(n.) One of the large sandstone blocks scattered over the English chalk downs; -- called also sarsen stone, and Druid stone.
Example Sentences:
(1) Although the double-decker bus height sarsens are undoubtedly the most impressive, Darvill and Wainwright believe they were essentially an architectural framework for the bluestones, just as towering medieval cathedrals grew over the shrines of saints.
(2) At 4.43am on 21 June, when the sun rises above the rolling plains of Wiltshire and, cloud willing, its rays come fingering their way through the grass to touch the mighty sarsens and bluestones of the Henge, it will be a moment of joy for all concerned: the battles of the past between druids, crusties, conservators, archaeologists, seers and sightseers are over – thousands of them will be there, ready to celebrate the dawn of a new age for the Neolithic.
(3) Archaeologists have argued for centuries about what Stonehenge really meant to the people who gave hundreds of thousands of hours to constructing circles of bluestones shipped from Wales, and sarsens the size of double-decker buses dragged across Salisbury plain.
(4) Although they concede Stonehenge was probably "multifunctional", possibly also serving as a giant calender marking the solstices, as well as a site of ancestor worship, they are convinced its true importance came from the modest bluestones, the size of a man or smaller, dwarfed by the awesome sarsens.
(5) But we think it’s more likely that they were building their own monument [in Wales], that somewhere near the quarries there is the first Stonehenge and that what we’re seeing at Stonehenge is a second-hand monument.” There is also the possibility that the stones were taken to Salisbury Plain around 3200 BC and that the giant sarsens – silicified sandstone found within 20 miles of the site – were added much later.
(6) Archaeologists have also identified three holes where missing stones would have stood on the outer sarsen circle - evidence, it is believed, that the circle was indeed once complete.
(7) Some experts believe the bluestones – rather than the much larger sarsen stones that give Stonehenge its familiar shape – were the real draw because they were believed to have healing powers.
(8) The stones were repeatedly moved and rearranged, and the enormous sarsen trilithons added, before the final outer circle of sarsen uprights and lintels was created around 1,900 BC, creating the world famous profile of the monument.
(9) Centuries before the first massive sarsen stone was hauled into place at Stonehenge , the world's most famous prehistoric monument may have begun life as a giant burial ground, according to a theory disclosed on Saturday.
(10) It may be merely felicitous coincidence but the sarsen circle of Stonehenge shares a diameter of approximately 100ft with the dome of St Paul's and the Globe theatre.
(11) 2500 to 2300BC: rearrangements of huge sarsen stones from Salisbury plain, and smaller bluestones from the Preseli hills in Wales.
(12) Their hypothesis was that the bluestones – rather than the much larger sarsen stones that give Stonehenge its familiar shape – were the real draw because they were believed to have healing powers.
(13) Even today, scientific opinion remains divided over whether they were hewn, dragged and possibly floated to the site, or were merely left lying there in the wake of retreating glaciations; while, as for the still larger sarsen stones, as far as I'm aware there's no specific separate explanation for how they got to Stonehenge from the Marlborough Downs, which are by no means as far as Wales but still a significant drag away.
(14) It shows the stones in unprecedented precision , from the double-decker bus height sarsens from Salisbury Plain that give the monument its unmistakable profile, to the smaller bluestones brought from west Wales by means still hotly debated, and the stumps of stones that have almost been destroyed.