(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.
Stonehenge
Definition:
(n.) An assemblage of upright stones with others placed horizontally on their tops, on Salisbury Plain, England, -- generally supposed to be the remains of an ancient Druidical temple.
Example Sentences:
(1) Stonehenge stood at the heart of a sprawling landscape of chapels, burial mounds, massive pits and ritual shrines, according to an unprecedented survey of the ancient grounds.
(2) The first site we explored was a big burial cairn in the shadow of Carn Menyn, where the Stonehenge bluestones come from."
(3) Three thousand cheers for Will Self ( Has English Heritage ruined Stonehenge?
(4) Because of course nothing is more destructive of the sanctity of his own vocation than the suggestion that we simply don't need this kind of conservation – if that's what it really is – at all; that on the contrary, the entire "relaunch" is simply the bastard offspring of an orgiastic union between Mammon and science, consummated on the Stonehenge altar stone and observed by the fee-paying public.
(5) We aren't surprised that the Romans had nothing to say about, say, the nearby Avebury stone circle, because it's far less manifest than Stonehenge – and by extension, the oblivion of time that blankets scores of British Neolithic and bronze age sites is in keeping with our current ignorance: to this day, so few people visit them that their enigmatic character is itself underimagined.
(6) He might have come straight from 1840s New England, via Woodstock and Stonehenge.
(7) 'Archaeology on steroids': huge ritual arena discovered near Stonehenge Read more Archaeologists have found evidence that a big tree fell over and its base provided a wall which was then lined with flint.
(8) Facebook Twitter Pinterest Old Stonehenge admission tickets for child and adult.
(9) Facebook Twitter Pinterest A selection of record sleeves on display at Stonehenge visitor centre as part of the exhibition.
(10) The celebrated geologist Herbert Henry Thomas linked the Stonehenge bluestones with Preseli in 1923 and pinpointed the tor on Carn Meini as the likely source.
(11) We would also be against any obstruction of solar or lunar sight lines from Stonehenge to surrounding monuments.
(12) Helena Beard, a consultant from China Travel Outbound, who advises organisations such as the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich on how to attract Chinese tourists, says: “There is a fast-growing affluent middle class and millenials, many of whom speak English and have a more adventurous spirit than their parents.” She says luxury goods shopping will still be high on their list but they will also be looking for good quality restaurants, particularly seafood, and cultural attractions from Stonehenge to anything linked to the monarchy or flagged by celebrities on social media.
(13) It has long been known that the bluestones that form Stonehenge’s inner horseshoe came from the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, around 140 miles from Salisbury Plain.
(14) In subsequent years, armed with his trusty sword, Excalibur (a superannuated prop from John Boorman 's film of the same name), he persistently challenged the law against assembling at Stonehenge, while the site itself grew increasingly to resemble one of the military encampments on nearby Salisbury Plain.
(15) Just a year after a spectacular £27m redevelopment for visitor facilities at Stonehenge , English Heritage has submitted plans to expand and improve the site’s car parks to cope with the crowds that have flocked to the landmark.
(16) And when I remarked to Thurley that it seemed a shame that Stonehenge was overrun with people while even sites as nearby – and impressive – as Avebury were scarcely visited, he shrugged and said: "People just won't go there," as if this were something entirely beyond his control.
(17) "In the past we had this idea that Stonehenge was standing in splendid isolation, but it wasn't … it's absolutely huge."
(18) Chief Druid King Arthur Pendragon gets court date over Stonehenge parking fees Read more The transport secretary said the tunnel could enhance the Stonehenge site by removing traffic.
(19) When I mentioned that I'd done my Neolithic wondering in Orkney to Pitts at Stonehenge he said: "Well, that's quite a different sort of experience."
(20) The new Stonehenge visitor centre will lose £45m in public funding, though the government said it could still go ahead if private funding could be found.