Approved For Release 2000/08/15
: CIA-RDP96-00792R000400590001-9
One ofthe mysteries ofStonehenge is how the huge stones
were placed in position. The drawings below explain a
possible method of erecting a trilithon. For each of the
uprights a bole is dug; then the stone is hauled into posi-
tion on rollers, the bottom end is tipped into the hole,
and
the
stone
is
heaved
into
vertical
position^ by
hundreds of men on long ropes. The lintel stone is fnen
raised by levers, in small stages, as a platform is built up
under it; finally it is moved sideways until mortises on
its underside fit into the tenons on the tops of uprights.
The total lack of agreement among the experts hardly
inspires confidence:
if Stonehenge was so manifestly
a structure designed
for predicting
eclipses, there
should be at least some meeting of minds on how
it
was done. In 1857, in order to settle whether cunei-
form had really been deciphered, the Royal Asiatic
Society challenged scholars to submit translations of
a newly discovered inscription; four did so, the re-
sults were found so alike that there could no longer
be room for doubt, and the issue was declared set-
tled. When the astronomers who have been studying
Stonehenge come up with at least convergent ideas,
then we may be
readier
to
believe
that
its
priests
knew how to predict eclipses.
its original position, one
is fallen
flat, and two have
disappeared.) Newham and Hawkins point out that
the
short
sides
of the
rectangle
are
parallel
with
Stonehenge’s main
axis. So, when one looks along
them to the northeast, one sights, just as along the
axis, upon the point of midsummer sunrise. If one
looks along them
in the opposite direction, toward
the southwest, one
sights upon the point of mid-
winter sunset. And the line of the long sides marks, in
the southeast
direction, the southernmost point
at
which the full moon rises at midsummer, and, in the
northwest direction, the northernmost point at which
it sets
at midwinter. Both men were struck by the
same idea as to why Salisbury Plain was chosen for
veloped the skill to identify these
erable accuracy.
If, then, this unique megalith
number of
specific astronomia
was set on a site deliberately ch
tions, what of
its humbler relat
and alignments, even the lone
r
objects of veneration and no mo
astronomically useful? Here we c
dropped
by
a
Scot professor
(
makes Hawkins' seem like a fire
stream of articles bulked out b
ander Thom has tried to demon;
hirs and cromlechs of Britain ah
MICHAEL CRAIG, THE ATLAS Of EARLY UAN SY JACQUETTa hAWKES -OORUNG KINOERSLEY. LTD
Happily, some of Hawkins' findings do converge
with
those oArt^^eauftyx
although he was tinaware of
it. Stonehenge olierea
sightlines, Hawkins argues, not only for the midsum-
the site; at its latitude the lines of midsummer sunrise
I
The claim that Stonehenge was so sophisticated an
tion to whatever religious purpo:
instruments for determining cei
tings not only of the sun and moc
Stonehenge,
the
ruins
of
an
ancient
religious
center
positions
and
along
the
various
stones
were
used
to
STONEHENGE, ston'henj,
is the ruins
of a Stone
Age monument
situated
on
Salisbury
Plain
in
southern England.
It
is one of the most imposing
and complex
of the 40
to 50 prehistoric
circular
enclosures
or “henge” monuments known
in the
British
Isles.
The most striking features of Stonehenge
are
the
remains
of
a
great
circle
of
lintel-capped
rectangular
stone
columns
surrounding
a
still
taller
“horseshoe”
of
trilithons,
each
trilithon
consisting of two columns supporting the ends of
a
horizontal
top
piece,
or
lintel.
The
tallest
trilithon rises 24 feet (7.3 meters) above ground,
and each of the uprights weighs up
to 50
tons.
Other
conspicuous
features
of
the
monument
include the Slaughter Stone, the Heel Stone, the
bluestones, and
ditches.
Many
of the elements have changed through
time
as
the
result
of
natural
forces
or human
activity.
Standing
stones have
toppled,
ditches
have silted, and additions and changes have been
made by
the
prehistoric
peoples
to whom
this
site was an important religious center during the
:
Neolithic
Period
and
the
Early
Bronze
Age,
mughly from
1900
to 1400
n. c.
Speculation on and study of Stonehenge have
continued
unabated
from
the
time
that
it
was
first mentioned
in the literature shortly
after the
Norman Conquest of
1066.
Its construction has
been
attributed
to many
of the
various peoples
who have inhabited the
British
Isles.
The most
widely held belief was that Stonehenge was built
oy the Britons, a Celtic people, for druidical
rites,
h
is now known,
however,
that
the
Celts and
their druid
priests
did not come
to
Britain
until
1.000 years
after Stonehenge was abandoned.
