Nicholas

Stonehenge

My topic is Stonehenge. I picked it because I did not know much about it. I also thought it seemed interesting. I wondered a lot about why it was built and who built it. I thought I could get a lot of information about it too. That is why I picked Stonehenge. I think my project turned out great. Things came out better than I expected. I got more information than I thought I would. I didn't think I could find a timeline about the stages in which Stonehenge was built. I had to add a lot of things at the end of the report but generally, everything turned out fine. I did my research by using books and the Internet. I found a lot of information in a book called Stonehenge. Another good book was called Mysteries of History. There were two books, both called The Mystery of Stonehenge that were also very informative.When I found a good Internet site on the computer I would add it to the favorites. Ask Jeeves and Google were useful web sites. Grolier Online was useful if I found something on it. That is how I did my research. There were several stages in which Stonehenge was built. In 1900 B. C. the Heel Stone was made and the fifty-six Aubrey Holes were dug. In 1750 B. C. the bluestone circle and the Great Horseshoe were created. In 1650 B. C. the sarsen circle and all five trilithons were built and Stonehenge was complete. Those are the stages in which Stonehenge was built. There are many legends about how Stonehenge was built. One legend is that Stonehenge was created by giants who turned to stone as they danced. Another legend says that giants brought the stones from all over the world because they believed that the stones were magical and had healing powers. One legend says that the devil created Stonehenge by placing the stones on the Salisbury Plain after he stole them from an old woman. The devil stole the stones by disguising himself as an old gentleman and pretending to buy them, but as he distracted the old woman, he spirited the stones to the plain. At the last second, he told the old woman that the stones were gone. The devil then boasted about his trick to his friends until a friar overheard him and angered the devil. The devil threw one of the stones that he had stolen at the friar but the friar was so strong that the stone actually bounced off and was dented by the friar's heel. Today, this stone is called the Heel Stone. There are also many theories of what Stonehenge is for. One includes the Druids. Other theories include the Ancient Britons, Neanderthals, Greeks, Phoenicians, and even Atlanteans. Some people believe that Merlin built it. I personally believe that Neanderthals built Stonehenge because after reading all those books about Stonehenge that seems the most likely but everyone seems to think something different for example UFOs, monkeys,or prehistoric Indians. Some people even think that a sorcerer built Stonehenge,which is similar to the Merlin theory. There are many theories and legends about who built Stonehenge, but will we ever find out who really built it? Stonehenge stands on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. It is two miles west of the town Amesbury in southern England. Sarsen is a type of sandstone in Stonehenge. One upright sarsen stone is over ten feet tall and weighs twenty-six tons. Other stones stand up to twenty-two feet and weigh thirty to forty short tons. There is also a type of stone called bluestone that can be found only in one mountain that is thousands of miles away from Stonehenge. To shape the bluestone, people would put deep scratches in the rock and then put cattails soaked in animal fat in them. The cattails would be set on fire and when the fire went out the people would put ice cold water in the cracks. Eventually this combination of hot and cold cracked the rock and the Beaker People as they were called would take wooden wedges and mallets. Then they would break the rock open and haul it back to Stonehenge on log rollers. Stonehenge took a very long time to build. There are many ideas of what Stonehenge is for. Druids use Stonehenge as a ceremonial site. The ceremonies are probably linked to the rising and setting of the sun. I think Stonehenge was built in honor of some Neanderthal because it was built in the stone age. There are lots of theories of what Stonehenge is for but nobody really knows. John Aubrey is related to my topic. He was born in Kingston, England. He lived from 1626 to 1697. John Aubrey is related to my topic because he discovered the Aubrey Holes which are fifty-six holes surrounding Stonehenge. He was the first scholarly investigator of Stonehenge He wrote many books, many of which were biographies. He also took King Charles the the second on a tour of Avesbury which is another stone circle in England. That is why John Aubrey is related to my topic. There are many interesting facts about Stonehenge. Stonehenge means "hanging stones". Also, there is a sculpture called Carhenge which is completely made of cars that replicates Stonehenge. It consists of three standing trilithons, "Heel Stone", "Slaughter Stone", and two station stones. It's made up of thirty-eight automobiles. And did you know that Stonehenge has a temperate climate? There are many other facts about Stonehenge. Archaeology is a job related to my topic. To become an archaeologist you have to take courses in history, anthropology, geology, and human physiology. The field is very competitive so you need good grades in school. You should also obtain the mandatory Ph.D. as soon as you can. Applying to graduate schools that are involved in major archaeological digs and making yourself known in the field also helps.Obviously, it is very hard to become an archaeologist. This report was pretty hard to write. It took me a long time to finish it and I am very proud of it even though it is pretty short compared to the other reports. If I had a longer time to work I would probably write another paragraph. This topic also turned out to be really interesting. This is the best report I have ever written.   Glossary anthropology - the study of humans archaeology - scientific study of life and culture of past Atlantean - person born in Atlantis bluestone - extremely igneous stone with slight bluish tinge Druid - a member of an ancient Celtic priesthood geology - science dealing with physical nature and history of the earth Neanderthal - primitive human neolithic - the latest period of the Stone Age which is marked by the use of polished stone tools Phoenician - a person born or living in ancient Phoenicia physiology - branch of biology dealing with the functions and the vital processes of living organisms sarsen - very strong, heavy type of sandstone Stonehenge - circular arrangement of prehistoric stones temperate - having or associated with a climate that is usually mild trilithon - two stones with a third stacked on top   Bibliography Branley, Franklyn M. (1969). The Mystery of Stonehenge. New York. Hawkins, Gerald S. (1965). Stonehenge Decoded. Garden City. Keyes, Bradley. Stonehenge. [Online] Available http://www.activemind.com/Mysterious/Topics/Stonehenge/, January 16, 2005. Lace, William W. (2003). Stonehenge. Houston. Lyon, Nancy. (1977). The Mystery of Stonehenge. Milwaukee. Mace, Emily. The Complete Stonehenge. [Online] Available http://www.amherst.edu/~ermace/sth/sth.html, December 9, 2004. Stuart, Robert. (2003). Mysteries of History. Washington D.C. .

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