Neolithic Henges and Standing Stones

Although Stonehenge gives its name to all sites now classified as "henges" it is not typical, and recent work has suggested that it may not be a henge! Typical henges are circular enclosures bounded by a bank on the outside and a ditch on the inside. One or more entrances lead to the centre of the henge. They date to the later part of the Neolithic. Most henges do not contain standing stones, although many contained circular arrangements of pits or posts.

Stone circles are much more common than henges. Most consist of simple circles (or ovoids) of standing stones obtained from local sources. The sites are difficult to date. They are thought to be from the later Neolithic, but their use may continue into early Bronze Age.

The best known henges are those which also contain stone circles. Stonehenge is a unique site for reasons discussed later.

Castlerigg Stone Circle: Located in the Lake District, this circle provides spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. There is a rectangular setting of stones within the circle.

Long Meg and her Daughters: A very large circle, with an outlying standing stone (Long Meg) seen in the foreground. Located in northwest England.

Stones of Stenness: Originally 12 stones stood inside a henge, but many have been removed. The outer bank of the henge can be seen in some slides as a slightly darker green line beyond the stones. The stones are made of local sandstone, which can be split into thin slabs. Located in Orkney, Scotland.

Ring of Brodgar (or Brogar): Also in Orkney, this is a large henge (with a ditch but no bank) near the Stones of Stenness.

Arbor Low : This henge and circle is located high in the Pennines of north central England. The henge has a well defined bank and ditch, with two entrances. The stone circle is recumbent, and the stones may never have been standing.

Avebury: An extremely large henge (over 340m diameter), located in southern England. The ditch was up to 10m deep and the surrounding bank over 6m high. On the inner side of the ditch is the largest stone circle in Britain. Within this circle were two further circles, each with a diameter exceeding 100m. One circle contained another inner circle and a cove of massive stones. The other circle contained a standing stone more than 5m in height. Leading away from the henge were two avenues of paired standing stones, each a couple of kilometres long. The largest stones at Avebury weigh almost 50 tons, and were brought a few kilometres from the nearby hills.

Stonehenge: This famous site has an extremely complex history, spanning well over a thousand years of use. The earliest part of the site is a ditch and bank. Most of what is visible today represents the last phase of construction of standing stone arrangements inside the bank and ditch, and was probably completed at about 1700 BC. There are two types of stone at Stonehenge. The relatively small bluestones are from southwest Wales. There is debate about how they were brought to the Wessex area. Majority opinion favours human transportation over glaciers. In view of the extreme rarity of bluestone away from Stonehenge, natural glacial transportation seems unlikely. The much larger sarsens (weighing up to 50 tons) were probably brought from the hills near Avebury, about 40 kms to the north. These were shaped (probably by pounding) and set up as a continuous circle of uprights with capping lintel stones. Inside the circle is a horsehoe of five taller trilithons - each consisting of a pair of large atanding stones with a lintel joining them. The bluestones were set up inside the sarsen circle and horseshoe of trilithons. The bluestones were also shaped, and at one time may also have been set up in the same was as the sarsens; in their final form they were single standing stones. There were a number of standing stones outside the main circle, of which the heel stone is best known.

Silbury Hill: This unique site is generally regarded as the largest prehistoric earthwork in Europe. Located close to the large Avebury henge, it is an artificial, conical, flat-topped hill. It does not appear to cover a burial. Its symbolic meaning and practical function (if any) have been debated endlessly.

Skara Brae: Relatively few Neolithic settlement sites have been excavated. Skara Brae (Orkney) is particularly well known because it is a village of small stonehouses in which much of the furniture was also made of stone. Other villages of similar pattern have been found in Scotland, but none are as well preserved.