The
first
architectural
study
of
the
site was
made
in the
17 1 h century by the
English
archi-
tect
Inigo Jones
at
the command
of King James
*•
More accurate surveys and observations were
and
astronomical
observatory.
Sightings
from
different
predict
astronomical
events
with
remarkable
accuracy.
conducted
subsequently
by
such
British
anti-
quaries
as John Aubrey,
Sir Richard Colt Iloare,
and
William
M.
Flinders
Petrie.
The numbers
assigned by Petrie to the various holes and stones
are
still employed
in identifying them.
Archaeological research has provided the most
trustworthy
evidence
concerning
not
only
the
several
phases
of
construction
and
their
dates,
but
also the
cultures
to which they belong.
In-
terpreting the original function of Stonehenge
is
partly
an
archaeological
matter
and
partly
an
astronomical
problem.
Scientific
excavation and
restoration began
in the 20th century,
especially
with the work
of William Hawley from 1919
to
1926.
The
most
meticulous
investigations
were
conducted
jointly
by
Richard
J.
C.
Atkinson,
Stuart
Piggott, and John
F.
S.
Stone from
1950
to 1954.
The
result of these excavations was an
extremely complicated
picture
of
successive
pe-
riods
of
construction.
Construction.
The
history
of Stonehenge may
be
divided
into
three
main
periods.
Tne
first
major
construction,
or
Period
1,
took
place
be-
tween 1900 and 1700
b. c.
It was accomplished
by people belonging
to
the secondary
Neolithic
culture, a blend of earlier hunting and gathering
peoples and the
first groups with an agricultural
economy
to
appear
in
the
British
Isles.
This
construction
consisted
of
a
circular
ditch
and
bank
about
320
feet
( 97
meters
)
in
diameter,
broken by an entrance causeway from the north-
east.
Just
inside
the bank and
concentric
with
it was dug a
circle of 56 equally spaced holes—
called
the Aubrey
holes
for
their
17th
century
discoverer
John
Aubrey.
The
holes
were
filled
with
chalk
rubble
and,
in some
instances,
with
cremated human bones.
Charcoal from one hole
yielded
a
radiocarbon
date
of
1848
u. c.
t275
years.
The
16-foot
(4.9-meter)
tall
Heel
Stone
was
erected
at
this
time
or
earlier,
a
short
dis-
751
752
STONEHENGE
r
y-
tance
outside
the
ditch
to
the
northeast.
The
Heel Stone
is a block
of sarsen
stone,
a type
of
sandstone
used
for
many
of
the
larger
stone
elements
in the monument.
The structure of Period
II (about 1700-1500
b. c.
)
does
not now
exist
but
can
be
inferred
from
the
existence
within
the
ditch
and
the
Aubrey
hole
circle
of
the “Q”
and
“R”
holes.
These
holes form a double
circle, 86
feel
(26,2
meters)
and 74
feet
(22.5 meters)
in diameter,
each
circle
originally
containing
about
blue-
stones.
Many of these stones were removed and
used for later constructions. Two parallel ditches
were dug outward from the main entrance, form-
ing an avenue running northeast toward the point
on
the
horizon
at which the sun
rises
on mid-
summer
day,
or
the summer
solstice.
Because
of the
absence
of
holes
in
the western
part
of
the
double
circle,
it would
appear
that
Stone-
henge
II was
never
completed.
The
architects
must have belonged
to
the Beaker
culture,
col-
onizers who came from
the European continent
at the end of the Neolithic Period, for shards of
Beaker
pottery
have
been
found
in
association
with the
traces
of
this
structure.
Period
III (about 1500-1400 b. c.
) witnessed
the final and most spectacular phases of construc-
tion.
One
of
the
principal
features
is
the
100-
foot (30.5-meter) circle of 30 sarsen stone columns.
Each
column
weighs
about
tons;
measures
about 3 to 4
feet
(0.9-1.2 meters)
thick, 7
feet
(2.1 meters)
wide, and 13 feet (4 meters) high;
and
is capped by a continuous circle of horizontal
lintels
held
in
position
by
mortise
and
tenon
joints.
Within this circle
is the central
horses!,,
of
five
sarsen
trilithons
referred
to
previous]
'
Other
features,
such
as
the
circles
of
“Y”
ai|'i
“Z”
holes
outside the
sarsen
circle and
a
sn„!|]
horseshoe of Milestones within the
trilithoi,
an'
appear
to
represent
later
modifications
of
tlio
plan.
The
largest
of
the
bluestones,
called
the
Altar-Stone, now
lies under two
fallen
trilitlu,,,
stones.
Its
original
location
and
function
an !
unknown.
