Stonehenge debate rages on as experts hit back at ‘seriously flawed’ study claiming monument’s ‘bluestones’ were transported naturally by ice from Wales – calling it ‘nonsense’

Stonehenge is one of the most prominent prehistoric monuments in Britain. The Stonehenge seen today is the final phase completed approximately 3,500 years ago.

According to the monument’s website, Stonehenge was built in four phases:

First phase: The earliest version of Stonehenge was a large earthwork or henge, consisting of a ditch, a bank and the Aubrey Holes, all probably built around 3100 BC.

The Aubrey Holes are circular pits in the chalk, about three feet wide and deep, with steep walls and flat bottoms.

They form a circle with a diameter of about 86.6 meters (284 feet).

During excavations, cremated human bones were found in part of the lime filling. The holes themselves were probably not intended to serve as graves, but as part of a religious ceremony.

After this first phase, Stonehenge was abandoned and left untouched for more than 1,000 years.

Second podium: The second and most dramatic phase of Stonehenge began around 2150 BC, when approximately 82 bluestones were transported to the site from the Preseli Mountains of south-west Wales. It is thought that the stones, some weighing four tons each, were dragged on rollers and sledges to the waters off Milford Haven, where they were loaded onto rafts.

They were transported by water along the south coast of Wales and via the Rivers Avon and Frome, before being towed back overland at Warminster and Wiltshire.

The final leg of the journey was mainly by water, along the River Wylye to Salisbury and then across the Salisbury Avon to west of Amesbury.

The journey was almost 240 miles (385 kilometers) and when they arrived at the site, the stones were placed in the center to form an incomplete double circle.

During the same period, the original entrance was widened and a pair of heel stones were installed. The nearest section of the Avenue, which connected Stonehenge to the River Avon, was built in alignment with the midsummer sunrise.

Third phase:The third phase of Stonehenge, which occurred around 2000 BC, was marked by the arrival of sarsen stones (a type of sandstone), which were larger than the bluestones.

They probably came from the Marlborough Downs (40 kilometers north of Stonehenge).

The largest of the sarsen stones transported to Stonehenge weighs 50 tons. Transport over water would not have been possible. It is therefore suspected that they were transported using sleds and ropes.

Calculations have shown that it took 500 men with leather ropes to pull one stone, and another 100 men to put the rollers in front of the sledge.

These stones were arranged in an outer circle with a continuous series of lintels – horizontal supports.

Within the circle, five trilithons – structures consisting of two upright stones and a third as a lintel at the top – were placed in a horseshoe-shaped arrangement, which can still be seen today.

Last stage: The fourth and final phase took place just after 1500 years BC, when the smaller bluestones were rearranged into the horseshoe and circle seen today.

The original number of stones in the bluestone circle was probably around 60, but these have since been removed or broken up. Some remain behind as stumps below ground level.

Source: Stonehenge.co.uk