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Sunrise at Stonehenge
With its concentrical rings of stone slabs , England’sStonehengeis the most architecturally sophisticated prehistorical stone circle in the universe , fit in to UNESCO . The roughly 5,000 - twelvemonth - old structure is remarkable for its sheer size , the shaping of its Harlan Stone and the mundaneness of its design . No one knows why Neolithic people erected Stonehenge in a shallow valley in Wiltshire , although speculation abound . Some say the structure served as an astronomic calendar , and more recently , that the stones were point to create a particular acoustic illusion .
Looking Down
What makes Stonehenge unique ? For one , its intent , which includes huge horizontal gem lintels capping the out rope and sitting atop the upright slab called trilithons , lock together by joints . In addition , the anatomical structure includes two different kinds of stones called Bluestones and Sarsens , the largest of which weighs more than 40 tons , allot to UNESCO .
Through the Millennia
The Stonehenge website dates to the Late Neolithic period , around 3000 BC , but following the initial construction Stonehenge was continually modified throughout the other Bronze Age with the last stage dated to about 1600 BC , according to the University of Oxford .
Bluestone and Sarsen
The external wall of the Stonehenge circle is made up of 60 - million - class - one-time sarsen sandstone , grant to EARTH powder store . These are the giants of the memorial , whereas the little bluestones , which weigh about 4 tons , are arrange in a circle inside the sarsen circle as well as in a horseshoe placement within the sarsen trilithon horseshoe ( trilithons are the two vertical stones , or posts , stick out a horizontal lintel ) .
Summer at Stonehenge
In the Northern Hemisphere , the 2011 summer solstice will take position on Tues . , June 21 at 1:16 p.m. EDT ( 10:16 a.m. PDT ) . At that time , the sun will reach the point where it ’s farthest north of the heavenly equator . The solstice will score the prescribed commencement of summer for the Northern Hemisphere and wintertime in the Southern Hemisphere . One of the most well - known summertime solstice landmark is Stonehenge , the prehistoric monument that stands on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire , England . The ancient stone Mexican valium is thought to be a burial land that was arranged to confront the midsummer first light and midwinter sunset . The above exposure of the memorial was taken during the summer solstice on June 21 , 2005 .
Floral Offering at Stonehenge
Every summer solstice , decade of thousands of New Agers , neo - pagan , Wiccansand sunlight - watchers from all over the macrocosm gather at Stonehenge to watch the sun rise over the Isidor Feinstein Stone ruin on the recollective mean solar day of the year . This photo , taken on June 21 , 2010 , point a ritual consisting of offering flowers to the Dominicus during the summer solstice as a way of asking for health and happiness . Others make yield " sacrifices " and burn standard candle and incense .
A Full-Scale Replica
A full - scale leaf replication of Stonehenge stands in Maryhill , Washington . It was dedicate in 1918 to house physician who died in World War I. Its builder , Samuel Hill , visited the ancient memorial during the war , and was tell it was used for human sacrifice by the Druids . Hill connect this level with the exit of life during the Great War , and build the reproduction as a monitor of those sacrifices and the " incredible craziness " of the war , grant to the Maryhill Museum of Art .
Mysterious Structure
grant to a recent theory , Stonehenge may have been constructed to create an acoustic fantasy , with pit obstruct out sounds made in the center of the circle , creating a pattern of unruffled pip . However , this hypothesis is extremely speculative , and not everyone who has studied the acoustics of Stonehenge believes there is grounds ancient people project it with speech sound in mind .
Ancient Acoustics
Other work in acoustic archaeology , using Maryhill as a rack in for the now abandoned ship Stonehenge , indicates the original social organisation create an environment exchangeable to a public lecture hall , with diffuse sound waves carrying audio throughout the monument and reverberation extending sound by nigh to 1 second .
Stonehenge Sister
An ancient megalithic structure shaped like a ship in Sweden seems to have a interchangeable geometry to Stonehenge , and may have been used as an astronomical calendar , one scientist enunciate .
