Stonehenge stone – properties, virtues & benefits
The Stonehenge stone is an iconic monolith located in the Salisbury region of England. Erected over 4,000 years ago, this prehistoric structure continues to intrigue archaeologists and visitors from all over the world. Discover its fascinating history and mysteries.
STONEHENGE CHARACTERISTICS
- Chakra: Crown.
- Properties: Soothing, balancing, harmonizing.
- Astrology: /
- Zodiac: /
- Elements: /
- Colors: Gray, blue-gray.
- Hardness: 6-6.5 on the Mohs scale.
- Chemical Formula: Mainly aluminum silicate, with traces of iron, magnesium and calcium.
- Associated god: /
STONEHENGE – HIS STORY
Stonehenge is a megalithic monument composed of concentric circles, built between -2800 and -1100, during the Neolithic to Bronze Age period. It is located in the county of Wiltshire, in south-west England, near Salisbury and Amesbury. In 1986, UNESCO inscribed Stonehenge and Avebury Cromlech on the World Heritage List under the title “Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites”. Every year, around a million people from all over the world visit this very popular cultural site for its impressive appearance and mystical charge. Over 20,000 people attended the 2005 summer solstice.
The etymology of the name “Stonehenge” is uncertain. Some sources suggest it comes from the Saxon word “henge-cliff”, meaning “preciPice”. Other sources mention “stanenges” or “stanheng” near Salisbury. The archaeologist William Stukeley, who first studied the site in 1740, indicated that the hanging rocks in Yorkshire were called “henges” in Saxon. According to archaeologist Christopher ChipPindale, the origin of the name could derive from the Old English words “stān” and “hencg” (hinge) or “hen(c)en” (gallows), as the shape of the lintels could recall that of a gallows. However, the exact etymology and meaning of the name remain unclear and are the subject of debate among linguists specializing in Germanic languages.
The site of Stonehenge was studied by several British archaeologists, notably Professor William Gowland and Colonel William Hawley, who restored and continued to study the site in the early 20th century. Archaeologist Richard John Copland Atkinson directed the last major excavations between 1950 and 1964, and established a three-phase chronology, although differences remain between researchers such as Peter Newham, Gerald Hawkins, Alexander Thom, Michael W. Postins or Didier Laroche.
The site reveals traces of occupation prior to the monument’s construction. In 1966, during work to extend the parking lot, three Mesolithic-period post sites were discovered. Measuring 75 cm in diameter, they appeared to have been dug to accommodate 9 m-high posts. They contained a Piece of burnt bone and charcoal. The Cursus, an oval construction dating from around -3500, stretches for a length of 3 km from east to west, about 700 m north of Stonehenge.
The first construction on the Stonehenge site dates back to Neolithic times and consisted of a circular enclosure marked by an earthen embankment and a small ditch around 110 metres in diameter, with a main entrance facing north-east and a smaller one to the south. The ditch, excavated by Colonel William Hawley in the 1920s, had two interruptions, one to the northeast, in line with the entrance, and a smaller one to the south. Tools used to excavate it have been found, along with shards of pottery and Roman coins, but Richard John Copland Atkinson points out that the mixing of archaeological layers may result from human excavation of the site and rain draining the elements.
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The embankment was built with the materials extracted from the ditch, with a concern for geometric regularity thanks to the use of a chord. Remains of a smaller outer embankment can be seen to the east and north. The skeleton of a Bronze Age man, known as the “Stonehenge Archer”, was discovered during an excavation within the circular enclosure. Arrows were found near him, and the arrowheads found in the bones probably caused his death. The “Aubrey Holes”, a circular set of fifty-six large cavities arranged in a regular pattern within and near the embankment of the circular enclosure, were also studied. The cavities have vertical walls and are approximately 5 metres apart. Fragments of charcoal and charred human bone, as well as hairPins and long, finger-thick cut flint rods, were found in a chalk fill. Thirty-four of these have been excavated and are indicated by limestone plaques.
