
Stonehenge
Built in several stages between about 3000 and 2000 BCE, Stonehenge is a circle of massive megaliths that weigh many tons, fit together perfectly, and are aligned with the stars.
Quick Facts
- Go Historic ID
- 248487
- Names
- Stonehenge
- Coordinates
- Listed on
- Affiliations
- People
- English Heritage owner
Location Map
Aerial View
Timeline
- 3000 BCE
Construction of Stonehenge I
- 2500 BCE
Stonehenge I abandoned
- 2100 BCE
Construction of Stonehenge II
- 2000 BCE
Construction of Stonehenge III
National Heritage List for England Data
Stonehenge is listed on the National Heritage List for England with the following data. Some information may have become outdated since the date of listing. Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.
- List Entry ID
- 1010140
- Name
- Stonehenge, the Avenue, and three barrows adjacent to the Avenue forming part of a round barrow cemetery on Countess Farm
- Parish
- Amesbury
- District
- Wiltshire
- Grid Reference
- SU 13083 42544
The monument, which falls into three areas, includes Stonehenge, the Avenue, and three bowl barrows forming part of a linear round barrow cemetery which is bisected by the Avenue 1500m east of Stonehenge on Countess Farm. Stonehenge is located towards the western edge of a natural amphitheatre some 2km in diameter. This area is bounded in the west by the high plateau forming Stonehenge Down, on the north by an east-west ridge on which is located the western sector of the Cursus and its associated round barrow cemetery, on the east by a north-south ridge on which are sited the barrow cemeteries of New King Barrows and Old King Barrows and the Coneybury henge monument, and on the south by an east-west ridge on which is located the Normanton Down round barrow cemetery.
Stonehenge has a series of features, contained within a circular earthwork enclosure, which have been added to the monument or modified in layout over a period of about twelve hundred years (c.2450 BC to c.1250 BC) The outermost and earliest element is a circular bank c.6m wide and a maximum of 0.6m high, surrounded by a ditch c.7m wide and a maximum of 2m deep. There are slight traces of an outer bank c.2m wide surrounding the ditch on the northern and eastern sides, giving an overall diameter of 115m. The ditch possesses two original entrance gaps or causeways, one at the south of the enclosure 4.5m wide and the other in the north east sector 10m wide forming the entrance from the Avenue. There are corresponding gaps in the bank at these points...
More Historic Places Nearby
- Milestone Opposite Stonehenge 0.048 mi away
- Milestone 0.149 mi away
- Milestone Near Junction with A303(T) 1.018 mi away
- Milestone c. 850 M E of Longbarrow Roundabout 1.041 mi away
- Moor Hatches 1.258 mi away
- Merion Cottage and Attached Cottage to E (The Chalkhouse Cottage) 1.268 mi away
- Wall Between Row of Cottages and W Amesbury House 1.278 mi away
- Stables to W Amesbury House 1.287 mi away
- Garden Wall to Rear of W Amesbury House 1.299 mi away
- West Amesbury House 1.300 mi away
- Gate Piers and Gates Opposite W Amesbury House 1.309 mi away
- Garden Walls to N of W Amesbury House 1.332 mi away
- Buildings 455 and 456 (Five Aircraft Hangars), Durrington Camp 1.533 mi away
- Milestone c. 100 M S of Longbarrow Roundabout at Junction with A303 1.540 mi away
- Airmen's Cross at Junction of A344 and A360 1.558 mi away
Bibliography
- North, John. Stonehenge: A New Interpretation of Prehistoric Man and the Cosmos. Free Press, 2007.
- Johnson, Anthony. Solving Stonehenge: The Key to an Ancient Enigma. Thames & Hudson, 2008.
- Chippindale, Christopher. Stonehenge Complete. Thames & Hudson, 2004.
- National Geographic: Stonehenge Decoded. Nat'l Geographic Vid.
- “Stonehenge, the Avenue, and three barrows adjacent to the Avenue forming part of a round barrow cemetery on Countess Farm.” The National Heritage List for England. Web. Accessed 8 Oct. 2013. <https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1010140>