2. • Roughly cut circular
spaces enclosed by a
ditch and an
earthwork bank, with
one or more entrances
leading to the centre.
What are
Henge
monuments?
• Class I – Henges with
one entrance to the
stone circles
• Class II – Two opposite
entrances
• Class III – 4 entrances, 1
per quarter
What are the
main types?
• A Ditch on the outside,
an earthwork bank, a
stone/timbre circle,
burials/cairns/pits in
the centre.
Main
Characteristics
3. Most Henge monuments were built in Late Neolithic and early Bronze Age.
(c3000BC – c1500BC)
They were traditionally formed from Causewayed enclosures.
Two most famous Henge Monuments- Stonehenge, Avebury.
Ground plans of some typical
causewayed enclosures. 1 Windmill
Hill, Wilts; 2 Robin Hood’s Ball,
Wilts; 3 Whitesheet Hill, Wilts; 4
Briar Hill, Northants; 5 Whitehawk,
Sussex. Ditch sections outlined.
(Picture credit- http://frontiers-of-
anthropology.blogspot.in/2012/02/b
ritish-causewayed-enclosures.html)
4. A few of the theories are-
For Ritual purposes, since the stone structures were not good defensive structures.
For Astronomical observations-
Solar declinometer- To measure the position of the rising/setting sun as well as
Solstices and equinoxes.
Their entrances were aligned to point towards certain celestial bodies
As a demarcation of the dead, more obvious in the henges with concentric circles.
Picture credit- http://disinfo.com/tag/stonehenge/
5. Avebury henge- Wiltshire,
England 2850-2200 BC
Woodhenge- Wiltshire, England
2300 BC
Durrington walls- Wiltshire,
England 2525-2470 BC
Picture credit- http://www.english-heritage.org.uk
Picture credit-
Ludwig
Boltzmann
Institute
Picture credit- http://www.english-heritage.org.uk
6. Maumbury rings- Dorset, EnglandStanton Drew circles- Great Britain
Knowlton circles- Dorset, EnglandMayburgh henge- England
Pictures credits- https://www.visitcumbria.com/pen/mayburgh-henge/
Picture credit-Adrian WarrenPicture credit- Michael Bott & Rupert Soskin
Picture credit- Adrian Warren
8. It is a megastructure, a stone circle made of stones which are around 13’ (4.1 m)
high, 6’ 11” (2.1 m) wide and weighing around 25 tons.
It was built from 3000BC to 1600BC.
Picture credit- www.visitwiltshire.co.uk
9. This structure was built in three
stages to measure the position of the
rising sun during the summer and
winter solstices.
Picture credit- www.visitwiltshire.co.uk
Picture credit- http://abyss.uoregon.edu
10. By around c1500 BC, in the Bronze Age, people began settling down and nomadic
culture reduced. Slowly, field systems and round house systems evolved, leading
to the formation of permanent settlements. Inhumation of dead bodies stopped
and cremation started. Flat cemeteries began to be created and permanent
settlements began to replace monumental structures such as henges and stone
circles.
Beginning of permanent settlements. Picture credit- www.education.ne.gov
11. Food for thought!
According to the thesis mentioned below, Henge monuments must be De-
henged or given an alternative term of representation. This is due to the
fact that only a limited number of monuments fall under the current
definition. The name ‘henge’ was derived backwards from Stonehenge,
whereas Stonehenge does not have the main feature of a henge as it is
defined, an earthwork bank.
Younger, Rebecca Kirsty (2015) De-henging the henge: a biographical
approach to Scotland's henge monuments. PhD thesis.
http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6456/1/2015youngerphd.pdf