The site of Stonehenge is a megalithic monument in the county of Wiltshire, southwest England, erected between the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. It consists of several concentric circles and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. The site attracts over a million visitors every year, thanks to its impressive appearance and mystical charge.
The etymology of Stonehenge’s name is uncertain, but some suggest it could mean “the hanging stones” or “the gallows”, due to the resemblance of the lintels to gallows.
The site shows evidence of pre-construction occupation, with the discovery of three Mesolithic post sites and the construction of an oval Cursus around -3500. The site’s first construction dates back to the Neolithic period, with a circular enclosure marked by an earthen embankment and a small ditch, built around -2800/-2100. The ditch was dug with antler Picks and bovine scapula shovels, and the embankment was built with material excavated from the ditch. The “Aubrey Holes”, a vast circular complex of fifty-six large cavities arranged in a regular pattern in and near the embankment of the circular enclosure, were discovered as a tribute to the writer John Aubrey.
Excavations also revealed around 55 cremation graves dating from the end of Phase I, suggesting that the site had been used as a cremation cemetery for around 200 years. Interred persons were probably dignitaries or sPiritual leaders surrounded by their families. The Heel Stone, a sandstone block dating from the Tertiary period, was erected outside the northeast entrance. It is rough and unsculpted and currently leans, although it may not have been placed in its original position.
William Hawley discovered a complex series of wooden post bases in the center of Stonehenge as well as at the two main entrances. Each post base measures 60 cm in diameter and is irregularly positioned, suggesting that it could have supported scaffolding or a roof.
The four Station Stones, located close to the Aubrey holes, form a rectangle oriented northwest/southeast perpendicular to the main axis. Two of these stones were at the apex of tumuli, but there were no graves inside. Ditches similar to those around the Heel Stone were dug around the Station Stones. Astronomer Peter Newham has identified an alignment that corresponds to the equinoxes as well as the position of the Moon above the rectangle formed by the four stone blocks.
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Stonehenge II, dating from the Chalcolithic period (around -2100/-2000), is characterized by the existence of the “Avenue”, a structure consisting of two parallel ditches and adjacent embankments, probably used to transport “blue” rocks from the River Avon, for use in the construction of the site. The “Avenue” measures 23 m wide, with 12 m between embankments, starts at the Heel Stone and heads northeast before curving east, then rejoining the River Avon after a final bend to the right.
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Six cavities, designated Q and R, were added to this complex, showing that the structure was already oriented towards the rising sun of the summer solstice before the present structure was built (phase III). They were probably used to insert more than 80 “bluestone” menhirs to make up a first cromlech, which has now disappeared. The hypothesis is that the two concentric circles were made up of 38 and 6 additional menhirs at the entrance, for a total of 82 megaliths. Most of these rocks, which are dolerite, also known as Stonehenge stone, were quarried from the Preseli Hills, over 250 km away in Wales. These rocks may have been transported by sea or river, or by land haulage, via the Cornish peninsula or the Bristol area.
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STONEHENGE III: BRONZE AGE, ABOUT -2000 / -1100
STONEHENGE III – A
Megalithism ceased in Europe at the end of the 3rd millennium, but Stonehenge saw the creation of a complex of 75 impressive monoliths after the dismantling of bluestone groups Q and R. The 75 monoliths are composed of natural Oligocene-Miocene sandstone, quarried some 40 km from the site in the Marlborough Downs to the east of Avebury. The stones were carefully selected and transported dozens of kilometers, weighing up to 50 tons each, to be assembled at Stonehenge. For transport, it has been suggested that systems of sledges, ropes and wooden rollers, with the strength of the arms of thousands of people over several decades, could be used to overcome the hills. These techniques were recently validated by Wally Wallington, a retired carpenter, who showed that they were feasible with simple techniques and physically bearable for the workers of the time.
