sarsen
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A sarsen is a large, loose mass of stone, specifically a type of silicified sandstone found in England. These stones are a key component of the prehistoric monument Stonehenge, where they were used alongside bluestones from Wales. The sarsen stones at Stonehenge, some weighing over 45 tons, were sourced from the Marlborough Downs and arranged in a post-and-lintel system to form trilithons and a surrounding circle. Historically, sarsen stones were also referred to as "druid stone" or "Saracen stone," with the latter term possibly implying a pagan association.1234
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StonehengeSpeculation and excavation…incomplete, many of its original sarsens and bluestones having been broken up and taken away, probably during Britain’s Roman and medieval periods. The ground within the monument also has been severely disturbed, not only by the removal of the stones but also by digging—to various degrees and ends—since the 16th…
Read More…incomplete, many of its original sarsens and bluestones having been broken up and taken away, probably during Britain’s Roman and medieval periods. The ground within the monument also has been severely disturbed, not only by the removal of the stones but also by digging—to various degrees and ends—since the 16th…
Read More- StonehengeFirst stage: 3000–2935 bce
The Heelstone, a large unworked sarsen outside the northeastern entrance, also may have been erected during the first stage of Stonehenge, if not earlier. In addition, rows of timber-post holes within the northeastern entrance to the circular enclosure are thought to date to this period; the posts that they contained…
Read MoreThe Heelstone, a large unworked sarsen outside the northeastern entrance, also may have been erected during the first stage of Stonehenge, if not earlier. In addition, rows of timber-post holes within the northeastern entrance to the circular enclosure are thought to date to this period; the posts that they contained…
Read More - StonehengeSecond stage: 2640–2480 bce
About 2500 bce the sarsen stones were brought from the Avebury area of the Marlborough Downs, about 20 miles (32 km) to the north. Outside the northeastern entrance of Stonehenge they were dressed smooth by pounding with sarsen hammers. They were then arranged inside the circle in a horseshoe-shaped…
Read MoreAbout 2500 bce the sarsen stones were brought from the Avebury area of the Marlborough Downs, about 20 miles (32 km) to the north. Outside the northeastern entrance of Stonehenge they were dressed smooth by pounding with sarsen hammers. They were then arranged inside the circle in a horseshoe-shaped…
Read More - Stonehenge
…because of its artificially shaped sarsen stones (blocks of Cenozoic silcrete), arranged in post-and-lintel formation, and because of the remote origin of its smaller bluestones (igneous and other rocks) from 100–150 miles (160–240 km) away, in South Wales. The name of the monument probably derives from the Saxon stan-hengen, meaning…
Read More…because of its artificially shaped sarsen stones (blocks of Cenozoic silcrete), arranged in post-and-lintel formation, and because of the remote origin of its smaller bluestones (igneous and other rocks) from 100–150 miles (160–240 km) away, in South Wales. The name of the monument probably derives from the Saxon stan-hengen, meaning…
Read More