Editing Stonehenge (section)

===Stonehenge 3 II (2600 BC to 2400 BC)===
[[File:Stonehenge diagram.png|thumb|Sketch showing the [[tongue and groove]] and [[mortise and tenon]] joints used in the outer [[Sarsen]] circle]]
[[File:Stone Plan.jpg|thumb|left|Plan of the central stone structure today; after Johnson 2008]]

During the next major phase of activity, 30&nbsp;enormous [[Oligocene]]–[[Miocene]] sarsen stones (shown grey on the plan) were brought to the site. They came from a quarry around {{convert|16|mi}} north of Stonehenge, in [[West Woods]], [[Wiltshire]].<ref name="Nash">{{cite journal |last1=Nash |first1=David |last2=Ciborowski |first2=T. Jake R. |last3=Ullyott |first3=J. Stewart |last4=Pearson |first4=Mick Parker |title=Origins of the sarsen megaliths at Stonehenge |journal=Science Advances |date=29 Jul 2020 |volume=5 |issue=31 |pages=eabc0133 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abc0133 |publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science |pmid=32832694 |pmc=7439454 |bibcode= 2020SciA....6..133N|s2cid=220937543 |language=en|doi-access=free}}</ref> The stones were [[Ashlar|dressed]] and fashioned with [[mortise and tenon]] joints before 30&nbsp;sarsens were erected in a circle of standing stones approximately {{convert|30|m|order=flip}} in diameter, with a ring of 30&nbsp;lintel stones resting on top. The lintels were fitted to one another using [[tongue and groove]] joints – a woodworking method, again.<ref name=pearsonchap>Pearson ''et al.'' 2013</ref> Each standing stone was around {{convert|4.11|m|ft|order=flip}} high, {{convert|2.13|m|ft|order=flip}} wide, and {{convert|1.06|m|ft|order=flip}} deep, weighing around 26&nbsp;tons. Each had clearly been worked with the final visual effect in mind: The [[orthostat]]s widen slightly towards the top in order that their perspective remains constant when viewed from the ground, while the lintel stones curve slightly to continue the circular appearance of the earlier monument.<ref name=fernie>Fernie 1994</ref>

The inward-facing surfaces of the stones are smoother and more finely worked than the outer surfaces. The average thickness of the stones is {{convert|1.1|m|ft|order=flip}} and the average distance between them is {{convert|1|m|ft|order=flip}}. A total of 75&nbsp;stones would have been needed to complete the circle (60&nbsp;stones) and the trilithon horseshoe (15&nbsp;stones). It was thought the ring might have been left incomplete, but an exceptionally dry summer in 2013 revealed patches of parched grass which may correspond to the location of missing sarsens.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Patchmarks at Stonehenge |journal=Antiquity |date=July 2013 |first1=Simon |last1=Banton |first2=Mark |last2=Bowden |first3=Tim |last3=Daw |first4=Damian |last4=Grady |first5=Sharon |last5=Soutar |volume=88 |issue=341 |pages=733–739 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00050651 |s2cid=162412146}}</ref> The lintel stones are each around {{convert|3.2|m|ft|order=flip}} long, {{convert|1|m|ft|order=flip}} wide and {{convert|0.8|m|ft|order=flip}} thick. The tops of the lintels are {{convert|4.9|m|ft|order=flip}} above the ground.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stonehenge |url=http://arthistoryresources.net/stonehenge/stonehenge.html |access-date=2024-04-06 |website=arthistoryresources.net}}</ref>

