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| September 30, 2012 03:39PM |
"When is a henge not a henge? - when it’s Stonehenge."
As this is one of my specialist interests I hope the following might be enlightening:
"The final group of monuments to be considered is something of (a) catch-all category of ceremonoial structures and enclosures belonging to the later neolithic. The most extensively researched of these are the so-called 'henges', a type of site unique to the British Isles. The most famous example is undoubtedly that of Stonehenge, from which the term 'henge' was appropriated, though ironically in its final form - that of the sarsen (a hard sandstone) and bluestone settings - this monument is something of an oddity. The category encompasses a range of earthwork enclosures, ranging from 10 to 480 metres in diameter with or without internal settings of pits, posts or stones, and dating to the late fourth and third millennia BC. Their distribution extends from the Orkneys to the south coast, with concentrations in regions such as Tayside,East Yorkshire and Wessex. These monuments were rarely sited in isolation, occurring in small groups ('complexes') in parts of the landscape where earlier monuments had been constructed, for example around the environs of Stonehenge in Wiltshire. The origins of henges are unclear, though it has been suggested that they represent a development of an earlier sacred tradition that lay behind the construction of causewayed enclosures.
In their classic form (which does not include Stonehenge) henges possess external banks and internal ditches, broken by one or more entrances. ... However, there is considerable variation in morphology."
Neolithic Britain, Joshua Pollard, Shire Arcgaeology ISBN 0747803536. 1997.
Yes, I know its paradoxical. Stonehenge means 'hanging stones' henge referring to 'hanging' BUT when is a henge not a henge? When its Stonehenge, whence its name is derived.
Some might describe archaeology as a psychedelic art form, rather than a science. NOT I, I hasten to add.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2012 03:48PM by Catastrophe.
As this is one of my specialist interests I hope the following might be enlightening:
"The final group of monuments to be considered is something of (a) catch-all category of ceremonoial structures and enclosures belonging to the later neolithic. The most extensively researched of these are the so-called 'henges', a type of site unique to the British Isles. The most famous example is undoubtedly that of Stonehenge, from which the term 'henge' was appropriated, though ironically in its final form - that of the sarsen (a hard sandstone) and bluestone settings - this monument is something of an oddity. The category encompasses a range of earthwork enclosures, ranging from 10 to 480 metres in diameter with or without internal settings of pits, posts or stones, and dating to the late fourth and third millennia BC. Their distribution extends from the Orkneys to the south coast, with concentrations in regions such as Tayside,East Yorkshire and Wessex. These monuments were rarely sited in isolation, occurring in small groups ('complexes') in parts of the landscape where earlier monuments had been constructed, for example around the environs of Stonehenge in Wiltshire. The origins of henges are unclear, though it has been suggested that they represent a development of an earlier sacred tradition that lay behind the construction of causewayed enclosures.
In their classic form (which does not include Stonehenge) henges possess external banks and internal ditches, broken by one or more entrances. ... However, there is considerable variation in morphology."
Neolithic Britain, Joshua Pollard, Shire Arcgaeology ISBN 0747803536. 1997.
Yes, I know its paradoxical. Stonehenge means 'hanging stones' henge referring to 'hanging' BUT when is a henge not a henge? When its Stonehenge, whence its name is derived.
Some might describe archaeology as a psychedelic art form, rather than a science. NOT I, I hasten to add.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2012 03:48PM by Catastrophe.
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