Trilithes
The text describes the triliths, a megalithic structure consisting of five horseshoe-shaped porticoes, each composed of three sandstone monoliths cut and assembled using carpentry techniques. Each pair of Pillars is set very close together, their profile tapering upwards in a pronounced curve, similar to the entasis technique used on the columns of ancient Greek temples. The ten Pillars feature a single tenon and each lintel, weighing up to 50 tonnes, has two oval mortises. The triliths are symmetrically arranged, culminating at a height of 6 to 7.3 metres. Engravings on Pillar 53 and on the outer faces of elements 3, 4 and 5 resemble weapons from the late Bronze Age.
The great circle of sarsen
This megalithic complex consists of thirty sandstone monoliths forming a circle 33 meters in diameter and topped by 30 lintels. The Pillars were carved with two oval mortises and tenons corresponding to each lintel, which are precisely assembled end-to-end using notches and pointed-cut tongues. The orthostats are approximately 1 m apart and have an average thickness of 1.10 m. The lintels are slightly curved to maintain the overall circular layout of the site. The Pillars have a more worked face towards the interior of the whole. The orthostats, around 4.10 m high and weighing around 25 tonnes, are 2.10 m wide, while the lintels, each weighing around 7 tonnes, are around 3.20 m long, 1 m wide and 80 cm thick. The tops of the remaining lintels are suspended 4.90 m above the ground. The builders were concerned with the final visual effect, the Pillars being wide at the bottom and gently flaring out at the top, while the lintels show a slight curve in their size. One of the orthostats, on the southeast side, is smaller than the others. The work would have been completed, as revealed by traces of burnt grass discovered in 2013, which matched the locations of the missing megaliths.
The Slaughter Stone
The “Slaughter Stone” is a misnomer given to a large, carefully hewn Piece of sandstone, 7 m long and once upright, but now fallen and outcropPing slightly near the embankment. This Piece was one of two or three large portals (the exact number is uncertain) marking the north-eastern entrance to Stonehenge. Contrary to its name, there is no evidence of human or animal sacrifice associated with this stone. This popular belief persists in the minds of some people, however, partly because of the presence of the archer’s remains.
STONEHENGE III – B
New bluestone circle
Later, during the Bronze Age, dolerite blocks were recovered from cavities Q and R, then reused, perhaps within the sandstone group, although details of this period are still poorly known. Some have been shaped in a manner similar to wooden constructions, suggesting the existence of a larger structure at this time, held together by lintels.
On the outside of the sandstone complex, two irregular circles can be seen, each composed of 30 large cavities, corresponding to the 30 Pillars of the structure. These excavations, discovered and partly studied by William Hawley in 1923, have since been closed and are now barely visible. Two others were meticulously excavated and analyzed by Richard John Copland Atkinson in 1953. The others have been identified but not excavated, and are completely imperceptible to visitors. They are rectangular in shape with vertical walls and contain earth, fragments of rhyolite rock and sandstone, as well as crude silica rock. Their incomplete contents suggest that this is probably an abandoned reorganization of the blue dolerites outside the circular sandstone group.
The “Altar Stone” is a 6-ton block of micaceous green sandstone, measuring 4.20 m by 1 m by 50 cm. This green sandstone was most likely extracted from one or more of the deposits present in Wales. Although the name Altar Stone suggests its use as an altar, its horizontal position and the collapsed elements surrounding it cast doubt on its original purpose. Visitors can see its shiny horizontal surface, with many traces of wear from the trampling of their predecessors. The rest of the block is buried at three-quarters of its size, amid the confusion of the cultural site’s center.
STONEHENGE III – C
The period between -1550 and -1100 was marked by the dismantling of the previous bluestone structure and the reerection of these into a concentric circle and oval that can still be seen today. This period also saw a further reorganization of the dolerite (Stonehenge stone) elements, which were arranged circularly between the two concentric sandstone and oval structures in the middle of the site.
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The ensemble is now partially present, with six standing blocks, five inclined, eight on the ground as a whole or in fragments, and a further ten representing only buried Pieces. The forms are diverse, with rough or hand-worked columns. Two used lintels have also been incorporated, featuring oval mortises similar to those on large sandstone lintels. This group probably consisted of around 60 elements.
