Stonehenge in the 1990s: a mainstream view

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In a recent number of Nature, C. Ruggles reviewed the present status of Stonehenge as mainstream archeologists now see this world-famous monument.

The construction of Stonehenge began a bit earlier than previously thought: 2950 ± 50 BC. But beneath the present parking area are post holes dated 4,000 years earlier! They are apparently not related to the Stonehenge we know.

The idea that Stonehenge's bluestones, which originated in the Preseli Mountains of southwest Wales, 200 kilometers distant, were carried to Salisbury Plain by glaciers has been emphatically disproved by geologists. These 4-ton stones were transported by people! This great effort required precocious social organization, communication, and some kind of psychological impetus.

The sarsens – those even bigger stones that define Stonehenge in our mind's view – evoke the same sorts of questions as this issue's eccentric flints: Why? and How?

Ruggles writes:

«Why it was important to bring stones from so far away is an open question, as is the issue of how people achieved the almost unimaginable feat of hauling the sarsens, weighing 25 tonnes or more, over 30 km from the Marlborough Downs in the north.»

New studies of the other ancient monuments in the vicinity of Stonehenge have revealed that they were not placed at random. Many are visible from Stonehenge. Stonehenge is at the center of a number of «nested bowls.» [?] Further, barrows of the Early Bronze Age were placed in lines along the horizon ridges visible from Stonehenge. There was obvious regional planning – a master plan that we have not yet deciphered.

It is now generally accepted that astronomical alignments do exist at Stonehenge, and that the monument itself and the surrounding sites are somehow related to astronomical time cycles. However, mainstream opinion has not been kind to the 1960's vision of Stonehenge as a Neolithic computer and/or astronomical observatory. This idea is now seen as: «...an artefact of its times -- one of the most notorious examples known to archaeologists of an age recreating the past in its own image.»

(Ruggles, Clive; "Stonehenge for the 1990s," Nature, 381:278, 1996)

In the 1960s, some viewed Stonehenge as an astronomical computer of sorts, as in this conceptualization by g. S. Hawkins. This idea is still popular.

№3. Сопоставьте слова с их определениями.

mainstream - 8. ideas, methods or people that are considered ordinary or normal and accepted by most people.

apparently - 5. based only on what you have heard, not on what you are certain is true.

glacier - 7. a very large of ice that moves very slowly.

precocious - #3 a child (for e.g.) is more intelligent or behaves in a more developed way than you would expect for their age.

vicinity - 4. the area near a particular place

at random – 2. without a particular method, pattern, or purpose.

alignment - 6. the position that something is in when it is straight or in the correct place in relation to other things.

observatory - 1. a study centre or a building with a telescope which scientists called astronomers use to study the stars and planets.

artefact - 9. an object that was made a long time ago and is historically important, for example a tool or a weapon.

№4. Напишите краткие ответы на следующие вопросы:

1. When was the construction of Stonehenge began?

The construction of Stonehenge was begun in 2950 ± 50 BC.

2. Where were Stonehenge's bluestones originated from?

Stonehenge's bluestones are originated in the Preseli Mountains of southwest Wales.

3. Were these stones transported by glacier?

No, they were not transported by glacier. These stones were transported by people.

4. Is it obvious why it was important to bring stones from so far away?

No, it is not obvious now.

5. Is current mainstream opinion looks like the vision of Stonehenge in the 1960's?

No, current mainstream does not look like the vision of Stonehenge in the 1960's. In the 1960's Stonehenge was something like Neolithic computer and/or astronomical observatory. But now it is an artefact of its times -- one of the most notorious examples known to archaeologists of an age recreating the past in its own image.

№5. Напишите что нового вы узнали о Стоунхендже. Интересна ли вам эта информация?

I have known some new information. Stonehenge's bluestones were originated in the Preseli Mountains of southwest Wales. They were transported by people, no by glaciers. And they were not placed at random, there was a special plan.

This information is very interesting to me.

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