Within this circle stood five [[trilithon]]s of dressed [[sarsen]] stone arranged in a horseshoe shape {{convert|13.7|m|ft|order=flip}} across, with its open end facing northeast. These huge stones, ten uprights and five lintels, weigh up to 50&nbsp;tons each. They were linked using complex jointing. They are arranged symmetrically. The smallest pair of trilithons were around {{convert|6|m|ft|order=flip}} tall, the next pair a little higher, and the largest, single trilithon in the south-west corner would have been {{convert|7.3|m|ft|order=flip}} tall. Only one upright from the Great Trilithon still stands, of which {{convert|6.7|m|ft|order=flip}} is visible and a further {{convert|2.4|m|ft|order=flip}} is below ground. The images of a 'dagger' and 14&nbsp;'axeheads' have been carved on one of the sarsens, known as stone&nbsp;53; further carvings of axeheads have been seen on the outer faces of stones&nbsp;3, 4, and 5. The carvings are difficult to date but are morphologically similar to late Bronze Age weapons. [[Laser scanning at Stonehenge|Early 21st&nbsp;century laser scanning of the carvings]] supports this interpretation. The pair of trilithons in the north east are smallest, measuring around {{convert|6|m|ft|order=flip}} in height; the largest, which is in the south-west of the horseshoe, is almost {{convert|7.5|m|ft|order=flip}} tall.{{dubious|Semi-protected edit request on 20 October 2019|reason=inconsistent with previously stated height of 2.4 m|date=October 2019}}

This ambitious phase has been [[radiocarbon dated]] to between 2600 and 2400&nbsp;BC,<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Mike |last1=Pearson |first2=Ros |last2=Cleal |first3=Peter |last3=Marshall |first4=Stuart |last4=Needham |first5=Josh |last5=Pollard |first6=Colin |last6=Richards |first7=Clive |last7=Ruggles |first8=Alison |last8=Sheridan |first9=Julian |last9=Thomas |author-link9=Julian Thomas |first10=Chris |last10=Tilley |first11=Kate |last11=Welham |first12=Andrew |last12=Chamberlain |first13=Carolyn |last13=Chenery |first14=Jane |last14=Evans |first15=Chris |last15=Knüsel |display-authors=6 |date=September 2007 |title=The age of Stonehenge |journal=Antiquity |volume=811 |issue=313 |pages=617–639 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00095624 |s2cid=162960418 |url=http://dro.dur.ac.uk/5811/1/5811.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=20 March 2020 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807153859/http://dro.dur.ac.uk/5811/1/5811.pdf}}</ref> slightly earlier than the [[Stonehenge Archer]], discovered in the outer ditch of the monument in 1978, and the two sets of burials, known as the [[Amesbury Archer]] and the [[Boscombe Bowmen]], discovered {{convert|3|mi|km|0|spell=in}} to the west. Analysis of animal teeth found {{convert|2|mi|km|0|spell=in}} away at [[Durrington Walls]], thought by Parker Pearson to be the 'builders camp', suggests that, during some period between 2600 and 2400 BC, as many as 4,000 people gathered at the site for the mid-winter and mid-summer festivals; the evidence showed that the animals had been slaughtered around nine months or 15 months after their spring birth. [[Strontium]] [[isotope analysis]] of the animal teeth showed that some had been brought from as far afield as the Scottish Highlands for the celebrations.<ref name=Independent/><ref name="BBC News">{{cite news |title=Stonehenge builders travelled from far, say researchers |date=9 March 2013 |website=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21724084 |url-status = live |access-date = 11 March 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130310171730/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21724084 |archive-date = 10 March 2013}}</ref>

At about the same time, a large [[timber circle]] and a second avenue were constructed at [[Durrington Walls]] overlooking the [[River Avon, Hampshire|River Avon]]. The timber circle was oriented towards the rising Sun on the [[midwinter solstice]], opposing the solar alignments at Stonehenge. The avenue was aligned with the setting Sun on the [[summer solstice]] and led from the river to the timber circle. Evidence of huge fires on the banks of the Avon between the two avenues also suggests that both circles were linked. They were perhaps used as a procession route on the longest and shortest days of the year. Parker Pearson speculates that the wooden circle at Durrington Walls was the centre of a 'land of the living', whilst the stone circle represented a 'land of the dead', with the Avon serving as a journey between the two.<ref name=Pearson-2005>{{cite book |last=Pearson |first=M. Parker |date=2005 |title=Bronze Age Britain |pages=63–67 |publisher=B.T. Batsford |isbn=978-0-7134-8849-4}}</ref>