The final structure erected in the middle of the site, inside the horseshoe-shaped sandstone ensemble, is different from the previous structure. The stones are arranged at regular intervals, forming an oval structure of 19 elements, including triliths. Six of them are still standing, one is tilted, and several others are in fragments. All have been meticulously crafted. One stone, with a flattened tenon at its apex, was undoubtedly part of an earlier set, while two others show remnants of an interlocking process for an as yet unknown purpose. The northeastern section of the dolerite oval was removed at the end, creating a horseshoe arrangement reproducing the shape of the central sandstone block structure. After this phase, only minor modifications were made to this set.
Last step
The fourth and final phase, dated to around 1100BC, uncovered deer bones and antlers in the ditches to the west of Amesbury, testifying to the extension of the avenue, as well as the remains of a young boy. All these elements were dated using the carbon-14 method. A wide, arch-shaped trench, oriented towards the Heel Stone and deepening to the east, north and east, dates from the 5th century.
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The site was intentionally destroyed in the first few centuries AD, as evidenced by Roman coins found as well as the tomb of a Saxon man decaPitated in the 7th century.
STUDIES AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS
First studies
The first known mention of Stonehenge in written history comes from Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian who worked on a vast 40-volume Historical Library published in 30BC, of which only about 20 have survived to the present day. He describes an island to the north of Celtica, where there is an enclosure dedicated to Apollo, adorned with numerous offerings and a magnificent round temple. Although this description is unclear, it does not correspond to any other known building complex. In the Middle Ages, giants or the devil were considered to be responsible for the edifice, for want of more concrete explanations. Scholars measured and drew Stonehenge with scientific rigor, and King Charles I visited the site with architect Inigo Jones for a precise sketch of the restored monument in 1621. In 1626, John Aubrey wrote the book Templa Druidum and produced a highly accurate plan of Stonehenge.
The first written mentions of Stonehenge date back to antiquity, with Diodorus of Sicily describing an island in the Ocean beyond Celtic, where there was an enclosure dedicated to Apollo and a round temple. During the Middle Ages, the site was associated with legends of giants and the devil, until scholars such as architect Inigo Jones measured and designed it with scientific rigor. In 1740, William Stukeley, a close associate of Isaac Newton, published Stonehenge, A Temple Restor’d to the British Druids, attributing a druidic function to the site, which is still retained in popular British oPinion. DesPite meticulous measurements and observations, representations of the site seem out of step with reality. The collapse of the megalithic complex 57-58 in 1797 led to new studies by scholars such as William Matthew Flinders Petrie, Norman Lockyer and Arthur Evans, who carried out precise surveys and astronomical observations.
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Twentieth-century excavations and research
The Stonehenge site has been studied by several researchers since the 17th century. William Stukeley, who was close to the astronomer Isaac Newton, published a book in 1740 in which he attributed a Druidic function to the site. However, the interpretation of the site as having been used by the Druids is now questioned. Many scholars have visited and studied the site over the years, including William Matthew Flinders Petrie, Norman Lockyer and Arthur Evans. Research was also carried out by Professor Gowland, Colonel William Hawley and prehistorian Richard John Copland Atkinson, who performed the first carbon-14 dating. In 1957, they restored and consolidated the collapsed elements using modern civil engineering techniques. In 1963, a final restoration was carried out after the collapse of Pillar 23 of the circular sandstone group. From 1998 onwards, archaeologist Aaron Watson and acoustician David Keating carried out research into the site’s acoustics, noting that upright stones modify the behaviour of sound at their center. Rupert Till also noted in 2009 that dolerite had specific acoustic properties.
Twentieth-century excavations and research
Between 2003 and 2008, a team led by archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson, called the “Riverside Project”, carried out new excavations at the Stonehenge site. The project aimed to establish links between the site and other associated constructions, such as the Neolithic Durrington Walls enclosure and its own Avenue, leading to the River Avon. In April 2008, archaeologists Timothy Darvill and Geoffrey Wainwright also undertook a new excavation in the circular interior of the site to recover and date fragments from around the dolerite blocks. These dates support the idea that the monument has been in use for at least 4000 years before the site’s existence. In 2010, the Stonehenge New Landscapes Project mapPing mission stumbled upon the remains of a cult site less than a kilometer from the main circular complex, with a split ditch and internal Pits up to a metre in diameter, which may have been timber-framed. This monument appears to be contemporary with the site and to have a similar orientation.
