH C O AST REGION B Y REGION

w Stonehenge
The Heel Stone casts a
Built in several stages from about 3000 BC, Stonehenge long shadow straight to
is Europe’s most famous prehistoric monument. We the heart of the circle on
can only guess at the rituals that took place here, but Midsummer’s Day.
the alignment of the stones leaves little doubt that
the circle is connected with the sun and the pas sing
of the seasons, and that its builders possessed an
understanding of both arithmetic and astronomy.
Despite popular belief, the circle was not built by
the Druids, an Iron Age priestly cult in Britain from
around 250 BC – Stonehenge was abandoned
more than 1,000 years before this time.
The Avenue forms a
ceremonial approach
to the site.
The Slaughter Stone,
named by 17th-century
antiquarians who believed
Stonehenge to be a place
of human sacrifice, is
one of a pair marking the
entrance to the interior.
The Outer Bank, dug around
The remains of Stonehenge’s Horseshoe 3000 BC, is the oldest known
of Sarsen Trilothons phase of Stonehenge.
Building of
Stonehenge
Stonehenge’s builders must
have been able to command
immense resources and vast
numbers of people to trans- A sarsen stone was With levers supported The stone was pulled
port and erect the stones. moved on rollers and by timber packing, it upright by about 200
One method is explained here. levered into a pit. was gradually raised. men hauling on ropes.

e Old Sarum
Wiltshire’s Other Prehistoric Sites
Castle Rd. Map A2. Tel 01722 335398.
The open countryside of Salisbury Plain is extraordinarily rich in Open Apr–Sep: 10am–6pm daily; Oct–
prehistoric sites. North of Stonehenge, Silbury Hill is Europe’s largest Mar: 10am–4pm daily. Closed 1 Jan &
prehistoric earthwork, but despite extensive excavations its purpose 24–26 Dec. & 7 limited. = œ
remains a mystery. Built out of chalk blocks around 2400 BC, the ∑ english-heritage.org.uk
hill covers 2 ha (5 acres) and rises to a height of 40 m (131 ft).
Nearby, West Kennet Long Barrow was built around 3600 BC. It is The remains of this prehistoric
the biggest chambered tomb in England, with numerous stone- settlement lie within the mas-
lined “rooms”. Other prehistoric sites in Wiltshire include Cley Hill, sive ramparts of a 1st-century
an Iron Age hillfort, and the Romano-British hillfort. The
Membury Hillfort, one Norman founders of Old Sarum
of the largest hillforts in
the country. Visitors can see built their own motte-and-
ceremonial bronze weapons bailey castle inside this ready-
and other finds excavated made fortifi cation. Above
around Stonehenge and the ground, nothing remains of the
other local prehistoric sites in town that once sat within the
the museum in Salisbury (see ramparts. The town’s occupants
p100) and the main museum moved to the fertile river valley
in Devizes (see p104). Silbury Hill, a prehistoric chalk mound site that became Salisbury
during the early 12th century.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp176–7 and pp186–8

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