|
Stonehenge : Wiltshire England
How was it built?
The fact that Stonehenge was not built overnight does not in any way diminish the scale of the undertaking. But how could this have been achieved by a Neolithic society? Given the sheer size and weight of the stones, what ingenious devices were employed? And what of the stones?
They are not typical of the local geology – indeed, the source of the bluestones, the first stones erected, has now been traced to the Preseli Mountains of south-west Wales. Somehow these enormous stones were transported to the Salisbury Plains. The stones were surely too heavy for timber rollers. Perhaps they were transported on sledges, on greased tracks of wood, pulled by rope that had been made from the plant fibre of the indigenous lime bark soaked in water for weeks. Modern engineering simulations have surmised that the massive uprights were hauled into place then tipped, using stone counterweights, into position, demonstrating an understanding of the centre of gravity.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The technology was staggering. For example, even though the ground is slightly sloping, the lintels are perfectly horizontal. The craftsmen employed carpentry techniques - the lintels were dressed with mortises that would have fitted securely on to the tenons on top of the supporting sarsens, while tongues similar to toggle joints linked each lintel in the outer circle to its neighbour. It was in effect an enormous three dimensional stone puzzle.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
To get the 9 ton lintels into place, the most likely method of construction may have been via the use of an earth ramp piled up against the uprights. The lintels would then have been hauled up the ramp by ropes into their exact position.
Whatever the methods used, for we are still not certain, they demonstrate an astounding level of both achievement and ambition.
|
|
Untitled Page
|