Geologists from the University of Leicester and the National Museum of Wales reported in December 2011 that they had identified the precise origin of certain rhyolite rock fragments at the Stonehenge site. They were able to determine that these rocks came from a rocky outcrop named Craig Rhos-y-Felin, located 220 kilometers from Stonehenge. In September 2015, a new discovery was made near Stonehenge, on the site of the Durrington Walls enclosure, revealing a buried megalithic site that could have contained 200 blocks, dating back 4,500 years. However, excavations carried out in August 2016 revealed that these stone blocks did not exist, but were instead huge circularly arranged postholes filled with chalk fragments. According to archaeologist Dr Nicola Snashall, the site’s builders may have abandoned their camp for some unknown reason, but they left the timbers behind and put in place the embankments and ditches we see today.
STONEHENGE – ITS ORIGIN AND COMPOSITION
The name Stonehenge, derived from the Greek word “doleros” meaning “deceiver”, refers to the most famous stone at the eponymous megalithic monument. Composed of dolerite, a slowly solidified and slightly metamorphosed basalt rock, it has been used since the dawn of humanity to make axes, arrowheads and blades. The magical and therapeutic virtues of this rock were also recognized. Stonehenge itself was built in several stages over more than a millennium, using dolerite elements sourced from the Preseli Hills in Wales. Remarkable rituals were performed at the site, attended by many Celts. Mysteries remain as to the events that took place there, but archaeological discoveries have revealed that the site was an important gathering place for people from the region and beyond. Some of the dolerite rocks were carved to fit different locations, and a few were carried by travelers as talismans.
The dolerite in the Stonehenge stone is a holocrystalline magmatic rock, i.e. it is fully crystallized and made up solely of crystals, gabbro and basalt, with no glassy matrix. This compact rock is made up of grains visible with a magnifying glass, and its color is rather dark, varying from green to blue or gray due to its opacity. Dolerite deposits are found in many parts of the world, including England, where the Stonehenge stone originated, Brittany near Plusselien in the Côtes-d’Armor, the USA in New Jersey, Canada and Tasmania in Australia.
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STONEHENGE – VERTIES AND PROPERTIES
The dolerite Stonehenge is made of serves as an anchor, providing a direct connection with the Earth’s core and the entire universe. It has the ability to balance and strengthen the immune system and can induce calmness or increased dynamism as needed. The Stonehenge stone offers natural support to the throat chakra, which can help with verbal communication and is reminiscent of its scientifically-proven acoustic properties. It is also known to be a powerful tool for unlocking the secrets of dreams, aiding in their recollection and interpretation. Additionally, the Stonehenge stone is ideal for sPiritual purposes as it can facilitate astral travel.
WHERE DOES THE NAME STONEHENGE COME FROM?
The name “Stonehenge” comes from the Anglo-Saxon language. The words “stan” meaning stone and “hencg” meaning suspended or in a circle were combined to form the word Stonehenge, which literally translates as “stones suspended in a circle”. The site of Stonehenge is located in the Salisbury area of southern England, and is famous for its stone megaliths that were erected over 4,000 years ago.
STONEHENGE SUMMARY
Stonehenge is a megalithic monument in England, consisting of several concentric circles of standing stones, surrounded by a moat and embankment. Its construction dates back to the Neolithic period, between 3000 and 2000 BC.
The exact origin and significance of Stonehenge remains unknown, although it is widely regarded as a place of worship and ceremony. Theories have been put forward as to its use for solstitial celebrations or as an astronomical observatory.
The site has been restored and preserved over the centuries, and is now a major tourist attraction, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stonehenge continues to insPire fascination and curiosity, and remains a subject of research and debate for archaeologists and historians worldwide.
