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How old is Stonehenge?

Updated: 8/22/2023
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13y ago

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The major stone construction was built around 4,500 years ago. See related links.

The construction phase information of Stonehenge is somewhat complex and under active discussion as a result of recent work by the Stonehenge Riverside Project and the S.P.A.C.E.S. project, but the indications are that the enclosing bank and ditch date to c3000BC, with the 56 Aubrey Holes around the inside of the bank coming very soon after - though whether these were occupied by timber posts or Bluestones (generally 2m tall, 4 tons in weight, from Preseli in South Wales) is still a matter of debate.

A number of timber constructions within this enclosure date to around this time, with the first Sarsens (these are the large stones - the biggest being over 9m long and weighing over 45 tons, probably from the Marlborough Downs) arriving and being erected as the 5 central Trilithons and the surrounding lintelled Sarsen Circle around 2,500BC.

It appears that the 'double arc' of Q&R holes, which held Bluestones, may have been contemporaneous with this Sarsen phase instead of pre-dating it as a temporary feature.

Around 2,200BC, the best examples of the Bluestones were re-arranged into an oval within the central Trilithon horseshoe and the remaining examples were set up in a ring just inside the Sarsen Circle.

Around 1,600BC the Z and then Y holes were dug outside the Sarsen Circle, but appear not to have ever held either posts or stones before they were back-filled.

Some time later (possibly as late as Roman times), the Bluestone oval was opened at the NE to form a horseshoe shape like that of the Trilithons, with which it shares the NE-SW (midsummer/midwinter solstice) orientation.

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10y ago

Radio carbon dating in 2008 suggested that the first stones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC whilst another theory suggests that bluestones may have been raised at the site as early as 3000 BC

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Q: How old is Stonehenge?
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Related questions

Was Stonehenge built in 1010?

I am afraid Stonehenge is a lot older than that. Investigations on the site of Stonehenge place the beginning of the earthwork at 3000BC. That makes Stonehenge about 50 centuries or 5,000 years old.


What 5000 year old stones stand in England?

STONEHENGE


Why is Stonehenge worth visiting?

because the rocks are old and strange


What does megaliths?

Large, old blocks of cut stone, such as those at Stonehenge.


Where are old British landmarks?

Stonehenge, Tower of London, Hadrian's Wall.


Prehistoric English site of tall huge stone slabs is?

stonehenge


What can you do at Stonehenge?

Stonehenge is in the country, but there is a guided audio tour and a giftshop on the Stonehenge site.


What is there to do in Stonehenge?

Stonehenge is in the country, but there is a guided audio tour and a giftshop on the Stonehenge site.


What have you learned from Stonehenge?

That it is very old and amazing when I went to see it I loved it was a lovely day out


What materials were used at Stonehenge?

The outcrop sedimentary rocks at Stonehenge are the Late Cretaceous, Santonian Age, calcium carbonates. The outcrop sedimentary rocks comprise the first construction material used by the Stonehenge builders. This material is approximately 85 million years old. These rocks are locally called the Seaford Chalk Formation (Stonehenge White Chalk). The oldest limestone sedimentary rocks at Stonehenge are the Mississippian Period (Early Carboniferous), Arundian Age, calcium carbonates. The Mississippian Period limestone sedimentary rocks comprise the first (1st) foreign construction material used by the Stonehenge builders. This material is approximately 340 million years old. These rocks are locally called the Birnbeck Limestone Formation (Stonehenge Whitestones). The volcanic rocks (oldest geologically) at Stonehenge are the Ordovician Period intrusive igneous diabases (dolerites), and extrusive igneous felsites (rhyolites) and tuffs (basic). The Ordovician Period igneous rocks comprise the second (2nd) foreign construction material used by the Stonehenge builders. This material is approximately 470 million years old. These rocks are locally called the Ordovician Volcanics (Stonehenge Bluestones). The oldest sandstone sedimentary rocks at Stonehenge are the Silurian and Devonian Period micaceous sandstones. The Silurian and Devonian Period sedimentary sandstone rocks comprise the third (3rd) foreign construction material used by the Stonehenge builders. This material is approximately 417 million years old. These rocks are locally called the Old Red Sandstone Formation (Stonehenge Coshestons). The youngest sandstone sedimentary rocks at Stonehenge are the Oligocene and Miocene Period silicates. The Oligocene and Miocene Period sandstone sedimentary rocks comprise the fourth (4th) foreign construction material used by the Stonehenge builders. This material is approximately 24 million years old. These rocks are locally called the Reading Formation (Stonehenge Sarsens). http://www.bgs.ac.uk


Is Stonehenge in Ireland?

No. Stonehenge is in Wiltshire, England.


What does megalith means?

Large, old blocks of cut stone, such as those at Stonehenge.