Bluehenge
Bluestonehenge or Bluehenge (also known as West Amesbury Henge) is a prehistoric henge and stone circle monument.[1] It was discovered by the Stonehenge Riverside Project about 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. All that remains of the site is the ditch of the henge and a series of stone settings, none of which is visible above ground.
Excavation revealed two flint chisel arrowheads in a style commonly used during 3400-2500 BC. The stones have been put up in that period. It is estimated that there may have been as many as 27 stones in a circle 33 feet (10 m) wide.
The site was excavated in August 2008 and again in August 2009. It is considered an important find by archaeologists.[2][3]
The name "Bluestonehenge" is from the small stone chips found in some of the stone settings. These bluestones are also found in Stonehenge and consist of a wide range of rock types originally from Pembrokeshire West Wales, some 150 miles (240 km) away.[2][4] Archaeologists think any bluestones in the circle may have been removed around 2500 BC and used at Stonehenge, which had major rebuilding at about that time.[5]
The stone circle settings were surrounded by a henge, comprising an 82-foot-wide (25 m) ditch and outer bank which appears to date from approximately 2400 BC.[5]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ Historic England. "West Amesbury Henge (1580342)". PastScape
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Mini-Stonehenge find 'important'". BBC. 3 October 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
- ↑ Newhenge, British Archaeology 110, January / February 2010, ISSN 1357-4442
- ↑ Derbyshire, David 2009. Bluehenge unearthed: prehistoric site that could be famous stone circle's little sister. London: Daily Mail. [1]
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Archaeologist at University finds 'Bluestonehenge' site. Sheffield University. [2] Archived 2020-11-12 at the Wayback Machine