An unusual geographic phenomena : Stonehenge

Essay by croat4life18 October 2007

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Stonehenge. A place that has been surrounded in mystery, debate and speculation for centuries. Located in the English county of Wiltshire on the Salisbury Plains, it is one of the world's most famous prehistoric sites. Stonehenge is a ruin of a stone building. It is the oldest pre-historic structure in Western Europe. The name "Stonehenge" is Saxon in origin and means hanging stones. It contains close to one hundred and sixty-five stones and all of the stones are arranged in a plain and simple manner. Construction on this magnificent monument began 5000 years ago, but the stones that still stand today were put in place nearly 4000 years ago. Even though Stonehenge is an amazing sight physically, one of the main things that attracts visitors to Stonehenge is its mystery. Stonehenge is so mysterious because no matter how many theories we come up with, we can never be 100% certain on the purpose for which it was built or who actually built it.

At Stonehenge, there are five different types of stone circles. (Refer to pages 6 & 7 for diagrams). The five types are: the outer sarsen circle, the outer bluestone circles, the inner sarsen trilithons, the inner blue horseshoe and the altar stone. The outer sarsen circle is one hundred feet in diameter. Each stone is about thirteen and a half feet tall and seven feet wide and the space between each of the stones is approximately four feet apart. The outer bluestone circle is close to seventy-five feet in diameter. Most of the stones height are six and a half feet or taller and the stones are blue in colour. Only six of the original sixty stones remain standing straight. The others either lean or lie on their side. The inner sarsen...