Stonehenge
Prehistoric megalithic monument on Salisbury Plain, England.
Stonehenge is a prehistoric megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, two miles west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around 13 feet high, seven feet wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connecting horizontal lintel stones held in place with mortise and tenon joints—a feature unique among contemporary monuments. Inside is a ring of smaller bluestones, and within these are free-standing trilithons: two bulkier vertical sarsens joined by a single lintel. The whole monument, now in ruins, is aligned towards the sunrise on the summer solstice and sunset on the winter solstice. The stones are set within earthworks in the middle of the densest complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred tumuli.
- Location
- Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England
- Type
- Prehistoric megalithic monument
- Owned by
- Crown Estate, managed by English Heritage
Reader's Guide
Stonehenge is one of the most famous landmarks in the United Kingdom and is regarded as a British cultural icon. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown Estate and managed by English Heritage; the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust. The etymology of its name derives from Old English words meaning 'stone' and either 'hinge' or 'to hang', reflecting the hanging lintels. The 'henge' portion has given its name to a class of monuments known as henges, defined by archaeologists as earthworks consisting of a circular banked enclosure with an internal ditch. Stonehenge's alignment with the solstices and its long history of burial and construction make it a key site for understanding Neolithic and Bronze Age ritual and society.
Did You Know?
- Stonehenge's outer sarsen stones are each around 13 feet high, 7 feet wide, and weigh around 25 tons.
- The monument is aligned towards the sunrise on the summer solstice and sunset on the winter solstice.
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