The builders of Stonehenge
111
vv (
. n
,
almost
certainly
members
of
the
Early
Bronzy
Age Wessex culture,
at the time one of
tile m 0 st
advanced European cultures outside of the Medi-
terranean area.
Other sites of this culture,
large-
ly
graves, have produced bronze
ax
blades and
other
artifacts
resembling
strikingly
in
details
many
objects
from
central
Europe
and
My-
cenaean Greece.
In 1953
a carving of
a bronzy
dagger similar in form to those used
at Mycenae
during the period of the shaft graves was found
on one
of the
sarsen
stones.
As
for the construction techniques
of
Stone-
henge, much
practical experimentation has been
done with
simple equipment
to
determine
pos-
sible methods
of
transport and
the
size
of
tin-
labor force needed
to move and
erect
the
large
sarsens.
Geological studies have shown that
the
sarsens came from Marlborough Downs, some 20
miles
( 32 km )
north
of Stonehenge.
The
blue-
stones were
brought
from
the
Prescelly
Moun-
tains of southwestern Wales, probably by sea and
then
overland by
sledges running on
rollers.
It
has been estimated that
it might require upwards
of 500 men to pull a 50-ton stone up the steepest
STONE’S RIVER, BATTLE OF-STONEWARE
753
it' central
horsesho,.
rred
to
previously
circles
of “Y”
at ;,j
circle and
a
small
si the trilithon area
jodifications
of
the
nestones,
calk'd
the
two
fallen
trilithon
and
function
arc
toneheuge
III were
the
Early
Bronze
me one of the most
•utside of the Medi-
" this culture,
large.
>nze
ax blades and
Irikingly
in
details
Europe
and
My-
-arving
of
a bronze
se used
at Mycenae
t graves was found
-rchniques
of
Stone-
mentation has been
to determine
pos-
nd
the
size
of
the
and
erect
the
large
sive shown
that the
i?h Downs, some 20
nehenge.
The
blue-
ne
Prescelly
Moun-
orobably by sea and
aning on
rollers.
It
ght require upwards
tone up the steepest
f
N
I
" Standing stone
'
Fallen or missing stone
,50 Feet
slope
along
the
route.
Timber cribwork,
levers,
and
ropes were
considered
adequate
for
raising
stones
to vertical positions and placing
lintels on
their tops.
Function.
The
original
function
of
this
ex-
traordinary monument
has
been
the
subject
of
much
speculation.
It
lots been thought
of
as
a
monument,
funeral
or
otherwise,
to various
leg-
endary
or
historic
personages.
It
has
also been
considered
to be
the
center
of
a
religious
cult.
Because of
its orientation toward the rising sun,
scientists have seen
it as an astronomical observa-
tory of some kind.
Archaeologists are
in
general
agreement that the site had both a religious and
an
astronomical
function.
It
is
likely
that
the
monument
at Stonehenge, hallowed by
its
early
use as a purely religious structure, became modi-
fied
gradually
in
its
early
phases
to
perform
astronomical functions as well—first to record
the.
advent
of
the summer
solstice,
then
to
predict
sunrise,
moonrise,
and probably
eclipses,
all
as
part of
a
religious and agricultural
ritual.
In 1963, Gerald Hawkins, an astronomer, used
a
computer
to
work
out
all
observations
that
could be made by sighting along and through the
various
markers,
stone
posts,
and
openings
be-
tween
uprights,
including
four
“station”
stone
locations that form a rectangle on the line of the
Aubrey holes.
His calculations indicated with
al-
most perfect probability that Stonehenge can be
used
as
an
astronomical
instrument
to
predict
accurately, with adjustment of movable marking
stones once
a
year,
the movements
of both sun
and moon as well
as eclipses.
Various objections
to
the
theory
and
its
implications
have
been
raised by
archaeologists.
One
of
the
important
ones
is the unlikelihood of the existence of such
a.
sophisticated device, requiring the passing on of
accumulated observational data over a long period
of time, in a culture that was otherwise on a con-
siderably
lower
level
of development
than
the
heart
of
Bronze
Age
culture
in
the
eastern
Mediterranean.
Donald F. Brown
Boston University
Further
Reading:
Atkinson,
Richard
J. C.,
Stone-
henge
(Macmillan
1956);
Hawkins,
Gerald
S.,
and
White, John
B., Stonehenge Decoded (Doubleday 1965);
Petrie,
William
Flinders,
Stonehenge
(1881);
Stone
John
F. S., Wessex Before the Celts (Fraeger 1958).
STONE’S RIVER, Battle of, in the American Civil
War, fought Dec.
31,
1862-Jan.
2,
1863, about
30 miles
(48 km)
southeast of Nashville, Term.
