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Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in Wiltshire, England, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is the remains of a ring of standing stones set within earthworks. It is in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds. Archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. Radiocarbon dating in 2008 suggested that the first bluestones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC. Another theory suggests the bluestones may have been raised at the site as early as 3000 BC.〔〔〔 The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986 in a co-listing with Avebury Henge. It is a national legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage, while the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust. Archaeological evidence found by the Stonehenge Riverside Project in 2008 indicates that Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. The dating of cremated remains indicate that deposits contain human bone from as early as 3000 BC, when the ditch and bank were first dug. Such deposits continued at Stonehenge for at least another 500 years. ==Etymology== The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' cites Ælfric's tenth-century glossary, in which ''henge-cliff'' is given the meaning "precipice", or stone, thus the ''stanenges'' or ''Stanheng'' "not far from Salisbury" recorded by eleventh-century writers are "supported stones". William Stukeley in 1740 notes, "Pendulous rocks are now called henges in Yorkshire...I doubt not, Stonehenge in Saxon signifies the hanging stones." Christopher Chippindale's ''Stonehenge Complete'' gives the derivation of the name ''Stonehenge'' as coming from the Old English words ''stān'' meaning "stone", and either ''hencg'' meaning "hinge" (because the stone lintels hinge on the upright stones) or ''hen(c)en'' meaning "hang" or "gallows" or "instrument of torture" (though elsewhere in his book, Chippindale cites the "suspended stones" etymology). Like Stonehenge's trilithons, medieval gallows consisted of two uprights with a lintel joining them, rather than the inverted L-shape more familiar today. The "henge" portion has given its name to a class of monuments known as henges.〔 Archaeologists define henges as earthworks consisting of a circular banked enclosure with an internal ditch.〔See the (English Heritage definition ).〕 As often happens in archaeological terminology, this is a holdover from antiquarian use, and Stonehenge is not truly a henge site as its bank is inside its ditch. Despite being contemporary with true Neolithic henges and stone circles, Stonehenge is in many ways atypical—for example, at more than tall, its extant trilithons supporting lintels held in place with mortise and tenon joints, make it unique. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Stonehenge」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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