In the 1930s, archaeologist Alexander Keiller, heir to a British marmalade fortune, purchased the site. From Marlborough, it is likely that the roughly shaped blocks were transported across the undulating landscape of Wiltshire to their resting place on Salisbury Plain. In the early 12th century, Geoffrey of Monmouth, one of the first people to write about the ancient site, claimed it was erected as a memorial to hundreds of Britons who were slayed by the Saxons. The first (which I took part in), designed to investigate the date, nature and settings of the internal smaller stones, recovered significant evidence for late- and post-Roman use of the monument. © 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC. It is a ring of standing stones set into the ground and surrounded by a circular mound of earth. Increasing traffic | To the north, the A344 passed within a few metres of the site, whilst the A303 – a main route between London and several popular holiday destinations – is close by to the south. The Y holes encircled another ring of pits called the Z holes, which were dug at an earlier time and surrounded the sarsens. Fences, paths and custodians’ huts helped to reduce the damage, but added unsightly new elements. There were originally only two entrances to the enclosure, English Heritage explains – a wide one to the north east, and a smaller one on the southern side.
Around 3000 B.C. Roman pottery, stone, metal items and coins have been found during various excavations at Stonehenge. At some point in the late- or post-Roman period, during the 4th or 5th century AD, the bluestones were again modified, but the full extent of this alteration is unknown. Between 1919 and 1926, excavations centred on the site’s southeastern quadrant. You have successfully linked your account! As a result, Stonehenge has been a constant source of conjecture, from the earliest recorded tourists to the present-day archaeologists and academics who work there. Modern scholars say Stonehenge’s construction predated the Druids; however, present-day Druids view it as a sacred spot. About seven miles from the ancient site, police stopped the convoy. We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. "Stonehenge." Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. Constructed between 2850 B.C. Starting in the Middle Ages and for centuries afterward, Stonehenge was privately owned. Another theory, introduced in the 1960s, holds that Stonehenge was an astronomical computer used to predict eclipses. The inner bluestone horseshoe may have contained 19, of which only six still stand. In 2018, historian Miles Russell – who was part of a team excavating within the central uprights of Stonehenge in the first archaeological investigation there for 70 years – took on the top questions about Stonehenge for BBC History Revealed…. In 2000, a Welsh group called Menter Preseli attempted to use only Stone Age tools and methods to recreate the prehistoric journey made by the bluestones.
The two types of stones at the center of the monument, the large sarsens and smaller bluestones, arrived at the site sometime around 2500 B.C. After tens of thousands of people showed up for the 1984 festival, authorities, concerned about such issues as open drug use, banned the event for the following year. Hands-on tourists | Until the late 19th century, visitors regularly chipped off pieces to take home and engraved their initials into the monument. 4. Consequently the Society of Antiquaries lobbied the site’s owner, Sir Edmond Antrobus, and offered to assist with conservation.