It
is often called the Battle
of Murfreesboro.
A
hard-fought
but
indecisive
conflict,
it
had
no
apparent influence on the strategic situation, but
President Abraham Lincoln observed that
if the
Union
Army
had
been
defeated,
“the
nation
could scarcely have lived over
it.”
After Gen. Braxton Bragg led an unsuccessful
invasion of Kentucky in the autumn of 1862, he
retired to Murfreesboro, in southeastern Tennessee.
Maj. Gen. William
S.
Rosecrans,
the new com-
mander of the Union Army of the Cumberland,
was based
at Nashville.
Eastern Tennessee was
favorably
inclined
to
the
Union,
and
the
high
command in Washington was determined to drive
the Confederates from the region.
Under
strong
pressure
for
action,
Rosecrans
led his army out of Nashville on Dec.
26,
1862.
Rain,
fog, and Confederate
cavalry
patrols
hin-
dered his advance, and his leading elements did
not approach Murfreesboro
until the evening
of
die
29th.
The
next
day,
the
two
armies
con-
fronted
each
other
in
strength.
Rosecrans
had
about 45,000 men; Bragg a little less than 40,000,
Bragg
deployed
his
forces
astride
the
west
fork
of Stone s
Ris er,
a few
miles
northwest
of
tile town.
Tire bulk
of them were on
the
west
bank, but one division, about 5,000 men, was on
the
east.
Rosecrans concentrated entirely on
the
west
side> of the
river.
The battle plans of the opposing commanders
were identical in principle.
Each planned to hold
with his right wing ana attack with his left wing,
seeking an envelopment of
the enemy.
Bragg struck
first, about 6
a. m. on Dec.
31.
He
surprised
the Union troops
at the
right end
of
tlie
line; many were
cooking
breakfast.
His
assault gathered momentum as reinforcements ar-
rived.
The Union
right was bent back
at
right
angles to tire left, and by midafternoon the Union
army was compressed into a tight horseshoe with
its back
to the
river.
But stout resistance and minor counterattacks
had jolted the Confederates.
Bragg called for the
division on the east bank of the river to strength-
en a last blow, but
its commander did not move,
fearing a Union
attack.
At a council that night,
some Union generals wished
to
retreat
to Nash-
ville, but Rosecrans decided to hold.
On
Jan.
1,
there
was
little
fighting.
Both
armies
were exhausted and had
suffered heavy
losses.
Tire next day, the only important
action
was
east of the
river, where a Union force that
had crossed there repulsed a Confederate attack.
Bragg
realized
that
Rosecrans
had
received
ammunition and supplies, and on Jan. 3 he with-
drew through Murfreesboro and proceeded south.
Rosecrans occupied
tire town but did not pursue
his
foe.
The
situation
in
Tennessee
remained
static
for
six months, but by holding
fast
Rose-
crans had averted what would have been a serious
defeat for the Union at that stage of the war.
The
Union
losses
were
about
12,800 men
killed
wounded, and missing.
The Confederate
casualties totaled about 11,600. The Stones River
National
Battlefield now
occupies
part
of
the
battle site.
In
tire Stones River (or Murfreesboro)
National Cemetery are graves of soldiers of both
armies.
STONEWARE
is
a
hard,
nonporous
ceramic.
It
is
made
of
a
highly
siliceous
paste,
either
a
special
clay
or clay mixed with
other
materials,
such
as
ground
flint,
feldspar,
or marble.
The
paste
is
fired
at
a
high
temperature
until
it
vitrifies
(fuses)
to fomr
a nonporous, glassy sub-
stance
that
gives
a
ringing sound when
struck.
Stoneware thus differs from soft, low-fired porous
earthenware.
It
closely
resembles
hard,
high-
fired, nonporous porcelain and
is often called por-
celaneous ware.
However, because stoneware
is
usually heavy and opaque, with a bluish gray or
reddish
brown
color,
Western
authorities
have
tended
to
distinguish
it from
porcelain,
which
they characterize as
thin, translucent, and white.
Stoneware may
have
incised,
impressed,
or
applied
relief decorations.
It may be unglazed,
or
it may be glazed to
resist acidic liquids or for
decoration.
A
thin,
slightly
pitted
salt
glaze
is
common.
Thicker,
colored
lead
glazes
arc
also
found.
Stonewares were made
in Shang China
be-
fore
1000
b. c.
Heavy,
porcelaneous stonewares
of the Han, T’ang, Sung, and Yuan dynasties had
black or brown painted decoration or relief decora-
tion with celadon green glaze.
In die Ming period,
I
I
j
Approved For Release 2000/08/15
: CIA-RDP96-00792R000400590001 -9